Sculptor Alma Allen’s Former Joshua Tree Hideaway Just Listed for $3 Million
American artist Alma Allen is known for his large-scale outdoor sculptures, and the low-slung house he built in collaboration with Los Angeles-based architect Sophie Smits on a rocky hilltop out in Joshua Tree, California, could be considered one of his most impressive works to date. The sprawling property that abuts the famed Joshua Tree National Park is now listed for sale on the open market for the very first time, asking a speck under $3 million.
Records show that the self-taught sculptor snapped up the 14-acre property back in 2005 and offloaded it in 2017 in an $875,000 off-market deal to architect David Davis of Rottet Studio and his husband Brad Wilson, CEO of the Ace Hotel Group. Since the tastemaking couple picked up the isolated desert retreat, they’ve put the place through a sensitive renovation that honors the artist’s original designs.
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The compound includes a funky, low-key trio of structures sprinkled across a plateau at the top of a remarkably steep driveway. Modest in size, the residence comprises two shingle-clad pavilions that are sandwiched between a pair of hand-built stone walls and separated by an enclosed courtyard.
The home was updated in recent years at the hands of artist and designer Cannon Hudson, who helped Davis and Wilson with a total overhaul that included adding bedrooms and bathrooms as well as installing smart built-ins and unfussy, high-quality finishes. Allen’s presence is still evident throughout the light-filled rooms via his custom-designed cabinet pulls and signature metalwork.
One pavilion holds an open living and dining area and a simple timber-crafted kitchen with open shelving. A bank of sliding glass doors opens one side of the room to the serene, protected courtyard, while a wall of glass on the opposite side gives a cinematic sweep of the harsh high desert landscape. This part of the house also holds the main bedroom and bath, plus a half-bath and a laundry room. Venture across the courtyard and the second structure contains two spacious bedrooms, two more bathrooms, and a media lounge.
A few steps from the front entrance to the house, you’ll find a steel Quonset hut that used to double as Allen’s studio space, and across the driveway, two as-yet undeveloped shipping containers are joined in an L-shape.
“This exceptional house epitomizes the unique intersection of art, architecture, and the natural environment: essences that define Joshua Tree today,” notes the listing, which is being held by Chris Menrad and Keith Markovitz of TTK Represents of Compass, along with Clayton Baldwin of Kinetic Properties.
Click here to see more photos of the Joshua Tree compound.
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