The living room has a sculptural fireplace, built-in sofa, and vintage bubble TV notched into the wall.
Jake Kin
A little over a decade after it sold for $950,000, a striking Richard Neutra-designed residence in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills has returned to market for only the fourth time in 66 years. The fully redone post-and-beam gem is being floated for sale with a loftier $2.8 million price tag, with Kimberly Bini of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California holding the listing.
Originally built in the late 1950s for photographer Jason Hailey for a mere $25,000, the low-slung, flat-roofed abode, which was designated as an L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument in 1987, underwent a thorough restoration at the hands of its current owner, Patrick O’Neill. The creative director worked in collaboration with a team that included architectural historian Barbara Lemprecht, who featured the home in her book Neutra: Complete Works, along with interior decorator Anthony Barsoumian and Andrew Gray Studio.
“I looked at this house as an incredible piece of art,” O’Neil told Domino magazine in 2018. “Usually someone decides to ‘update’ over the years by tearing down walls or changing the structure, but luckily each person shared my appreciation for the original. The first time I walked in, I couldn’t believe I was touching the same materials installed in 1959, when it was built.”
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Posted on a steep hillside parcel between the Hollywood Reservoir and Universal City, the module-style structure has two bedrooms and an equal number of baths in roughly 1,100 square feet of compact yet functional living space boasting copious built-ins, Philippine mahogany paneling, redwood details, and jalousie windows throughout. Sliding glass walls spill out to a decked balcony with views sweeping over the Cahuenga Pass.
A streetside carport conceals an entry courtyard sheltered by overhanging eaves, with a wood front door leading into a small vestibule. From there, the open-plan layout features a living room anchored by a sculptural wood-burning fireplace, a den that can be closed off and used as a guest bedroom, and a dining area. A tucked-away kitchen is outfitted with dark-stained cork floors and smoked glass cabinetry fronts, as well as the original yellow Formica countertops and Thermador in-wall oven.
A series of outdoor vignettes include a bamboo-lined theater with a projector and screen.
Engel Studios
In addition to a primary bedroom sporting a built-in headboard and desk, a climatized wine cellar and laundry room can be found underneath the house, while the terraced grounds cover less than a quarter of an acre but pack in a series of Studio John Sharp-designed outdoor vignettes. Laced with gardens and pottery, they host a dining patio, a fire pit conversation area, a sunken Japanese soaking tub, and a trellis-shaded theater with a projector and screen.
“Restoration instead of renovation is such a uniquely inspiring process,” said O’Neill, a Neutra enthusiast who purchased the Hailey House after selling a home in Woodstock, New York, that is inspired by the architect’s Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs. “Most people would take one look and think, ‘Oh, my God! That’s so much work!’ But I was jumping up and down with excitement. When we finished, there was a moment I realized, I’m going to take care of this house and it’s going to take care of me.”
Click here for more photos of the Hollywood Hills residence.
Jake Kin
Authors
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Wendy Bowman