Mister Martin, a skilled banjo player and pianist, a semi-retired actor with four dozen films under his belt, a screenwriter, occasional playwright and the author of a slew of books, purchased the two parcels that comprise the estate’s 5.86 rolling acres and the arrestingly unconventional Roland Coate Jr.-designed residence that crowns its most prominent hilltop in early 1995 for an unknown amount.

A gated drive makes a sweeping, serpentine path under dense canopies of mature specimen trees up to a pancake flat blacktopped motor court that isn’t quite but might as well be the roof of the muscular and decidedly bunker-like residence. Current listing details and other online resources show the partially subterranean dwelling was built entirely — we’re talking floors, walls and ceilings — of poured concrete in 1974, with four generously proportioned bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms in the 7,377-square-foot main house plus two more bedrooms and a bathroom in an also bunker-like detached guesthouse.

Exposed and unadorned poured concrete walls, ceilings, pillars and pony walls in the ample living and dining rooms are slightly if monochromatically softened with concrete-colored wall-to-wall carpeting, while both public and private spaces are enlivened with puffy, multicolored sofas, chairs and poufs, elevated by a collection of impressive artworks, provided a soupçon of earthiness with natural wood furnishings and, ultimately, relieved of some of the industrial intensity by cinematic expanses of glass panels and steel-framed French doors that provide both intimate views of the property and magnanimous sunset vistas that sweep over the Pacific all the way to the all-but-unspoiled Channel Islands.

Red brick terraces add a shock of color under foot, and step down the hillside to a partially shaded lounging terrace that forms a peninsula in the bullet-shaped swimming pool that’s wonderfully flush with the simple, grassy landscape that rings it but does not, this property gossip is pleased to report, flood the car with the unnecessary melodramatics of an infinity edge. Much of the property remains ruggedly wooded and there’s a detached three-car garage attached to the backside of the guesthouse.

Like many wealthy and successful entertainment industry mandarins, the Emmy-, Grammy- and (honorary) Oscar-winning Mister Martin, the 69-year-old father of a toddler and one of Tinseltown’s top collectors of contemporary artworks, maintains an impressive portfolio of private residences. In addition to a humbly scaled if not exactly cheap one bedroom and one bathroom pied-à-terre in a distinguished building just off New York City’s Central Park West that he picked up in April 2008 for $885,000, Mister Martin also and owns Villa Au Soleil, a hilltop compound with panoramic sea views on the global glitterati-approved French West Indies island of St. Barts. Mister Martin has had his island getaway on and off the sales and rental markets for years and — as it turns out — is currently listed for sale at about $8.9 million and is also available to rent by the week at rates between $16,000 and $28,000. Back on the West Coast, Mister Martin owns a two-residence compound on a barely there cul-de-sac deep in the mountains above Beverly Hills. He acquired the first of the two properties, a 0.68 spread with a 7,000-square-foot-plus house, in early 1995 for $3,175,000 from Corbin Bernsen and Amanda Pays, and he picked up the neighboring 1.02-acre property in the fall of 1997 for an undisclosed amount.

A few words about the architects of this home: M.N. Ahari, architected the recent renovation, interior designer Fernando Santangelo, (the genius behind one of Hollywood’s havens for the rich-and-famous, the Chateau Marmont), transformed this historic townhouse from an all-white Zen oasis into a brooding bachelor pad for his friend James Oakley, a filmmaker. Oakley, whose stepfather owns the Cleveland Browns, bought the home in 2012 for $5.8 million, but after the extensive renovation he’s now looking to sell the residence for $12.5 million.

Though its presence on Bedford Street dates back to 1836, the interior of this Greek Revival-style townhouse has come a long way from its 19th century roots. According to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who featured the home on their 2014 house tour, the structure was originally two-and-a-half stories high, first owned by Charles Oakley (interestingly of no relation to James), a prolific developer in 1820s Greenwich Village. In the 1920s, the top floor was added as an artist’s studio, and this lounge is what James now considers “the best room in the house.”

