Sting has offered his home in the Malibu Colony for rent. The pop star is asking a rather considerable monthly for the eccentric adobe-look abode: $200K. Sting and his wife Trudie Styler purchased the home from Larry Hagman. The couple paid about $7 million for it, in 1997; Hagman bought it for $115K in the mid 1960’s.
The house is an interesting and unusual blend of Spanish Colonial and Contemporary, although the rigid geometric design elements of those two structural styles complement each other. Walls are stucco, and the exterior is painted for the appearance of adobe; vigas enhance the Colonial look, while windows and balconies are high modern.
Cultural influences are everywhere in the home. It’s a place of surprises, and it’s no wonder Sting, a lover of straight-ahead jazz playing and improvising, would find it appealing. The exterior sconces are evocative of Native American motifs, there is an ornamental window in a Moroccan design, and two of the fireplace mantlepieces offer homage to the Kremlin. Other fireplaces are kiva-style, and one is surrounded in molded bronze.
Mainly, though, it’s Spanish-influenced, and very warm: brick floors, soft yellow stucco interior walls, and raw wood ceilings. The interior of the home often steers clear of hard angles; soft arches and curves fill the house, and give it a remarkable feeling of fluidity. In the dining room, a giant smuggler’s lantern chandelier extends from a pocket barrel ceiling, and skylights and ornamental portals liberate with unexpected views.
The property exterior’s focus is a fairly extraordinary lagoon-style pool with waterfall feature; it’s nicely done, and matches the faux-stone walls of the interior spa. And, of course, there is a beachfront deck for surveying the magical Colony mile.
Is it all worth $200K a month? Possibly. It’s certainly a fascinatingly eccentric place, in the best possible way—even for the Colony.
Sting’s latest studio project was last year’s ‘57th and 9th.’ He is currently on tour in support of the album.
