Two-for-one deals are usually reserved for bags of chips or cheap beer, so to hear about a property for sale that has two homes on it is certainly unusual. But even the fact that it has two homes isn’t what makes Coastal Bluff Compound so special. The fact that the main house is LEED Gold Certified is also pretty exciting, but even that isn’t what has the design world buzzing about this property. That second home is the exciting part. It is a rare Richard Nuetra case study and it is incredible.
Currently on the market and asking a cool $20,000,000, Coastal Bluff Compound doesn’t have the over-the-top luxury amenities typical of high-end listings (no worries – there is a wine cellar), but it doesn’t need those things. Architectural history, impeccable design, and an idyllic location make this place worth the hefty price tag. So just what is a Case Study House and why should you be excited about it?
A lot of what you need to know about Case Study Houses is right there in the name. These homes were experiments, also called “case studies,” and a way to learn how the modern, post-war American family would use space. It was a way to develop new design concepts, play with incorporating flexibility into spaces, and create strong indoor/outdoor connections. Built between 1945 and 1964, the nearly two-decade experiment resulted in 36 homes being designed by over a dozen different architects. By the time he signed on to create the Bailey House in Pacific Palisades, Richard Neutra was a well regarded architect with a focus on his “ready for anything” idea of home planning. The result was Case Study #20 – a modest home designed to be flexible, affordable, and expandable.
As it stands today, Case Study #20 is the second of the two homes that makes up Coastal Bluff Compound. The architectural elements first put in place by Neutra were lovingly restored by Marmol Radziner. There is plenty of glass, steel, and wood that give the home a timeless feel that was a signature of the architect’s designs. At the time it was built in 1948, the Bailey family had a limited budget but plenty of land. It was always Neutra’s intention that the property would expand over time as the family grew and could afford additions. With this in mind, many of the elements Neutra put in place created a purposeful connection to the outside. In fact, it’s the outside space that forms the connection between the two homes.
Set up higher on a hill, the main house of the property speaks more to the cool California coast vibes than to classic mid-century architecture. With bright white walls inside and out, the main house offers a sun-filled, welcoming space to unwind. A contemporary take on Spanish Mission style, many of the doorways into the rooms are oversized arches, floors are medium-tone wood, and a loggia connects the rooms on the main floor to the pool and patio outside. Just on the other side of the pool, the Neutra-designed home can be seen. It’s this pool and patio space that joins the disparate structures into one glorious compound.
With two houses to explore and still more land for building a third home or a basketball court, this property offers flexibility unlike many others. Keep it all for yourself, turn the second house into an Airbnb, or rent it out to your best bud. The possibilities are endless when you get a two-for-one home deal like this.
Coastal Bluff Compound is currently listed with Jacqueline Chernov of the Jacqueline Chernov Team at Compass.