The parlor level’s reception gallery welcomes you with a stunning mezzanine featuring Olive Elm Burl veneer walls, Venetian Terrazzo floors, and a nearly invisible glass half-wall that overlooks the 300-plus-square-foot great room on the garden floor, which draws you in with an absolutely magnificent two-story wall of glass highlighting the lush gardens and flooding the interior with an abundance of natural light. This double-height space was a 1989 addition.

The Garden Floor, with soaring 18’ ceilings is perfect for entertaining. Opulently appointed dining and living spaces offer details such as a towering soapstone fireplace, remote-controlled floor to ceiling drapery, and Bardiglio Nuvolato marble radiant-heated floors. The open chef’s kitchen features Crystal Stratus marble countertops, and professional-grade stainless steel appliances. The dining area offers a stunning, built-in Antique Mahogany Armoire converted to a custom built-in dry bar with ice machine.

The open chef’s kitchen features marble countertops and professional-grade stainless steel appliances, and the dining area offers a stunning, built-in antique mahogany armoire converted to a custom built-in dry bar with ice machine. Though both can seem a tad claustrophobic when compared to the adjacent great room, they take full advantage of the view afforded by their luxurious neighbor and provide an elegant venue for entertaining guests in style.

Speaking of entertaining, the home’s fully finished basement is outfitted with a state-of-the-art home theater and ample wine storage for the devoted wine collector. The colorful fabric walls and recessed lighting beautifully conceal the fact that you’ve entered the home’s lowest level.

When you’re ready to call it a day, the two pin-drop quiet bedrooms await on the residence’s third floor. The inviting master suite overlooks the sunlit southern gardens and offers a bath with Luce de Luna Quartzite slab marble and Barber Wilson custom hardware and the guest suite extends to an oversized spa-like bath retreat.

The Fourth floor presents a dramatic sky-lit atelier/studio with powder room and wet bar, easily convertible to a private master floor. An outdoor spiral staircase leads to the rooftop, which features a sitting area and spectacular views of the surrounding neighborhood.

There is a 29’ deep southern garden with mature cherry blossom tree, along with 2 additional outdoor retreats – each with irrigation and lighting systems in place, remote controlled awnings, and radiant heated floors in select locations.

The New York Times recently called this house the “Dark Knight.”

Oakley admits to the paper that he loves “those sort of noirish environments” and says “I hate white, I despise it.”

Domespace International designs and builds dome-shaped, eco-friendly homes. According to the company, the dome shape is designed to be more in harmony with nature, takes advantage of solar radiation, and is less susceptible to seismic and cyclonic forces than traditional, angular designs. On some models, the exterior of the home actually rotates, following the sun in winter to take advantage of its warming rays, and the shade in summer for cooling.

This house is in New Paltz, USA, some 90 miles from New York.

The house can also be rotated as the foundation is set on steel ball bearings on a circular rail. Rotations can be set between one to four inches every second to ensure during cold months more sun comes in and less during summers. (unfortunately, it cannot fly, however)

Did I mention it’s for sale? Take a look at it on Estately.

This triplex in leafy Etobicoke has remained with the same family since 1952. Originally a rental property, it belonged to the present homeowner’s father, a Toronto builder, who maintained it with such care that daughter Carol Carter says “it was always one of the nicest triplexes in the neighbourhood.”

Her father passed away a few years ago, prompting Ms. Carter to want to move into the house herself.

She would live upstairs, with her newly widowed mother occupying the main floor apartment. A brother would take the lower level.

“With dad gone, her own house was too much for her,” Ms. Carter says. “Having her live with us would give us peace of mind.”

Her husband, the architect Ron Carter, drew up some plans with the idea of renovating the original property to suit all their needs. His long-time real-estate agent Ronald Sturino took one look at them and said forget it: “Tear it down!”

Mr. Carter allows that it was the better idea.

“Besides the changes we were going to make, a renovation was going to be more difficult and more expensive than what we had originally anticipated,” says Mr. Carter, whose company builds automotive showrooms across Canada, among other projects.

“It wasn’t going to achieve what we really wanted to do.”

With the blessings of his wife and in-laws, he razed the old property in 2002 before rebuilding a new triplex completely from scratch.

The project called for three distinct apartments, one each for the new occupants who were able to customize their own units according to their individual tastes and needs.

The result is a smorgasbord of a house offering a variety of architectural styles and interior designs under one roof.

