The newly renovated historic Desert House in Palm Springs was created by Richard Neutra and formerly owned by Edgar J. Kaufmann. This home is now on the market priced at $25 million.
The house is measured at 3,162 square feet with 2 acres of land that has a desert garden, emerald green grass, plantings, and a large pool terrace with stunning mountain views. The house has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a living room with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, an entertainment lounge with a bar, and California-style vanishing thresholds. The house consists mostly of steel, glass, and stone on an open floor plan.
This historic Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs is listed by Gerard Bisignano, a Partner at Vista Sotheby’s International Realty in Palos Verdes Estates.
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- This is the living room area with large glass walls looking over the backyard pool and natural lighting that brightened the spacious room. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a farther look at the family room area and kitchen from the vantage of the concrete block walkway right outside with a cover above. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a close look at the family room with various comfortable sitting areas across from the large kitchen island paired with stools. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is the dining area with a large wooden dining table attached to the large stone fireplace paired with wooden chairs. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is the balcony of the house with a lounge chair by the stone fireplace surrounded by planters with shrubs. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- The large balcony has hardwood flooring that matches the ceiling above the sofa as well as planters on the far side. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a close look at the large sofa and wooden coffee table at the large balcony with wooden flooring and matching wooden ceiling. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a close look at the desert landscaping at the side of the house that goes well with the dark exterior wall. It has a large decorative rock across from the wooden door. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a look at the desert garden landscaping with shrubs, rocks and sand that pairs well with the exteriors of the house. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a close look at the desert landscaping at the side of the house that goes well with the dark exterior wall. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This side of the house has a grass lawn with decorative rocks across from the staircase at the side of the house wall. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a hallway at the side of the house with planters on the side opposite from the desert landscape outside. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a sitting area that has a view of the surrounding landscape and bathed in natural lighting. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a closer look at the back of the house featuring a thick row of shrubs that pair well with the modern elements of the house exterior. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This isde of the house has a green lawn, a staircase and a concrete walkway that goes under the stairs to the other sections of the house. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is the back of the house showcasing the living room area as seen from the vantage of the grass lawn beside the swimming pool. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This view of the back of the house shows more of the grass lawn beside pool and the shrubs bringing color to the side of the house on the far side. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- On the side of the large pool is a large grass lawn that is perfect for house parties with a wall on the side. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
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- This is a look at the swimming pool from the vantage of the house. You can see here that it has a pool house on the far side adorned with lush landscaping of trees and shrubs. Image courtesy of Toptenrealestatedeals.com.
All photos are used with permission from TopTenRealEstateDeals.com
Edgar J. Kaufmann made architectural history twice. First, when he hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design his home, Fallingwater, in Pennsylvania in 1935 and again in 1946 when he commissioned Richard Neutra to create his famed Desert House in Palm Springs. After undergoing a five-year restoration by Marmol Radziner, the Desert House is on the market at $25 million.
Kaufmann, the owner of Kaufmann’s department store in Pittsburgh, which later became Macy’s, was a patron of the arts in the Steel City and contributed heavily toward their advancement. A prominent leader in the retail world, Kaufmann took over the family business at age 28 and quickly tripled the flagship store’s sales, eventually expanding the number of stores to 59 across five Midwestern states.
Kaufmann led the good life of great wealth which allowed him to give back to his city by making large financial contributions to develop its cultural offerings including opera, building the city’s Civic Center, and supporting local artists by commissioning their work.
After Kaufmann died in 1955, the home went through a series of owners including singer Barry Manilow and Gene Klein who was one of California’s most successful used-car dealers and owner of the San Diego Chargers. After some questionable renovations and years of neglect, the home was purchased in 1992 by an architectural historian and her husband who spent years restoring the home to its original design.
Measuring 3,162 square feet with the San Jacinto Mountains as its background, the Desert House was one of Palm Springs’ earliest modern-style homes that have now grown to the largest collection in the United States including John Lautner’s Hope Residence for Bob and Dolores Hope and his Elrod House as seen in the James Bond flick Diamonds Are Forever, Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms, the Elvis Presley honeymoon home, and the Dinah Shore Estate that is now owned by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Desert House has five bedrooms and six full baths – a good size to accommodate family and friends who crave a vacation in the California sunshine to escape the snow and sleet of the northern cities. The house itself became a celebrity only a year after its completion when architectural- photographer Julius Schulman created a black-and-white photograph of the house, which gave it international attention and praise.
Over twenty years later in 1970, society-photographer Slim Aarons’ photo “Poolside Gossip” of two women talking by the home’s pool has become a classic as popular today as when it was taken. Constructed of steel, glass, and stone on an open floor plan, almost all Desert House rooms open to attractive outdoor scenery.
The living room has a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and the entertainment lounge has a bar and is also open to the outdoors, all in California style with vanishing thresholds between indoor and outdoor living space. In addition to a desert garden, the back opens to emerald green grass and plantings surrounding the large pool terrace with stunning mountain views, all sited on over two acres.
The Kaufmann Desert House, having undergone a five-year restoration by Marmol Radziner, is now for sale at $25 million. It is listed by Gerard Bisignano, a Partner at Vista Sotheby’s International Realty, Palos Verdes Estates.
Photo Credit: Daniel Solomon for Sotheby’s International Realty
Source: www.sothebysrealty.com