Los Angeles | $1.998 million
A midcentury modern boathouse-style home built in 1959, on 0.1 acres
This three-bedroom, three-bathroom house was designed by the architect Harry Gesner, one of 12 homes he built using tools and techniques borrowed from traditional Norwegian boatbuilding. All 12 are on small lots perched above Mulholland Drive, with sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills. This house was purchased in 2019 from the original owner, with much of Gesner’s original woodwork in good condition.
The Hollywood Bowl is five minutes away by car, and the Sunset Strip and Ventura Boulevard, in Studio City, are both 15 minutes away. Downtown Los Angeles is a 20-minute drive.
Size: 2,380 square feet
Price per square foot: $839
Indoors: From the street, this home’s front door opens to a short foyer with hardwood floors, which continue through the kitchen and into the open living and dining area. Here, the walls and ceilings are finished with wood paneling, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook hills and a door opens to a long balcony.
The kitchen has stainless steel countertops, a vintage mint-green gas range under a window and a retro-style Smeg refrigerator, also mint green.
From the entryway, stairs lead to the floor below the main level and the primary suite. Built-in bookshelves line one wall and another has windows facing a balcony. A cast-iron stove stands in one corner and a full bathroom is across the hall. Also across the hall is a study and a guest bedroom with a kitchenette and access to a bathroom with a walk-in shower.
There’s a den on lowest level of the house, with more built-in bookshelves, another balcony and another cast-iron stove. A bathroom on this level has a walk-in steam shower.
Outdoor space: All three levels have balconies that look out over the Hollywood Hills. There are two off-street parking spots, both at street level.
Taxes: $24,972 (estimated)
Contact: Ben Belack, The Agency, 424-233-0922
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Bodega Bay | $1.995 million
A one-story house built in 1955 and renovated in 2024, on 0.2 acres
This house, which has two bedrooms, an office, and three-and-a-half bathrooms, faces the Pacific Ocean, with water views from the deck and most of the interior. The entrance to Carmet Beach, a popular local fishing spot, is less than five minutes away on foot, and Schoolhouse Beach, where the sand is framed by large rocks, is less than five minutes away by car. The center of Bodega Bay, where restaurants and fish markets sit on the edge of the water, is 10 minutes away.
Driving inland to Santa Rosa takes around 45 minutes. San Francisco is less than two hours away, and Mendocino is a three-hour drive.
Size: 1,685 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,184
Indoors: The home’s front entrance is set behind a fenced yard, and the door opens to a bright foyer with hardwood floors and a powder room off one side.
Straight ahead is an updated kitchen with stainless appliances, including a Viking range with a gas cooktop. A center island with a wood countertop has space for several bar stools. Adjacent is the living room, where a fireplace is set into one wall. Behind the sitting area is space for a dining table, and sliding-glass doors that face the deck and the ocean beyond it.
A hallway extends from the foyer, with the primary suite at the far end. The bedroom, big enough for a king-size bed, has direct access to the deck and a fireplace framed by blue and white sodalite. The same stone lines the walls of the primary bathroom, which has a walk-in shower with a high-set window.
Next door, a second bedroom has ocean views and its own bathroom. Across the hall is the office, which could be used as additional guest room. The office also has an attached bathroom, this one with terrazzo walls and a deep soaking tub.
Outdoor space: The rear, ocean-facing deck is big enough for sitting and dining areas, with a fire table on one side and a built-in bench seat on the other. Attached to the house but entered from the yard is a recreation room, currently home to a sofa, a pool table, two washing machines and two dryers. There are three off-street parking spots.
Taxes: $24,936 (estimated)
Contact: Steve Hecht and John Chute, Artisan Sotheby’s International Realty, 707-481-8474
Palm Desert | $1,998,000
A contemporary house built in 2010, on 0.3 acres
This three-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house is in Stone Eagle, a gated community around four miles from the center of town. Hiking trails that wind through the Santa Rosa Mountains begin nearby, and a number of golf courses are within a 10-minute drive. Also 10 minutes away is the 1,800-acre Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. El Paseo, Palm Desert’s main drag, is also nearby.
La Quinta is a half-hour drive, as are Coachella and downtown Palm Springs. Los Angeles is a two-and-a-half hour drive.
Size: 2,873 square feet
Price per square foot: $695
Indoors: This house is set on an elevated lot, with palm trees and rock formations in the front yard.
Its door opens to a foyer with limestone floors that continue into the living room. High ceilings there are trimmed with wood beams, an electric fireplace is set into one wall and doors open to the back patio. The kitchen is off the living room, and has a stainless steel Sub-Zero refrigerator and a Wolf range with a gas cooktop. A breakfast nook with a wine fridge is nearby. Off the foyer are a powder room and a den with two built-in desks and an attached full bathroom.
A primary suite suitable for a king-size bed is on the first floor, also off the foyer. Its bathroom has limestone floors, a deep Japanese-style soaking tub and a walk-in shower. The room opens to a private patio overlooking the pool.
Upstairs are two large bedrooms with large closets, en suite bathrooms and windows that face distant mountains.
Outdoor space: Behind the house is a partially covered stone patio with space for dining and a grill. An in-ground pool and spa are enclosed by a rock wall topped with colorful flowers. Around the corner are two fire pits and more mature palm trees. The attached garage holds two cars.
Taxes: $24,972 (estimated); homeowners association fee: $5,520
Contact: Jimmy Wilson, George Penner Team, Compass, 323-578-6147; Palm Desert
Credit: Cameron Carothers
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