After transforming a 1960s Malibu ranch into a modern European-style farmhouse, a California couple is listing the property for $27.995 million.
Interior designer Vanessa Alexander and her husband Steve Alexander, a talent manager-turned-developer, bought the L-shaped house in the Bonsall Canyon neighborhood for $5.2 million in 2017 and extensively renovated it.Set on about 1.4 acres with a pool and hot tub, the five-bedroom house now measures about 7,050 square feet, Steve said. The Alexanders moved into the house in 2020 with their three sons.
Photos by Douglas Friedman
Photos by Douglas Friedman
The Alexanders have bought and sold two previous houses in Malibu, said Vanessa, founder of Los Angeles-based Alexander Design. They had friends who previously rented this house, she said, so they were familiar with its quirks, including long eaves that created dark shadows outside and an odd layout, with the back of a staircase facing the front door. “It had some good bones, but it had been bastardized over the years with bad finishes,” she said.
The Alexanders took the house down to the studs, cutting back the eaves and raising the ceiling height. The house is now clad in Shou Sugi Ban wood, with stone and wood flooring, brass fixtures and plaster walls. There is bleached walnut cabinetry throughout the home, a juxtaposition to the dark exterior. They revamped the grounds, where they planted fruit trees and mature olive trees and built an outdoor kitchen as well as a fire pit, a sauna and a gym housed in a repurposed shipping container. “You don’t move out to Malibu so you can live inside,” Vanessa said.
Photos by Douglas Friedman
Photos by Douglas Friedman
Located within walking distance to Zuma Beach, where their sons like to surf, the house has mountain views, the Alexanders said.
The couple is now eager to take on another project. “Every five years we move to a new house,” said Steve, who recently launched the real-estate development firm Grade with listing agent Barry Watts of Carolwood Estates and developer Todd DeMann. “We’re junkies for the process.”
Malibu’s luxury market is strong, with more demand than supply, said Watts. Down the street from the Alexanders, a house that needs work recently sold for about $17.5 million in an off-market deal, he said. In May, the median sale price in Malibu was $3.1 million, up 45.7% year over year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Photos by Tyler Hogan
