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A Dramatic Family Compound With Light-Screening Geometric Terraces in Venice Seeks $9.9M

A glassy pool and large courtyard bridges the three sites.

825 Palms Boulevard in Venice, California, is currently listed at $9,980,000 by Simon Beardmore at Sotheby’s International Realty - Brentwood Brokerage.

This award-winning architectural compound uses complementary materials to create a calm, modern composition. A triumph of creative design by renowned architect Kevin Daly, the property was visualized as a multigenerational estate for a contemporary lifestyle. Featuring three separate residences and offering thoughtfully conceived privacy from each one, there are endless possibilities for a seamless work-life balance amid the teeming natural surroundings and just a short walk to the shops and restaurants on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

The main house (Palms II, completed in 2021) spotlights warm wood and screen elements set atop a concrete podium with a broad expanse of glass that provides open sight lines across the property. Four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms span 3,400 square feet of living space with soaring ceilings, a fireplace, polished concrete floors with radiant heating, a primary bedroom with a private deck, and a primary bath with a steam shower.

The second house (Palms I, completed in 2010) places emphasis on framing discrete vistas of trees and sky with apertures arranged from folding perforated metal screens wrapped around the base structure. Here, 2,000 square feet of living space holds three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Details include soaring ceilings, an open dining room, radiant floor heating, a kitchen with outdoor dining patio, and a living plant wall designed by Big Red Sun.

The guesthouse finishes the third chapter of the trilogy. Artfully executed as a 400-square foot studio, the space provides additional living and sleeping quarters with a bathroom, dual-sided fireplace, in-floor heating, and private deck and entrance.

The outdoor courtyard is a gathering venue between the spaces, with three outdoor fireplaces, a sport court with NBA regulation hoop, an outdoor shower, garden and the pool with retractable cover. Topping it all off is parking for eight cars (four for each home and electric chargers in both) and state-of-the-art security systems with cameras.

Listing Details

Bedrooms: 7

Baths: 6 full, 1 partial

Year Built: 2021

Square Feet: 5,800

Plot Size: 0.24 acres

Courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty - Brentwood Brokerage

See the full story on Dwell.com: A Dramatic Family Compound With Light-Screening Geometric Terraces in Venice Seeks $9.9M
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The Ski Slopes Are 10 Minutes Away From This $1.2M Arizona Cabin

Set on a hillside, the recently built three-story home has huge windows, several balconies, and forest views in every direction.

Location: 12625 N Ray Avenue, Mount Lemmon, Arizona

Price: $1,200,000

Year Built: 2023

Architect: Kevin B. Howard

Footprint: 1,500 square feet (2 bedrooms, 2 baths)

Lot Size: 0.11 Acres

From the Agent: "The Cubist, designed by award-winning architect Kevin B. Howard, showcases uncompromising design, exceptional quality, and the finest finishes, appliances, and fixtures. Perfectly positioned to capture mountain and lush forest views, this three-story residence is located in the heart of Summerhaven. The property is easy to preview, with the exclusive opportunity to meet directly with the architect/builder to fully appreciate the vision and craftsmanship of this one-of-a-kind home."

The living room ceilings are double-height — The double-height living room has a floor-to-ceiling window that frames the surrounding forest.

Photo by Shadowpoint Media

The common areas are on the main floor, with one bedroom upstairs and another on the lower floor. — The common areas are located on the main floor. There’s one bedroom upstairs, and another on the lower level.

Photo by Shadowpoint Media

See the full story on Dwell.com: The Ski Slopes Are 10 Minutes Away From This $1.2M Arizona Cabin
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Before & After: Their Singapore Apartment Is a Love Letter to Midcentury Design

Barebones Studio revamped the flat with pastel tile, glass bricks, and dark wood paneling to match the owner’s vintage furnishings from Denmark and Japan.

Lamps and vintage furniture that the homeowner and his partner collected on their travels adorn the home. Jun introduced an Enigma 425 pendant lamp from Louis Poulsen as a statement piece over the living space.

Over years of travel, a Singaporean businessman who works in the food and beverage industry had amassed a trove of vintage furniture, including many Danish and Japanese pieces. When he purchased a new apartment on the north side of the island, he sought to give his collection a fitting home—and he approached Jun Lee, the design director of Barebones Studio, for an update inspired by Danish midcentury-modern design.

