A Richard Neutra Modernist Retreat Crowns Brentwood— And It Could Be Yours

High above the Westside, where the last stretch of Tigertail Road meets open sky, a quietly profound example of California modernism has returned to the market.

The 1960 Sale House, designed by visionary architect Richard Neutra, is now listed for $5.295 million in Crestwood Hills — an enclave within Brentwood long associated with experimental residential design and deeply integrated landscape living.

Set on 1.02 acres at the highest point of the road, the three-bedroom, two-bath home spans 1,632 square feet and occupies a 44,236-square-foot lot bordered by permanently protected land.

For current owner Peter Galliaert, the emotional pull of the house arrived before he even crossed the threshold.

“I felt the house before going in. Oh my gosh — this is it,” he recalled in an interview on the YouTube series Open Space.

That instinctive reaction mirrors the home’s design philosophy. Rather than announce itself with theatrical arrival, the single-story structure unfolds gently — light, landscape, and movement working in quiet equilibrium. It’s modernism as experience, not spectacle.

A Modernist Lineage - and Notable Stewards

Galliaert, a Belgian former real estate developer known for collecting architecturally significant works, acquired the home after its ownership by Swiss-born chef Daniel Humm, whose New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park has earned three Michelin stars and global acclaim. Humm also co-founded Rethink Food and has served as an ambassador for UNESCO initiatives focused on food and education.

Galliaert is equally committed to preservation. Among his most unusual acquisitions: the modular Walker Guest House by architect Paul Rudolph, purchased through Sotheby's and transported in sections to the California desert.

He approaches architecture as lived art — spaces meant to evolve with light, season, and human presence. At the Sale House, he says, the sunset vantage points shift dramatically between summer and winter, reinforcing Neutra’s belief that architecture should heighten awareness of the natural world.

Preservation, Not Reinvention

A comprehensive restoration completed between 2020 and 2021 followed a strict preservation-first philosophy led by Escher GuneWardena Architecture and GW Design. The team updated lighting and kitchen functions while deliberately avoiding stylistic embellishment — no imported marble, no decorative reinterpretations — only materials consistent with Neutra’s original intent.

Landscape architect Ivette Soler Gardens reimagined the grounds with similar restraint, maintaining native ecological character tied to the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains. The firm previously collaborated with publisher Benedikt Taschen, and here emphasized continuity with Neutra’s architectural geometry rather than ornamental display.

The result is a house restored not to frozen perfection, but to living authenticity.

Architecture Shaped by Art — and Artists

Originally commissioned by engineer Robert D. Sale and artist-craftsperson Elsa Sale, the home was conceived as a creative retreat — a place for both making and displaying art. A skylit entry gallery with soaring ceilings accommodates large works, while a bougainvillea-covered pergola frames pastoral hillside views.

Inside, original built-ins remain intact, along with mosaic details created by Elsa Sale and preserved bathroom tilework. Outside, a sheltered brick terrace with barbecue area was positioned to protect ocean views, while the foundation was engineered to support a potential future second story — an unrealized gesture toward adaptability.

The Sales lived in the house for more than five decades, leaving behind a remarkably intact example of Neutra’s human-scaled modernism.

Views Without Interruption

Walls of glass open to expansive panoramas that sweep from protected greenbelt to city lights and the distant blue of the Pacific Ocean and Malibu coastline. With undevelopable land bordering the property, the sense of seclusion is unusually complete — a rare condition on the Westside.

That privacy, combined with Neutra’s emphasis on indoor-outdoor continuity, gives the home an atmosphere of retreat rather than display.

A Quiet Landmark of Westside Modernism

Born in Austria and emigrating to the United States in 1923, Neutra helped define West Coast modernism through architecture that prioritized wellbeing, precision, and environmental connection. The Sale House, completed in 1960, embodies those principles with understated clarity.

Today, the property stands as one of the few remaining Neutra residences in Brentwood’s modernist corridor — restored, inhabited, and still evolving with the rhythms of light and landscape.

The listing is held by Frank Langen of Compass.

For buyers seeking not simply a house but an architectural experience shaped by time, nature, and intention, the Sale House offers something increasingly difficult to find in Los Angeles: stillness with pedigree.