Simon Helberg Price Chops L.A. Home and Butterfly Sanctuary

Hollywood couple Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne are so eager to shed their celeb-pedigreed home in L.A.’s star-packed Los Feliz neighborhood that they’ve chopped nearly a million dollars off the asking price.

Best known for his portrayal of aerospace engineer and astronaut Howard Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory,” a role that for a time made him one of the highest paid actors on television, Helberg and Towne, an actress and producer who happens to be the niece of legendary filmmaker Robert Towne, first listed the nearly three-quarter-acre spread nine months ago for “a speck under $9.9 million.” With no takers at that number, the asking price has been substantially readjusted and now stands at not quite $9 million.

Beyond the hairpin curve of a pin-drop-quiet cul-de-sac in one of the Los Feliz’s most coveted pockets and set behind gates on a sunny plateau above a leafy glade, the 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival-style home has a long history of showbiz owners including Vince Vaughn, Kate Bosworth, and film and TV writer/producer René Echevarria.

Acquired by Helberg and Towne not quite three years ago for $6.872 million, the 4,300-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath home, along with the one-bedroom/one-bathroom poolside guest house, has been restored and transformed by boutique owning local design duo Nickey Kehoe. While respecting the home’s historic vernacular, they streamlined the interior spaces and added a slew of modern luxuries and high-tech creature comforts such as custom-stained oak floorboards and custom tile work, a reverse osmosis water system, a four-zone heating and cooling system, and a comprehensive security system with seven cameras and invisible speakers.

A step-down living room with stucco fireplace and French doors to the backyard provides a gracious space for entertaining while the eat-in kitchen, with its bold yellow cabinets and top-end culinary equipment, flows into a series of more family-oriented spaces that include an informal dining area and lounge, a family room with wet bar, and a crafts room/home office that’s convertible to a bedroom.

Each of the three upstairs guest bedrooms is spacious with a private bath and no corners were cut or expenses spared in the second-floor primary suite. In addition to a skylight-topped walk-in closet, the main bathroom is a sybaritic retreat replete with hand-painted tiles, imported plumbing hardware, a steam shower outfitted with speakers and heated seats, and a Bluetooth-equipped infrared sauna.

Spanning three lots and conceived by Viola Gardens, the grounds include a thick carpet of well-irrigated lawn and a heated dining patio just off the kitchen that includes a built-in grill and complete outdoor kitchen. A mediation pavilion is tucked into a quiet corner and planted with fruit trees and wildflowers, the hillside behind the house is a certified Monarch butterfly sanctuary.

The property is available through Elisa Ritt, Anthony Stellini and Sherri Rogers of Compass.

Helberg and Towne upsized their residential circumstances last year when they plunked down $8.4 million for a 1.27-acre Pasadena estate anchored by 23-room Frederick Roehrig-designed English Tudor Revival mansion.