There's inevitably a lot to read into with an architect's own home. With some, it's clear that the designer in question took the opportunity to make something unchecked by client requests and ran with it, creating a home that's even more idiosyncratic than their more off-beat projects. Others still are surprisingly restrained when designing for themselves, which inevitably begs the question of whether or not they would actually enjoy living in one of their works. Below, tour a handful of currently for-sale homes by greater and lesser-known architects, and gauge whether these designers are better off with or without the usual constraints.
↑ Back in April, this six-bedroom, single-story, 8,900-square-foot hunk of primo lakefront chateaux that used to be Palm Beach society architect Clarence Mack's own home emerged victorious in a real estate deathmatch against a larger mega-manse he designed. Listed in early 2012 for $14.25M, this sunshiney yellow, circa-1959 embodiment of Mack's version of midcentury neoclassicism now seeks $12.3M for what the listing calls a "superlative" sense of scale and detailing. There's also 118 feet of lake frontage, an infinity pool, and some highly picturesque gardens.
↑ Architect Brad Lynch of Brininstool + Lynch designed this circa-2008 Chicago contemporary, which the listing describes as an example of "extraordinarily disciplined contemporary architecture in red brick," only to put it up for sale at $2.6M in 2010. The 4,300-square-foot four-bedroom reappeared a few weeks ago asking a not-so diminished $2.5M, after which one Curbed Chicago commenter was convinced that for this combo of price and neighborhood, "you should at least have a double lot."
↑ Architect Micheline Papadakou-Young has lived in this Northern Virginia home of her own design since 1985, in which time it has also nabbed a "Metropolitan DC Area Masonry Design Award." The timber-clad six-bedroom arrived on the market at $3M in early 2013, and has since dipped down to $2.45M before climbing back to $2.9M. Unique touches include an airy solarium, a large brick fireplace, and a set of loopy "bannisters" that scale the stairs in Slinky-like fashion.
↑ Fantastically named architect Ragnar Qvale designed Las Vegas' original Sahara Hotel, Hughes Laboratories in Malibu, and the rebuilt Wilshire Country Club, and according to Curbed LA, was a champion skier and a one-time Hollywood contract player besides. He also had this 4,000-square-foot Outpost Estates residence built for himself in 1958. On offer for a slightly reduced $6.595M, it's got a massive marble fireplace, many a glass wall, a private pool, a separate guest house, and a tennis court.
↑ Solon Spencer Beman, the architect of Chicago's historic Pullman district, used to hang his hat at this 122-year-old, 3,800-square-foot Kenwood home, which is back on that market asking $950K after listing for $1.1M in October of 2012. The listing text makes much ado about "untouched vintage details" like original woodwork, period light fixtures, leaded glass, and a pair of fireplaces, although it looks as if part of the first floor was converted into a garage at a later date.
↑ Hawaii architect Hamlet Charles "Lucky" Bennett went full-on island-style rustic with his Holualoa residence, which is back after a small price cut asking $788K.
↑ Back with a $4.4M ask after a short stint on the market at $6.2M in 2012, David S. Slovic's 6000-square-foot Latimore House has inspired some pretty strong reactions in Philadelphia, both for its jagged, bunker-like presence and its erstwhile status as the most expensive home in the city. But to all the haters, including the Curbed Philly commenters who have called his self-designed abode things like a "hipper-than-thou, pretentious-as-sin barn," Slovic had this to say: "It means that architecture is not yet dead even if I did not build a breakfast nook."
↑ Last sold in 2008 for $815K, the Park Ridge, Ill., four-bedroom that Frank Louis Glick designed for himself in the early '50s is back on the market asking $789K. The kitchen has been redone recently, but the home still has plenty of the more idiosyncratic features Glick saw fit to put in, including a round master bedroom with closet doors made from accordion-style room dividers. · Two Palm Beach Stunners Duke it Out in the Deathcage [Curbed National]
· Own McLean Architect's Award Winning $2.9M Home [Curbed DC]
· Architect Brad Lynch Relists Uber-Modern North Center Home [Curbed Chicago]
· Buy Fascinating Architect Ragnar Qvale's Own Mid-Century Modern in the Hollywood Hills [Curbed LA]
· Own The Home Of The Architect That Designed Pullman [Curbed Chicago]
· Explore Philly's 'Most Hated House,' Now Asking $4.4M [Curbed National]
· Architect Lucky Bennett's Personal Home Back on the Market [Hawaii Life]
· Former Home of Prolific Hamptons Architect Now for Rent [Curbed National]
· Former Residence of Frank Louis Glick for Sale in Park Ridge [Modern Illinois]
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