Welcome to House Porn Thurs, a joint effort between Curbed National and AOL Real Estate to provide distraction from the slog of an almost-finished work week with some lavish listings and over-the-top interiors. Have a suggestion for a worthy contender? Tweet #housepornthurs to @Curbed.
While sex sells, sometimes celebrity doesn't: please re-meet Villa Contenta, the Malibu estate that once starred as Queen Sophie's mansion in HBO's blood-sucking extravaganza True Blood.
The property was listed for sale in Oct. 2010 for a staggering $75M—at the time, it ranked easily as one of the country's, if not the world's, priciest listings. A couple of PriceChops and some delistings and relistings later, and now Villa Contenta's asking something a tad bit more reasonable: $54M. And that's for the whole shebang: the seller, real estate honcho Richard Weintraub, has divided the property into two parcels. The one with the 12,000-square-foot main house? It's asking $23.8M.
Lavish details include a limestone entryway, a hand-laid pietra dura mosaic, and a "museum-quality carved mirror by Thomas Chippendale, which reflects a 2,500-year-old lion’s head sculpture, found at the base of Mount Vesuvius." Cool, but unforch that $23.8M won't buy the Villa's Contenta's true pièce de résistance, the Romanesque-style natatorium, which has Murano glass-tiled pool and seashells pretty much everywhere—millions of them, in fact, in the form of an above-door frieze, chandeliers, and more. Curbed's new favorite site, Fine Shell Art Blog, has close-ups. Maybe it's worth it after all to, uh, shell out the $54M after all?
What's AOL Real Estate up to this week? Do find out.
· True Blood Set For Sale at Blood-Curdling Price [Curbed National]
· La Villa Contenta In Malibu: Richard Weintraub's Massive Mansion Goes From Most Expensive In Malibu To A Mere $54 Million (PHOTOS) [Huffington Post]
· All House Porn Thurs posts [Curbed National]
· 28648 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, Calif. [Zillow]
· SeaShell ART on HBO's Hit Series "TRUE BLOOD" [Fine Shell Art Blog]
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