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set in the mountains above Los Angeles with views of the Pacific Ocean, a preserved home designed by famed Southern California architect Richard Neutra hit the market in January for $5.3 million. It was the second time the homeowner, real estate developer and architecture buff Peter Galliaert, had tried selling it. He originally listed the Sale House, named after original owners Robert and Elsa Sale, last June for just under $8 million.
Now, the modernist Crestwood Hills gem has a new price tag: $4.75 million. The revised figure represents more than 40 percent off the initial asking price.
© Matthew Momberger
Richard Neutra’s 1960 Sale House sits on a one-acre plot and comes with a pool.
Galliaert bought the 1960 residence five years ago from Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm. Galliaert spearheaded a careful restoration with Escher GuneWardena Architecture and GW Design using a strict “preservation-first” mantra that included remodeling the kitchen and updating the lighting throughout the home without deviating from Neutra’s original floor plan or materials.
© Matthew Momberger
The kitchen has a breakfast bar and opens to the living room.
Neutra, who vaulted to fame in the 1940s with his innovative Case Study Houses, crafted the single-story home to maximize its hilltop setting, including glass walls that frame the city and ocean vistas. Its economical size of roughly 1,600 square feet includes a trio of bedrooms and two baths plus an array of built-in furnishings, such as a desk and sofa. Warm woods and glass dominate the material palette, but there are also handcrafted touches like a brick fireplace and bathroom tiles by former owner Elsa Sale.
Rounding out the one-acre property is a pool with several lounge areas and newly sculpted landscaping by Ivette Soler Gardens.
The Sale House is listed by Ernie Carswell and Spencer Daley of Sotheby’s International Realty.
Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.