Having completed the clandestine and somewhat surprising, $15.5 million off-market sale of her 7,000-square-foot Martyn Lawrence Bullard-decorated Mediterranean-inspired villa in Santa Monica a few weeks ago — just months after it was featured in Architectural Digest, Melissa Rivers has finalized the $7.77 million off-market acquisition of a notably smaller home in Pacific Palisades.
Set on just under one-fifth of an acre along a wide, tree-lined street — her old spread sprawled across nearly an acre in rustic but ritzy Santa Monica Canyon — the comedy scion, television host, producer and reality TV personality’s new digs, a vaguely Cape Cod-style affair clad in classic white clapboard with presumably inoperable black window shutters, measure in at just under 4,900 square feet with five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.
Built from the ground up in 2015 — it replaced a humble two-bedroom Mellenthin-like California ranch-style bungalow — the two-story residence’s high-end finishes include wide-plank wood floors and lots of custom millwork, while its high-tech creature comforts include a whole-house audio system.
To one side of the center hall entry, formal living and dining rooms have been informally joined into a single space, and to the other a study is wrapped in waist high paneling painted a steely shade of grey. An en-suite guest or staff bedroom and a powder room round out the main floor. A high-end cook’s kitchen arranged around a huge island with white marble counter tops is fully exposed to an informal dining area and fireplace anchored living room. Glass sliders allow for an easy flow to the backyard.
Upstairs, each of the three guest bedrooms has a private bath, and the primary suite offers a fireplace, a spacious walk-in closet lined with custom built-ins and a decadent marble bathroom with elegant dove-grey walls that exude an Old Hollywood glamor.
Towering walls of hedges ensure skinny-dip style privacy from the neighboring homes in the not especially big but certainly well appointed backyard. At one end of the verdant, grassy space, a built-in grill and outdoor fireplace are encased in whitewashed brick and the small, aquamarine swimming pool includes an inset spa alongside a sunbathing terrace.
The sellers were represented by Marco Rufo at The Agency; Rivers was handled by Laura Brau of Compass.
This isn’t the first time the 53-year-old showbiz veteran has owned a multimillion-dollar home in Pacific Palisades. Prior to moving to Santa Monica, she spent nearly 25 years living in rambling Pacific Palisades home she sometimes shared with her legendary mother, late comedian Joan Rivers. Purchased in early 1998 for $2.35 million, and a 4.5-mile drive from her new house, the almost 6,000-square-foot home was sold in 2018 for a tetch more than $5.2 million.