Back in 2001, after living in cities his entire life and intent on having a connection with nature, Mike Mills doled out $131,000 for a remote 60-acre plot of land near Nevada City, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The L.A.-based filmmaker, graphic designer, and artist, whose movies include 20th Century Women (2016) and C’mon C’mon (2021), then enlisted the avant-garde firm Atelier Bow-Wow to craft a home in the middle of it all where he could write, make art, and bring people together. Completed in 2008, it is the Tokyo-based architecture studio’s first and only residential project in the U.S.
“My goals of this whole thing was to have a retreat and to have a connection with nature,” Mills said in a YouTube video. “I’ve always lived in cities, and I knew I wanted to do something more than that in my life. So, that was the whole idea of trying to get 60 acres, trying to get a property where you felt wildness. Often in the morning, you see a deer, wild turkeys, or a fox. I wanted to walk in the woods and understand nature better. That was my big passion.”
The kitchen comes with open shelving and high-end stainless appliances.
Kat Alves
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Fast-forward almost 25 years, and the “aesthetically appetizing and surprising” abode dubbed the Mountain House has now popped up for sale at nearly $2.5 million, after first hitting the market in 2023 for $3.3 million. Eric Lavey of The Beverly Hills Estates holds the listing.
Bordered on three sides by U.S. Forest Service land, the timber-framed and slanted-roof structure has three bedrooms and two baths in roughly 2,200 square feet. Organic and minimalist details abound in the form of seamless concrete floors and walls made from recycled paper-based Homasote boards, while cozy nooks can be found in almost every corner, and oversized wood-framed glass doors slide open to the outdoors.
An expansive shaded roof room is ideal for entertaining with hammocks and a dining table.
Kat Alves
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Other highlights include a living room sporting a wood-burning stove, a dining area that connects to a kitchen outfitted with open shelving and stainless appliances, and a bath equipped with a porcelain tub. Up top is an expansive open-air deck with hammocks, a dining area, and an exposed-beam roof that serves as an umbrella protecting the home from the elements.
An added bonus: The grounds, which occupy the site of a 19th-century gold mine known as Sailor Flat, are laced with wagon roads, trails, and seasonal streams.
Click here for more photos of the Nevada City residence.
Kat Alves
Authors
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Wendy Bowman