Inside the hallowed gates of the low-key but high-cost and much coveted Colony enclave in Malibu, Calif., the former beach house of music industry icon Linda Ronstadt has come to market at $15.8 million. Property records show the seller, Oscar-winning “Forrest Gump” screenwriter Eric Roth, also a five-time Emmy nominated executive producer for the Netflix political drama “House of Cards” and the screenwriter for the hugely hyped 2018 “A Star Is Born” re-make, stands to more then triple his money on the prime property he picked up in 2000 for $4.5 million. Built in the late 1920s but extensively updated and upgraded, the unpretentious, clapboard-sided bungalow sits cheek to jowl with it’s equally unassuming if also forbiddingly expensive neighbors with four bedrooms and four bathrooms in 3,754-square-feet.
Just inside the front door, an invitingly cave-like step-down den has a full wall of built-in bookshelves plus additional media storage cabinets while an airy, ocean-front combination living and dining room, furnished in a sophisticated yet comfortable manner with a soothing, creamily monochromatic palette of taupes and tans, features an understated antique carved stone fireplace that lends a sense of historical gravitas. A thick-cushioned banquette is perfect for naps and floor-to-ceiling glass panels slide open to a beachside terrace. Closed off from the living/dining room with a built-in dining banquette plus a two-seat snack bar, the eat-in kitchen has humble if no-doubt expensively custom bleached pine cabinets jazzed up with up-to-date, high-end stainless steel appliances. Three guest bedrooms on the second floor share a pair of bathrooms while the ocean-facing master suite provides a bathroom of its own plus a fireplace and a slender private balcony with head-on views over the water.
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Rustic, tumbled stone floor tiles in the main floor living and entertaining spaces continue seamlessly out to a deep terrace designed for entertaining with a built-in grilling station, a vine-encrusted outdoor fireplace and an ocean-view spa. Cantilevered over the bulk-headed beachfront, an elevated sunbathing deck with private stairs to the sand offers the exact sort of views up and down the coastline that, in Malibu, only a multimillionaire can afford.
Listing photos: Sotheby’s International Realty