Blog: LA’s most beautiful homes for sale in 2018

Narrowing it down to 10 was a challenge

In terms of beautiful homes for sale this year, Los Angeles did not disappoint. From celebrity lairs to architectural gems to historically significant homes, 2018 brought a wealth of eye candy. Like most real estate in LA, these beautiful homes came with commensurate price tags: The most expensive residence on this list is asking a record-setting $135 million, and that’s after a significant price cut.

To the right deep-pocketed buyer, these houses are certainly worth the expense. For the rest of us, gawking at floor-to-ceiling windows, hand-carved wooden beams, coffered ceilings, and intricate moldings will have to suffice. Here are the top ten most stunning homes that came up for sale this year.

Photo by Mary E. Nichols, courtesy Hilton & Hyland

Frank Lloyd Wright’s monumental Ennis House in Los Feliz

Built in 1924 with elaborate, Maya-inspired concrete blocks, the Ennis House was one of a handful of enigmatic, similarly-inspired homes that Frank Lloyd Wright designed during a brief turn in Southern California. The house, which has appeared in a number of films including Blade Runner and House on Haunted Hill, features leaded glass windows, marble and hardwood floors, coffered ceilings, custom light fixtures, and mosaic-tiled walls.

Photo by Cameron Carothers, courtesy Deasy/Penner

‘Mad Men’ producer’s fantastic Pasadena midcentury modern

Designed by Conrad Buff, Calvin Straub, and Donald Hensman in 1957, this three-bedroom house holds walls of glass in its double-height living area, as well as beamed ceilings, built-in shelves and cabinets, and a picture-perfect brick fireplace. The house was listed for sale by Mad Men producer Scott Hornbacher.

Photo by Michael McNamara, courtesy of Heidi Lake, Barry Sloane and Marc Silver/Historic & Architecturally Significant Properties, Sotheby’s International Realty Beverly Hills

Mind-blowing Bel Air lair built for Wilt Chamberlain

This singular residence was designed for basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, who worked closely with the house’s architect David Tenneson Rich. The house was completed in 1971 on a mountain top that functioned as a Nike anti-aircraft missile site during the Cold War. In addition to its high ceilings and sweeping views, there is also a massive stone fireplace, a conversation pit, and an indoor-outdoor triangular swimming pool.

Courtesy of Brett Lawyer/Hilton & Hyland

Rooney Mara’s dazzling Los Feliz midcentury

The 1963 house in Los Feliz’s tony Oaks neighborhood holds two bedrooms that open onto private outdoor areas, two carefully renovated bathrooms, clerestory windows, new white terrazzo floors, and the residence’s original open floor plan.

Courtesy of Colette Dornblum/Pacific Union

Gaze with wonder at the Pasadena home of folk artist Louis Steinhauser

This 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival was the family residence of artist and master woodworker Louis Steinhauser, whose handiwork can be seen on the intricate beams, built-ins, and cabinets throughout the house. Additional features include groove wood floors, the house’s original light fixtures, and gorgeous original tile in the home’s two bathrooms.

Photo by Cameron Carothers, courtesy of Christina Hildebrand

Little-known Neutra in Brentwood with walls of glass and mosaic work

This 1960 Brentwood gem by noted modernist Richard Neutra hit the market for the first time ever this year, offering a peek into its pristine interiors. The three-bedroom home’s more notable features include sliding glass walls; plentiful wood paneling; and built-in seating, bookcases, and desks. The house also contains several striking mosaics designed by Elsa Sale, half of the couple for whom Neutra designed the home.

Photos by Don Lewis, courtesy Catherine Cheney/Coldwell Banker

Majestic Pasadena mansion by Greene and Greene

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 7,000-square-foot Arts and Crafts estate features holds built-in furniture, Japanese-inspired light fixtures, casement windows throughout, and wood beams as far as the eye can see. As an added bonus, the fireplace retains its original Grueby tile.

Photo by Anthony Barcelo

Michael Feinstein’s baronial 1920s Tudor in Los Feliz

Just below Griffith Observatory, this stunning 1926 mansion is replete with coffered ceilings, wood-paneled walls, ornate moldings, and multiple fireplaces with carved mantels. The over 15,000-square-foot residence shares a half-acre lot with a French formal garden and a scalloped swimming pool.

Courtesy of Leonardo Montenegro/The Leonardo Group

Flamboyant Palms Springs midcentury with pool and gorgeous tile

Ok, ok—so this is not LA proper, or even LA County—but this house is certainly worth the drive. Constructed by the Alexander Construction Company and designed by architect Charles DuBois, the brightly colored two-bedroom house holds two mosaic-tiled bathrooms, breeze blocks inside and out, terrazzo floors, and an impressive fireplace with a floating hearth.

Photo by Jim Bartsch, courtesy Hilton & Hyland

Bel Air mansion is nation’s most expensive listing

Known as the Chartwell Estate, this record-setting French neoclassical estate in Bel Air was formerly owned by late TV executive Jerry Perenchio. The 25,000-square-foot residence sits on 10 acres of elaborate gardens, fountains, expansive lawns, a 75-foot swimming pool, and a five-bedroom guesthouse designed by Wallace Neff.

Source: Curbed LA – All