neutra nest of jeffrey levy hinte

The Neutra Nest of Jeffrey Levy-Hinte

SELLER: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte

LOCATION: 126 Mabery Road, Santa Monica, CA

PRICE: $6,995,000

SIZE: 2,959 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

DESCRIPTION: Architect Richard Neutra's Sten-Frenk Residence of 1934.

Los Angles Historic Cultural Monument #647. International Style

masterpiece on double lot in Santa Monica Canyon with ocean views.

Incredible restoration of this world-class design, including sublime

bright public rooms and master with sitting room and 2 other bedrooms.

Gorgeous lawns and large pool.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Ooo-wee children, Your Mama loves us some Neutra.

One look at the photographs and Your Mama is ready to clean out the

Dr. Cooter's bank accounts, pack our bags, and move right into this

clean lined house designed by famed California architect Richard

Neutra.

Now all you trendy design queens shut your bitchy little traps. Your

Mama knows the design world has moved past the trend for both

International and mid-century modern styles and is happily wallowing

around in the glam Hollywood Regency style, but that does not mean we

can't still appreciate and covet a Neutra.

Built in 1934 for actress Anna Sten, the Sten-Frenk house is currently

owned by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and his wife Jeanne. Now children, we

understand you may not recognize this man's name, so Your Mama is

going to give you the 411. If you live anywhere near Los Angeles you

already know Mr. Levy-Hinte is one of the more successful independent

film producers working in Hollywood. A very short list of some of the

films he has produced include the 2004 adaptation of Scott Heim's

novel Mysterious Skin and 2003's Thirteen, that movie with Holly

Hunter about that fucked up teenage girl who Your Mama thinks needed

the stupid slapped out of her.

But it's Lisa Cholodenko (who Your Mama happens to be friendly with)

and her film Laurel Canyon that brought Levy-Hinte to the Sten-Frank

house. See babies, that film was largely shot on location at this

house. Not long after the filming wrapped, Levy-Hinte purchased the

property for around $3,00,000 and soon embarked on what has been

reported to be a $4,500,000 re-build and restoration headed by the

glittering architectural firm Marmol and Radziner.

The property, graced by ocean breezes and slivers of ocean views,

consists of two lots at the mouth of Santa Monica canyon that are so

close to the ocean you can hear the waves crashing from the bedroom

windows...that is if there's not too much traffic on the Pacific Coast

Highway.

The sensitive re-do and the sublime interiors have Your Mama's mind

working overtime trying to imagine our dachshund bitches Linda and

Beverly laid up in front of that fireplace and stretched out on the

lawn in the sunshine. There's little Your Mama likes more than a row

of bare windows, so all the children know we are most appreciative of

the ribbon windows and their absence of window treatments makes us

tingle inside.

The house was first put up for sale for in early 2006 for $8,000,000

and the price has steadily been whittled to it's current asking price

of $6,995,000.

If you ask Your mama, and of course no one did, the location of this

property at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon can not be beat. But it

seems buyers are turned off by the 10 story apartment building (101

Ocean Avenue) that towers over the property and keeps the house and

most of the yard, including the pool, shaded until after 12 noon. Even

still Your Mama is quite surprised this ridiculously cool and sexy

house has had a difficult time finding a buyer, particularly in the