Robin Williams’ Villa of Smiles Finally Sells, for Nearly Half Off
Someone got quite a deal on Robin Williams’ Villa of Smiles in Napa Valley.
It sold for $18.1 million cash, a price that you might not immediately associate with “deal” — but consider that it’s 650-plus acres in California’s wine country (nearly 20 acres of premium vineyards), and consider also the fact that when the comedian first tried to sell it, in 2012, he was asking $35 million.
And consider too the fact that the Italianate estate, commissioned by Williams himself about a decade ago, is simply gorgeous, as we rhapsodized on this site in April 2014 when he relisted it at $29.9 million. (It’s also practically the polar opposite of comedian Steve Martin’s ponderous concrete fortress.) Yahoo Celebrity notes that Williams openly acknowledged financial problems: Divorces had eaten much of his fortune, which was why he’d returned to TV in “The Crazy Ones” and listed Villa Sorriso, or Villa of Smiles.
A few months later, of course, Williams was dead, having killed himself in his main house — not this one — in Tiburon, south of Napa Valley in the Bay Area. A bitter estate dispute ensued between his widow and his children, but was settled a few months ago.
The design of the Villa of Smiles is, appropriately enough, inspired by the Italian Renaissance, which spawned the original comedy improv known as commedia dell'arte. Among its more delightful features:
• The library has three inlaid mother-of-pearl panels, one of which might give you a little shiver of recognition if you were a fan of William’s 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society”: It says “Carpe diem,” or “Seize the day” in Latin. (The other two say “Amor vincit omnia” — “Love conquers all” in Latin — and Villa Sorriso.)
• The master bedroom has a bridge (!) you cross to reach a “belvedere” – a word rooted in the Italian words for “beautiful view” – where you can sit in an open gallery and soak in the views all around. (Picture a bell tower without the bell. The popularity of the architectural feature surged in the 16th century, but you might recognize the concept from a mind-twisting Escher print.
• The ceilings throughout the home are extraordinary. The library’s is gold leaf with a verdigris finish. Others are coffered, vaulted, gilded and/or tiled. Some have circular skylights, including one in a bathroom.
• The dramatic master bath is done in Moroccan style, with an etched relief pattern on the shower door and a soaking tub on a raised platform overlooking the pool and the countryside.
• A grand globe chandelier, made by Historical Arts and Casting in Utah, hovers over the entry. A playroom contains Matisse-like light fixtures; the dining room has a commissioned Murano glass chandelier. The architects say the estate was “designed for large-scale entertaining as well as a retreat for the family.”
• Kitchen cabinets have panels inset with art glass collages.
• Another detail about the home is perhaps less smile-inducing but a practical consideration for anyone who has the wherewithal to buy such an estate: It has a couple of safe rooms, described as “Kevlar-wrapped” in previous marketing material.
The buyers are French winemakers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
More on Yahoo Real Estate:
• Boring Facade Hides Outrageous Renaissance Interior – to Fool the Tax Man (47 photos)
• Steve Martin’s Arty but Utterly Unfunny Concrete Fortress (27 photos)
• Comedian Danny Thomas’ Old Estate Asks a Whopping $135 Million (21 photos)