The mother-in-law apartment, for example, is traditional and cozy with a formal dining room, accent pillars, frosted-glass windows, an antique fireplace in the living room and a three-piece, white Carrera marble bathroom. The two-bedroom suite has a master with a walk-out to backyard patio, where an old maple provides ample shade in the summer months.

In sharp contrast is son Michael Natan Infuso’s apartment on the lower level, a study in Zen minimalism. This two-bedroom Asian-inspired retreat features an open-concept kitchen with white bulkhead cabinetry, extra-density matte-black granite counters and stainless-steel appliances. The master bedroom has a custom-made Japanese shoji screen concealing a built-in clothes closet and an integrated sound system.

The Carters’ own suite on the upper level is the most ambitious – if not spectacular – of the three.

Inspired by the loft-style apartments of New York and featuring exposed duct work, raw brick, and a chic white-and-black decor, the apartment is spread over two storeys and is hung with original art work and more chandeliers than a boutique hotel.

At 2,800 square feet, it is also double the size of each of the other units. A vaulted ceiling that reaches as high as 18 feet at the peak and a lack of doors and walls creates a feeling of spaciousness as well as grandeur.

“The volume of space makes it feel luxurious,” Mr. Carter says.

The Lime Works, on the outskirts of Faversham, is a conversion of two water towers, which have been made into an art deco-inspired contemporary home. The building, which is grade II-listed, was built in the early 1930s and was a functioning water softening plant until 1942. The current owners acquired the property in 2005, converting it into the house you see now.

According to the agent, the owners have ‘sympathetically converted, restored and refurbished the building’, with the emphasis on ‘attention to detail and specification’. There’s no denying that the end product is a design you can’t ignore.

Plenty of space and plenty of luxury too. The accommodation is arranged over four floors, with the ground floor offering floor to ceiling windows for plenty of light, while a series of spiral staircases lead to the leisure facilities on the first floor and the bedrooms (six in total) and bathrooms (six of those) on the second floor. The master bedroom suite occupies the entire fourth floor while two roof terraces, one of which has a heated pool, offer plenty of entertaining opportunities.

Outside space (beyond the electric wrought iron gates and gravel driveway) is a large parking area, double underground garage, lawns and eight acres of grounds. There’s also a large storage area at the side of the house.

As for the luxury, pool and design aside, the house also has a dining room with with triple height void, hand crafted concrete beds and baths, gym suite, including sauna and plunge pool, an integral cinema room and motion sensor lighting. Wow.

Works are apparently ‘still ongoing at the property’ with the purpose of bringing the house to 90% completion which will allow the buyer to design and specify the final 10% by way of arrangement with the current construction company or with the buyer appointing their own designer and contractors. In short, you can do your own finish.

Hope that last bit of work is included in the price, we expect it is, especially with an asking price of £3,750,000.

It’s currently for sale, you can find it at the Savills website.

Perched high in the exclusive Southridge community, with panoramic views of the Coachella Valley, including the city of Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountains, the 23,366-square-foot home was designed in 1973 by the California Modernist architect John Lautner. It was built to resemble a volcano, with three visorlike arches and an undulating concrete roof, a hole at its center opening a courtyard to the sky. The roofline has been described as one of the most distinctive works of architecture in the Coachella Valley. The house has also been likened to a giant mushroom. Its original wood frame burned down during construction, in a fire sparked by a welder. Work was finally completed in 1980.

Schubert’s “garage” is breathtaking. Beautiful. Exquisite. But where are the tools, the work benches, the girlie calendars? Schubert concedes that it isn’t a typical, oil-on-the-floor garage, and he’s comfortable with that. “I wanted to create a backdrop for the car as a piece of art,” he says.

“I like very pure, minimalistic, empty space,” the German-born Schubert says. Think polished concrete, lots of glass and halogen lighting. “I like to be in a space where things line up and nothing stands out.”

It’s not just a Ferrari though: Schubert used to have a Maserati in there too, if only for a few photo shots.

One wall is covered in Homasote, a special type of recycled paper-fiber board, with a single-tier bookshelf built in. Two walls are floor-to-ceiling glass with retractable exterior shades to cut down on the afternoon sunlight. Overhead, the central skylight is artfully bisected with an aluminum enclosure for halogen lights.

