Melissa Rivers is learning to let go. The veteran TV talk show host recently sold a Santa Monica estate she previously called a “happy home” for $15.5 million. The stunning 7,048-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa is situated on a charming cul-de-sac, and represents the joining of her more minimalistic taste with her parents’ beloved art pieces.
Celeb-favorite designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, who helped Rivers reimagine the six-bedroom, six-bathroom home, previously told Architectural Digest that the house represented a “new beginning” for the actress and television host when she bought it for $11 million in January 2016. “She lived in this very pretty house, but it was very kind of traditional,” Bullard told AD. “Melissa wanted to create something light and bright with positive energy, something that could be just the right backdrop for some of these extraordinary things, including Fabergé eggs and Han dynasty pottery.”
The pad features a palette of bright, eye-catching colors, including a robin’s-egg blue for the walls of the living room, with similarly calming shades of blue in the chef’s kitchen, courtesy of the cabinetry and tile backsplash. “I am a terrible cook, but yet I love a beautiful kitchen,” she told AD. “As much as I love a neutral room, the kitchen and the family room just need some color. It just wakes things up.” The dining room, meanwhile, has a unique platinum leaf ceiling treatment coupled with two sets of hanging cabinets and a crystal chandelier for a more traditional feel—with a twist.
A light-filled home office with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a double-height ceiling is particularly poignant, Rivers said, as it reminds her of the library in her mother’s New York apartment. The main suite is neutral-toned yet glam, with a spacious, modern dressing room perfect for someone with an extensive wardrobe. Out back, there’s a large lawn, a sports court, and a swimming pool and elevated spa surrounded by stone patios for lounging.
