John Lautner’s personal home sells in Silver Lake

A piece of architectural history just traded hands in Silver Lake. The modernist home that celebrated architect John Lautner designed and used as his personal residence has sold for $1.67 million.

Built in 1939, the hillside residence first hit the market in April and found a buyer about a week later, eventually closing for $80,000 over the original asking price.

The successful sale shows continued interest in the late architect’s work. Actor Ed Norton dropped $11.8 million on a Lautner-designed beach house in Malibu Colony in 2017, and earlier this year, Amanda Hearst, descendent of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, paid $5.9 million for a modernist home he built in Hollywood Hills West. In 2014, Lautner’s famous futuristic Silvertop residence sold for $8.55 million — or 14% over the asking price.

This one’s a bit on the smaller scale, spanning three stories with just over 1,200 square feet. Lautner designed the house fresh off of working with Frank Lloyd Wright and lived there once it was done, which is partly why it landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

The house has maintained its striking style in the decades since, showcasing a design palette of yellow stucco and redwood. Inside, sloped ceilings provide natural ventilation over the split-level living spaces.

Shades of yellow, pink and powder blue provide bursts of color in the common spaces. Built-in seating adjoins a brick fireplace in the living room, which enjoys sweeping treetop views through a wall of picture windows.

Elsewhere are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as a kitchen and dining area that expand to a landscaped patio.

Ilana Gafni of Crosby Doe Associates held the listing. Douglas Stockley of eXp Realty of California represented the buyer.

Real estate records show it’s the first time the property has traded hands since 1984, when it sold for $175,000.