Five-time Emmy nominated producer Josh Donen — all for the acclaimed Netflix political drama “House of Cards,” hoisted his contemporary residence in a rustic-luxe, celeb-favored guard-gated enclave in Malibu, Calif., up for sale at $4.995 million. Donen, also a producer on the 2014 David Fincher silver screen thriller “Gone Girl,” hopes to almost quadruple his money on the property he’s owned since 1999 when it was acquired for $1.3 million. Built in the mid 1970s on a flat, .54-acre, street-to-street parcel on a pin drop quiet cul-de-sac in the guard-gated Serra Retreat, the two-story residence, represented by Cooper Mount at The Agency, adheres to a clean-lined mid-century modern vernacular with four en suite bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in 3,344-square-feet.
A discreet front door tucked under a shallow overhang opens to a short and slender entrance hall that steps down to an living room with beachy wall-to-wall jute carpeting, clerestory windows that bring in ambient southern sunlight and a raised hearth fireplace between built-in bookshelves that extend all the way to the high, exposed beam ceiling. A north-facing greenhouse-style wall of windows and glass sliders open the room to the backyard and, on the opposite side of the entrance hall, the dining room is partially open to the compact but expensively outfitted galley-style kitchen that is, in turn, open over a center island snack bar to a lounge area with two walls of floor-to-ceiling glass sliders that lead to a wrap around patio.
An organically minimalist switchback staircase with muscular wood treads and open risers divides the living and dining room and ascends to the upper level where a roomy den offers a sunny library nook under a sky light, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a glass door to a small balcony with over the hedgerow mountain views. All three guest bedrooms are en suite as is the master bedroom that overlooks the backyard and includes a small, built-in desk area.
A deep, trellis-shaded dining terrace with built-in barbecue area runs along the back of the house outside the dining room and kitchen steps down to a grassy yard with swimming pool and spa backed by a privacy ensuring 20-foot-plus-high hedge. There’s also a poolside lounge area underneath another trellis structure, an outdoor fireplace and, tucked around the side of the house where it’s largely out of sight, an unsightly sport court.
Secluded in the rolling foothills just north of the Malibu Pier, the Serra Retreat has long been attractive to privacy seeking and security conscious celebrities and a short list of the many entertainment industry heavy hitters who currently and previously owned homes and estates in the bucolic enclave include Dick van Dyke, James Cameron, Patrick Dempsey, David Charvet and Brooke Burke, Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer, Olivia Newton-John and, back when she was married to Kevin Federline, Britney Spears.
listing photos: The Agency
