VillaVersailles

Villa Versailles, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

My favorite houses in Malibu are the beach houses, that whether modern or more traditional, reflect a certain casual style. But up from the beach you can find a few beautiful homes that seem more Holmby Hills than Malibu. This estate, Villa Versailles is yet another entry into the growing category of homes that have been built and then put on the market by those whose wallets and eyes might have been bigger than their stomach for living on such a grand scale. Curbed reported back in April that this 10-bedroom home was built in 1992 by a builder/developer for the love of his life who quickly decided that Malibu's relative remoteness didn't suit her. The couple reportedly moved out after a single weekend. And so for over 15 years the home has been on and off the market. It's been used in many photo and video shoots, rented out for various purposes and generally been gawked at for a long while. The home is on 5.33-acre estate acres including multiple pools, the gardens, the horse stables, and the caretakers' residence. The home has around 16,000 square feet of space which is significant because Malibu has passed an ordinance restricting the size of homes to 11,172 sq ft for the main house on a five+ acre lot minimum. You couldn't built one this big yourself there anymore, thank goodness.

The home may be called Villa Versailles but the style is Villa Versace with the black marble bathroom, columns topped with gold-painted capitals, and plenty of white and marble everywhere. A house that is not lived in is like a car not driven, it develops a certain staleness. It could benefit from a good stager to warm it up a bit. The home is listed at $23.75 million which is a fair amount for a home that is not beachfront in the area.

Gallery: Villa Versailles