Must see: Sophisticated $68M California estate comes with its own exclusive fragrance
A modern and innovative architectural marvel in Los Angeles is for sale for $68 million — and it comes with it’s own branded scent.
The newly built (2023), custom estate at 1859 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles, California — known simply as 1859 — unfolds across 20,000 square feet of living space on a 1.6 acre lot. Rising up to three expansive stories, the home has nine bedrooms and 12 baths.
Los Angeles-based development firm Balakhani Estates built the home with architectural company Tag Front and renowned interior designer César Giraldo of César Giraldo Design.
Parisian perfume house Ex Nihilo collaborated with Giraldo to create “a custom olfactory experience” exclusively for 1859, according to Compass real estate firm. Bespoke Ex Nihilo products are found throughout the home, including curated candles, perfumed mists for the spa, custom diffusers and a body line for the primary bedroom and powder room. A digital app manages the products so fragrances can be personalized based on schedules or desired intensity. The buyer will receive an estimated $25,000 in 1859-branded products with the purchase of the property.
“After seven years of working on this project, I’ve fallen in love with every part of this property,” Shahram Sean Balakhani, CEO and founder of Balakhani Estates, said in a statement. “I imagined a utopian architecture that in some ways felt effortless and minimalist, but also left room for a lot of artistic expression. When someone walked into the home, I wanted them to feel like they had no problems, no difficulties, and they could escape into a living work of art.”
Balakhani’s company Monroe Investment Group LLC owns the residence, purchasing the site for $2.5 million in 2015, Property Shark records show.
“1859 exemplifies venerable beauty and an artful abundance of sophistication,” the property listing states.
The futuristic structure stands at the edge of steep canyon in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles with views extending to the ocean and Catalina Island.
The exterior is sleek and elegant with curves, as well as clean lines and geometric shapes. An green living wall, a manicured pathway and stunning water feature adorn the expansive entrance.
The designers of the home set out to create a luxury home like no other.
“When you’re looking at a luxury property, you don’t want it to have a cookie-cutter copy,” said listing agent Sally Forster Jones of Compass.. “There’s nothing like 1859 Bel Air on the market today.”
The project presented a challenge for the designers and builders in making 1859 stand out from other “cookie-cutter” upper-end residences.
“When the opportunity was first presented to me, there was something that spoke to me deeply,” Giraldo said in a news release. “It was an opportunity that would challenge my very personal approach to design. Our mission is to profoundly tap into our clients’ passions and lifestyles and align our aesthetic; this very personal approach is what I believe creates magic. We approached 1859 Bel Air with a vital goal in mind: bring comfort, elegance and luxury design in a very personal way. I believe that residences of this kind of magnitude can easily become sterile in their design; however, we came loaded with very personal tools to ensure that did not happen. We teamed up with a meticulously curated list of luxury brands, international artists, and the results are evidenced in the stories the spaces tell. It is a space that speaks of a worldly, sophisticated person who inhabits a home as a king does his castle, with pride.”
A grand, masterpiece spiral staircase constructed of aluminum and steel connects the upper two stories. The structure appears to be suspended. A custom chandelier from Giraldo’s 2023 residential collection shines directly through the spiral design and its lights appear to drip like rain drops down to the property’s second level.
A two-sided fireplace separates wide open living spaces. Out on the terrace is an infinity pool and hot tub.
The lower level is all about leisure and wellness by design. There is a playroom, theater, gym with signature TechnoGym equipment and a 1,152-bottle wine lounge. A spa with sauna, soaking tub and overhead rain are set against a curated image of the Benagil Cave, an intimate beach in Portugal, that makes the space appear to be part of that faraway locale.
Giraldo curated a collection of international artists for 1859, including a painting by Parisian artist Pierre Bonnefille which adorns the living space and a vivid piece of Colombian art called “Dancing Flower” that sits above the breakfast nook.
The home can be purchased fully-furnished.
Sally Forster Jones shares the listing with Levik Stephan, Anita Stephan and Tomer Fridman of Compass, and Chantel Mehrabanian of Sotheby’s International Realty.
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Must see: Sophisticated $68M California estate comes with its own exclusive fragrance."
