‘Idol’ franchise creator and prominent music manager Simon Fuller hasn’t yet found a buyer for the Bel-Air villa he’s owned with his wife, Natalie Swanston, since 2014. The couple paid $24 million for the estate, and first listed it in October of last year for $37.5 million. They relisted in January for $35 million; a third re-list with attendant reduction leaves the price at $32.5 million on the cusp of winter.
The estate begins with a gated entrance and a cobblestone drive, with wooded grounds a pleasing preamble to the rambling two-story villa. A whitewashed brick exterior, a turret, and a second-floor terrace are details that leap out at the eye from the gravel motor court.
Renovations conducted to the interiors of the 1927-built house have left it heavily and cohesively modified. The overall feel is contemporary, with dark narrow plank and pale grey setting up a dramatically curved floating staircase with wrought iron balustrades.
In this particular house, the turret does not contain the staircase, however; on each floor, a circular reading room or creative workspace occupies the architectural flourish. Each space contains a fireplace, a single window, and a unique execution.
Other details of the 7-bedroom, 7-bath home include panoramic wall covering, a kitchen with a hypnosis-inducting Escheresque grayscale-pattern tile floor, a salon with wet bar with green walls and green marble floors, and a lavish master suite.
Fuller’s net worth is north of $500 million.