The homeowner, who lives here with his partner, was drawn to the Seletar Park condo development, built by SCDA Architects in 2015, because he liked how the architecture integrates with nature; full-height glass panels in the apartment frame views of the estate’s tropical landscaping.

Lee aimed to create a warm and cozy atmosphere for the 900-square-foot, two-bedroom home. To mirror the crafted nature of the furniture, he prioritized natural materials, such as solid wood instead of laminates for the carpentry.

Before: Kitchen

The open kitchen located next to the entrance door was fitted with functional white cabinetry. The beige marble flooring had no character and did not match taupe painted walls. — Before: The open kitchen located next to the entry was fitted with functional white cabinetry. The beige marble flooring clashed with the taupe-painted walls.

Photo courtesy of Barebones Studio

After: Kitchen

The kitchen counter’s new pink tiles bring an element of playfulness to the scheme. Square floor tiles were also used to define the kitchen from the dining-and-living area. — The kitchen island is covered in pink tile that gives the space a feeling of playfulness. Square floor tiles in two tones visually separate the kitchen from the living/dining area.

Photo by Marcus Lim

At the open kitchen, solid birch plywood cabinetry and wall panelling add some tones and subtle patterns; the material is also evocative of the mid-modern century era. — Dark-stained solid birch plywood cabinetry and wall panels evoke the midcentury-modern era.

Photo by Marcus Lim

See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: Their Singapore Apartment Is a Love Letter to Midcentury Design
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Prefab Pioneer Rocio Romero Designed This Catskills Getaway Seeking $1.2M

Set on three forested acres near Woodstock, the residence has a backyard pool and mountain views through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Location: 540 Mt. Tobias Road Extension, Mt. Tremper, New York

Price: $1,195,000

Year Built: 2007

Designer: Rocio Romero

Footprint: 3,120 square feet (3 bedrooms, 4 baths)

Lot Size: 3.06 Acres

From the Agent: "Immerse yourself in this architect-designed gem offering a harmonious blend of modern design and natural beauty. A minimalist aesthetic seamlessly integrates indoor and outdoor living spaces throughout the open concept layout. Floor-to-ceiling windows highlight nature at its finest and emphasize the striking landscape. An in-ground swimming pool, surrounded by elegant glass panels, invites you to unwind while gazing at the picturesque backdrop. The three-bedrooms, office, and two separate living rooms all feature expansive mountaintop views, and the layout is thoughtfully arranged to maximize both privacy and flow. Outdoor enthusiasts will love the proximity to the Ashokan Reservoir, Ashokan Rail Trail, Overlook Mountain, and countless hiking and biking trails."

The home is an instance of architectural-designer Rocio Romero's LV pre-fab series, for which she is known. — The LV Series prefab home was designed by Rocio Romero.

Photo by Nicholas Doyle

In addition to the ground floor pool deck, the second floor extends outdoors to an elevated patio. — There’s a pool deck on the ground floor, and the upper-level kitchen/dining area opens to an elevated patio.

Photo by Nicholas Doyle

See the full story on Dwell.com: Prefab Pioneer Rocio Romero Designed This Catskills Getaway Seeking $1.2M
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Budget Breakdown: They Spent Two Belgian Winters in a ’90s Bus While Building a Home for $274K

A roaming creative couple blended the language of their animation studio, an iconic chair, and the colors of southern Spain for their part time residence and rental.

Dorien Smeets and Jeroen Aendekerk have lived a nomad’s life. The couple spent six years traveling across Europe in their ’90s school bus conversion, even growing their animation business, Studio Fluxi, from its cabin. But even though they’d adapted to life on wheels, in 2023, the couple decided to return to Belgium, where they are both from, wanting a home to come back to after stints out on the road; it wasn’t time to give up completely on the nomadic lifestyle.

