Noteworthy new listings….
In 2002, the owners of the Santa Barbara Pistachio Company commissioned architect Jeff Shelton to build a residence on the vacant lot behind their commercial building at 407 State Street. The result, 12 W. Gutierrez Street ($5.395 million), was subsequently christened the Pistachio House. The current owners, who paid $4.888 million in March 2022, desheltonized the place a bit, particularly in the bathrooms, but it’s still very much recognizable as one of his works. (Charming details abound.) There’s one bedroom on the ground floor; two en suite bedrooms above it; and a living room, dining area, and kitchen on top, all connected by two staircases—one indoor, one outdoor—and an elevator. (Oh, for a powder room on that top floor.) None of the rooms are huge, but outdoor areas are everywhere, including, most appealingly, a courtyard with a majestic palm. The commercial units are part of the package, but unconnected to the house; 407 State Street is home to tattoo artists on the ground floor and a piercing studio above.
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One look at the Garbo facade of 1988 Inverness Lane ($9.995 million) and you know something interesting must be inside. Sure enough, the 1973 three-bedroom is built around a glamorous courtyard pool, with floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere. The sellers paid $5.85 million in August 2023 and gave the Palm Springs bones a Miami Beach makeover—white on white on white, the better to serve as a backdrop for art. The house is striking and undeniably fabulous, but there’s not a ton of space (2,634 square feet) or yard (it bears repeating that Birnam Wood acreage numbers tend to include golf course). I’d screen the side facing golfers—not necessarily with a thick hedge of pittosporum, but maybe some olives. Giving the impression that you care about privacy can be enough to discourage people from peering in. P.S. I don’t know that I’ve seen a Baja shelf in a hot tub before.
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