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Perhaps the most famous home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, The Butterfly House, just sold for $29 million, according to a press release from Coldwell Banker Real Estate, the firm that represented the buyers. Set atop a rocky coastline with angular wings jutting into the sky above, the 1951 home was designed by Frank Wynkoop, the home’s original owner, and remains a pristine example of midcentury modernism. “The Butterfly House is one of the most notable homes along California’s Central Coast,” Tim Allen, of the namesake properties team at Coldwell Banker Realty, says. According to the property’s listing page, it was put on the market for $40 million (furnished) in August of 2022.
When first listed, the property was expected to sell quickly, though it sat for over a hundred days with no offers, according to SFGATE, which reasoned the occurrence happened due to a few potential factors including a volatile market, high asking price, and a unique style that required a distinct taste. Still, the home carries many cachets, surely aiding in its eventual sale: Not only is it an architectural masterpiece (even gracing the pages of AD in 2018 and featured in AD100 A Century of Style), but it is one of only five homes, including one by Frank Lloyd Wright, that sits directly on the coastline of Carmel Bay. Carmel-by-the-Sea also remains a highly coveted area thanks to its reputation as a celebrity-favored enclave throughout the 20th century (high profile residents like Brad Pitt have reinstated the seaside community’s prestige in recent years).
“It feels like you’re living in the most fabulous aquarium, in harmony with the ever-changing seascape and the extraordinary array of marine life just beyond the doorstep,” Hannah Comolli, who previously owned the home with her husband Kevin Comolli, told AD in 2018. Prior to its sale, the house was renovated by Los Angeles–based designer Jamie Bush. “We feel fortunate that we were able to help our clients acquire this iconic coastal property that they, and so many others, have coveted for years,” Allen added. However, if folklore is to believed, perhaps the most renowned admirer is none other than Wright himself. As Jay Wynkoop, son of Frank Wynkoop, told the Arizona Republic in 2012 when recalling his time working on the home with his dad, one particular memory comes mind. Jay noticed a man wearing a coat and hat peering at the house from across the street, and when he went out to speak with the stranger, the man asked “Who’s the [expletive] genius who built this house?” The older Wynkoop then stepped out a few moments later, greeted the visitor, and said “Son, I want you to meet Frank Lloyd Wright.”