A birds view of the house — Dorien Smeets and Jeroen Aendekerk spent $247,000 designing and building a two-bed, two-and-a-half bath home in Belgium’s Bosland National Park.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

"We never dreamed of a huge house," says Dorien. "We always knew if we built something, it would be small, but unique." She and Jeroen’s home is 650 square feet, forming a half circle.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

In the same year the couple spent $115,000 on a site next to a pond in Belgium’s recently established Bosland Natural Park. "Everywhere we went with the bus, if there was water, it felt more like vacation," says Dorien. The park doesn’t allow full-time residential homes, but Dorien and Jeroen found a loophole that dovetailed nicely with wanting to live in a home part-time: by building one and listing it as a rental, it would qualify the structure as a recreational building, which is allowed by the park.

After some dedicatd searching, the couple found a company that could manufacture the corrugated metal siding for a fraction of the price; they spent around $2,400 on it. — The couple found a company to custom manufacture the corrugated metal siding for around $2,400.

Photo by Geert Van de Velde

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: They Spent Two Belgian Winters in a ’90s Bus While Building a Home for $274K
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D.C. Could Say Bye Bye, Brutalist Buildings—and Everything Else You Need to Know This Week

Trump attempts a federal takeover of L.A. wildfire recovery, U.S. homebuyers are getting especially cold feet, and more.

Architects associated with the Catholic University are leading a plan to demolish a huge cluster of neglected brutalist federal buildings in Washington, D.C., like the Forrestal Building, and replace them with a new neoclassical-style neighborhood of housing, parks, and grand buildings that would extend the National Mall. Here’s what’s being proposed for "Fedlandia," the new vision for Washington’s downtown. (Bloomberg)

California is now the first state to require real estate listings to provide an explicit disclaimer as to whether home photos have been altered—and provide the original images—aiming to curb misleading virtual staging and AI-generated upgrades that spruce up properties to make them look way better online than in real life. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Small towns across the U.S. are reviving main streets by turning homes and storefronts into shared "flex plexes," pods, and microcenters that help family childcare providers open affordable, licensed programs without the crushing start-up costs. Here’s how the business model is rethinking childcare in rural communities. (Daily Yonder)

Homebuyers are backing out of deals in record numbers as uncertainty slows the housing market.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A year after fires swept through Los Angeles, homebuilding efforts are underway in Pacific Palisades and Altadena—from grassroots coalitions to developer projects. Now, Trump has signed an executive order to seize control of wildfire recovery, telling the California Post he wants to "just give the people their permits they want to build." But in the aftermath of the fires, many survivors are saying insurance delays and other issues are slowing them down more than red tape. (Politico)
Homebuyers are walking away from deals at the fastest rate in nearly a decade, with over 40,000 purchase contracts canceled in December as sellers flood the market and buyers grow more cautious. Here’s what’s making buyers back out. (CNBC)

Top photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The ’50s Home of a Renowned Architecture Historian Seeks $550K in Connecticut

Yale professor Vincent Scully collaborated with Albert Reese to design the landmark, cupola-topped home, which still has its original fixtures and finishes.

Location: 68 Orchard Road, Woodbridge, Connecticut

Price: $550,000

Year Built: 1950

Designers: Vincent Scully and Albert Reese

Footprint: 1,872 square feet (3 bedrooms, 1 baths)

Lot Size: 3.22 Acres

From the Agent: "This is a one of a kind midcentury-modern house designed by Vincent Scully and Albert Reese. The house is an interpretation of a simple box form often employed by pioneering modernist architects of the period. Characteristic modern features include its simple rectilinear form, strong horizontal lines, expansive windows, exposed concrete, wood and steel structural elements, plain, unornamented surfaces, and an open floor plan. The cupola, accessed by ladder, measuring eight and a half feet square and seven feet high, was added atop the roof in 1953 for a guest room and study. The house, garage, and outbuildings are remarkably unchanged from the original design, and later modifications were made by Vincent Scully."

The home was designed in part by its owner, Vincent Scully, famed 20th century art and architecture historian. — The home was designed in part by its owner, Vincent Scully, a famed 20th-century art and architecture historian. He spent much of his career as a professor at Yale, which is nearby.

Photo by William Scott Media

The home was featured in the 2002 book, "First House: the grid, the figure, and the void — The home was featured in the 2002 book, *First House: The Grid, the Figure, and the Void* by Christian Bjone.

Photo by William Scott Media

See the full story on Dwell.com: The ’50s Home of a Renowned Architecture Historian Seeks $550K in Connecticut
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