To avoid exhaust fumes when the car is started, Schubert built a hydraulic ramp into the floor. The ramp tilts up about six inches at the front, enabling the car to roll back across the bridge and into the street before it’s started.

Further proof that the automobile role as machine has been abandoned in favor of its status as objet d’art: There are no wrenches, screwdrivers or battery boosters lying around – and Schubert will need them if the Ferrari remains true to form. Such a garage is consistent with the fact that modern cars are largely inaccessible to the tinkering, shade-tree mechanic. Most people never open the hoods of their cars. Instead, this garage has a lovely modular couch, two Dodo recliners by Toshiyuki Kita, a metal and stone coffee table and a flat-screen TV on tracks that can traverse the length of the room. “People in L.A. care so much about their cars and then the cars wind up stuck out in garages,” says Schubert, whose garage truly brings the car into the living space.

There has always been good reason to separate cars from living space. Cars are kind of stinky and oily. In modern cars, the passive reeking of gas and oil has largely been overcome by strict clean-air requirements that limit out-gassing. Soon, emission-free electric cars will “really open up the design of houses,” says Schubert, so that people will be able to drive directly into the home. It would make unloading groceries easier. Schubert looks forward owning an electric car, and his garage is pre-wired for a high-capacity charger and has 49 solar panels on the roof. But the electric car will have to sleep elsewhere. The Ferrari, he says, “has found its permanent home.”

Architect designed and built- this steel structure is tucked into a group of mature hardwood trees. High ceilings and big, clean spaces with tons of natural light.

Modern, radical, custom built lofts- way up in the trees-tall ceilings and big open floor plans make it a huge hotel room or as event space for small gatherings, meetings, retreats.

Clean, bright and beautiful, this building is made of steel, wood, glass and plaster- with no unhealthy adhesives or off gassing materials- for healthier air quality and to prevent mold growth.

Large windows, and giant doors open out onto a 200sq-foot deck surrounded by treetops. The huge balcony off the kitchen has two grilles- gas and charcoal- built into the guardrail.

The stainless kitchen is minimal- a gas cook top, a small oven, a small sink and a mini-fridge and toaster.

Do you like it? You can rent it at Airbnb, where I’ve found it.

This renovation looks amazing. The neutral palette, the wood and the bricks create a beautiful and modern place, definitely a great place to live.

The house has had a series of renovations over the past century; the original Edwardian home was converted into apartments in the 1930s and then a substantial family home in the 1980’s. The brief was to restore the Art Deco facade, retain the existing footprint and add a third level.

The house is located directly opposite the beach in Middle Park and is constantly filled with beautiful light. Morning sun strikes the garden aspect, and at the end of the day the sun sets across the bay.

The planning has been carefully considered to create a series of distinct rooms, rather than an open plan. Joinery is placed to create spaces, but still allow views to flow from room to room and then to the horizon.

Materials have been selected to provide understated tones within a neutral palette. The neutral colour palette supports the play of light at different times of day. The overall feeling is extremely soft and one feels visually and emotionally connected at all times to the expansive sea, sky and garden views. At the same time the house has a feeling of intimacy & warmth, perfect for family living.

The client’s original intention was to demolish the existing house and build a completely new structure. After living in the house for a year, the architects thought the existing building worked well with the views and light and had a distinct ‘personality’. In short, it would be a shame to demolish a house which had stood for 100 years.

Trades that existed 100 years ago, don’t exist anymore, or are considered too expensive. The architects therefore chose to restore the existing building and protect the craftsmanship of the Art Deco period.  So, the most substantial decision regarding sustainability was to work with the existing fabric of the house.

Once this decision was made, materials and servicing were all designed around principles of sustainability, including a smart managed hydronic heating system, double glazed windows, and positively shaded windows with curtains and screens.

The building uses only natural materials such as stone, and stained (not painted) timber, windows are either steel or timber, and not aluminium. Additional ESD attributes include solar hot water booted system, solar pool heating and rainwater harvesting for drip feed garden irrigation systems.

 Photographs  © Derek Swalwell