Welcome to our weekly property digest, where we bring together the best homes for rent and sale across the world. This week, we have a bibliophile’s duplex in Paris and a sci-fi brutalist landmark by Ray Kappe in Santa Monica among our discoveries.
Duplex designed for bibliophiles in Paris, France
3 bedrooms; €2.39m via Espaces Atypiques
This Paris duplex was designed for bibliophiles with bookcases that stretch 21-ft-tall. The apartment sits inside a Napoleon III-style building off the Square du Temple and has a built-in library accessed via a spiralling metal staircase, which leads up from the home’s vast open-plan living space. Full-length windows bring in plenty of natural light, opening onto iron-detailed Juliet balconies overlooking the city. See more.
Richard Neutra’s freshly restored Lew House in Hollywood, US
4 bedrooms; 26k per month via The Agency
Glass walls and clean lines frame views over the Hollywood Hills at this classic midcentury home designed by Richard Neutra. Lew House stretches across three levels, dropping down and into the hillside. The house dates back to 1958 but has undergone a recent renovation which restored much of its original design. Rooms are decked out in dark wood floors and midcentury furniture to match the architecture. Take a look inside.
Barn conversion in Somerset, UK
4 bedrooms; £3.295m via The Modern House
Glass walls illuminate this epic barn conversion in Frome, Somerset, which offers 10,000 sq ft of living space. Soaring double-height ceilings and skylights amplify the feeling of volume across the countryside home, while polished concrete floors, painted brickwork and exposed timber set the tone for its rustic interiors. Get a closer look.
Ray Kappe’s sci-fi brutalist landmark Borghei-Cookston House in Santa Monica, US
3 bedrooms; $5.5m via Sotheby’s International Real Estate
SCI-Arc founder Ray Kappe put a futuristic twist on brutalism at this 1980s Modern home – set on a tree-covered hillside in California’s Santa Monica. Borghei-Cookston House was completed in 1984 and has an imposing, multi-levelled concrete form. Walls of windows and glass capture the closeness of mature trees and sky and create a feeling of living with nature. See inside.
Cantilevered ‘Headland House’ near Kiama, Australia
Sleeps 8; from $3,450 per night via Dovecote
Cantilevered ‘Headland House’ by Atelier Andy Carson perches high on the cliffs above Werri Beach on the NSW coast near Kiama. It has a central courtyard with a fire pit and heated natural mineral pool, and private access to the beach.
