The first photo for this listing sets expectations well. Get ready to see a lot of white and green.
Nice sea urchin light.
Hmm I wonder what kinds of “recreational activities” happen in this room?
I do dig the “garden views” afforded by virtually every room in this home.
The gorilla is a nice touch, too.
Don’t expect an open house of this $10M “extremely private residence” though…
Private showings to qualified Buyers only.
Aww.
Wait… Marty… you lead me on with the tantalizing thought of loads more green images, then… there’s no actual listing? The link takes me to a picture of a deer in the “Just Wow” section of Redfin. Is this what you meant by “extremely private residence”? But, but… how did *you* get the pictures shown above?
BTW, what green bits we see are really nice, but they’re not nearly enough to overcome the spartan decor, both in color and materials. A shame, too, ’cause you *know* they spent a ton. The only homey looking spot is the potting-shed-cum-loung-area, which reminds me greatly of Professor Sprout’s greenhouse in the Harry Potter movies. Oh, and I like the gorilla, too. *Incredible* animals…
@Emerald63: Ha ha, oops! Link fail. Fixed now. Sorry about that!
The yard is marvelous in its parts – some real thought given to working with the lot. For example, always assuming they’ve got good containment around that bamboo, it’s an inspired choice for high-and-low enjoyment.
That said, The house doesn’t do a particularly good job of inviting the garden in: all the best views are shot standing outside. I could almost endorse the very white, minimalist interior structures as a restful, stone-of-the-hill effect meant to direct vision outward, if it weren’t for that very lack of vistas – and for the weirdly jarring notes splanged down into each room, competing with and defeating what garden views emerged.
I didn’t like the gorilla (at least, not here), or the giant plaid distortion rug, or the sea urchin, or the terrifying painted (I hope) amoebic entities dominating the reception area. The doubtless expensive igneous rock coffee-table is dreadful in this context. Just imagine if it had been the same size, but a big, flat, smooth, round, light beige river rock. You’d look past the green grass entry and say “Ahhh!” – especially if the monsters weren’t there.
I dunno. People with that much money, I expect them to do better at this sort of thing. Sigh.
@anodean: I think one of the problems with “letting the garden in” is the site topography. The house seems to be nestled into a narrow flat space on a hillside, actually sitting above the garden level. You can see this clearly in Pics 3 and 4 of the entry drive and Pic 9, looking out of the living room. Pic 14 is the best of the shots from the garden itself looking towards the house. The geology and/or soil type may preclude carving out below-grade viewing access to the garden without endangering the structural stability of the house.
I think the bedrooms are likely where there isn’t much of a natural terrace of the hillside so, really, there’s not anything to look at beyond the size of the various little walled patios. We average folk might have preferred a view into the wooded parts of the hillside, but rich folks like their privacy.
That said, the “solution” of the hideous not-quite-sky-blue enclosures (Pics 24 and 26) is proof positive that someone in the decision making process was clueless. Ugh! I’d be stunned if the architect included them, unless there is some magic quality of the material that doesn’t translate into photos. Even then, the color looks cheap and dated and has nothing to do with the house or its interiors. What’s the point of all that white contrasted against all the green of the site if you’re going to toss in such an unnatural color?
Another possibility for few views is some of the various areas being meditation gardens. If that’s right, then being secluded and apart from whatever is going inside with other humans is appropriate. The “Zen reflecting pool” in Pics 12 and 13 prompted the mediation idea. It looks as though there is a small water spout at one end. My guess is that it gurgles water onto the rocks. The idea is to recreate a stream in a stylized, thought provoking manner. Transferring the expected visual attribute of reflection from water to a sound attribute of water on stone, an attribute that can sometimes get lost in the sensory mix, is very Zen.
Last artistic point – if you try to imagine the interior spaces without furniture or decoration just the architecture does quite a good job. I’m tempted to call the bedroom with fireplace in Pic 22 sublime. There’s also a direct connection from it to one of the larger courtyard gardens. Pic 17 further shows masterful interweaving of indoor/outdoor space, likely with the only small square footage available to do so.
Last practical point (well, the only one IMO) – You can afford $10M for a house and that’s all the more kitchen you get??? Oh hell no!
If it were up to me, I’d be surrounded by dead plants. I don’t have a green thumb in the least. That said, I have to ask who would pay for the house and be willing to give all their time to keeping the plants alive? I wonder that the gardening service wouldn’t inadvertently hire peeping toms.
Well, I like it! It looks serene and cool and inviting to me. I’m a little iffy about the sea urchin, but hey, I’d take it if it came with the rest of the place!
@K: Really, I agree – it has a wonderful restful quality under all those weird attempts to jazz the place up. As Emerald says, subtract all the furniture. :D
@Frodo: Like you said… gardening service. It would be interesting to find out if the various private terrace gardens had outdoor entrances. If not, it’s either do-it-yourself or let the gardeners in through the house. Given the price tag on this puppy, I can’t honestly see either happening…