It’s not the house at Tara, but it is Georgian.
The one-time home of David O. Selznick has come up for sale. The home is offered at $19.9 million.
Selznick had the house built in the early 1930’s. The original estate measured about thirty acres, but through the decades the property has been trimmed to a compact, three-quarter acre lot.
Presently, the home is quite formal, inside and out. A brick and wrought-iron gated entry leads to a slab-granite motor court, and the home’s largely brick façade is a grand, vine-covered statement.
The interior—measuring about 12,500 square feet—begins with a modest foyer: soft yellow toning, staircase with what appears to be a nickel balustrade and handrail, mid-toned hardwood, and Georgian-inspired chandelier and sconces.
The period motif carries through the rest of the home, with inset bookcases, a few rounded ornamental arches, limestone or granite fireplace mantles and, in the living room and a guest bedroom, wood-paneling walls. A card room with a draped ceiling is particularly evocative of Enlightenment opulence, and occasional exposed-beam ceilings provide the somewhat rigid interior design sense with a bit of rustic balancing. But the centerpiece of the home is the solarium, with its intricate, hand-painted tile ceiling. There are seven bedrooms and nine baths throughout.
The house’s Hollywood pedigree does not end with Selznick; the home has also been owned by producer Ted Field, as well as Ed McMahon, who provided Johnny Carson with moral support during his thirty-season tenure on ‘The Tonight Show.’