At this glass-enclosed residence on Manhattan Beach, around the end of day when daylight is running short, someone will invariably call out, "Sunset!"
"Everybody runs up to the top deck and enjoys the sunset," says listing agent John Bathurst. The Southern California home is on the market for $6,750,000. In a house constructed with glass cubes, the spectacular light show at the day's end is hard to ignore.
"There are magnificent sunsets, but … a lot of sunsets go by the wayside. In this house, you can't miss it, you absolutely can't miss it," he adds.
The 4,200-square-foot home built in 2009, just blocks from the ocean, was commissioned by owner Chris Ettley, who happens to own Lucky Glass. He collaborated with local architect and friend Patrick Killen to showcase his company's product.
Over dinner one night, the idea took flight. Killen started sketching out a rough concept. "Chris wanted to build a house for the family using lots of glass," Bathurst says. "The two of them created this masterpiece on a napkin. That became what it is today."
The result: a three-level modern glass and mahogany wood box made of blue-hued glass resembling floating ice cubes.
"It's really because it's close to the ocean," the agent says of the unique blue tint on the windows. "It's just reflective of the beach area."
The showcase of glass and modern design continues inside the four-bedroom home. The ground floor up to the top is connected by a floating glass staircase. And there's more. "You can see the top level from the first level. It's transparent," Bathurst notes, which gives the home a "3-D effect."
At the bottom level, a theater room can be transformed to an entertainment space that opens to a patio. There's also a guest suite and a gym.
Head up one floor to find the master suite and a seating area with a floor that looks to be made of textured "broken glass."
The light-filled top floor includes an open kitchen, dining and living space, two decks, and a glass-enclosed office.
An outdoor lounge area offers views as far away as Malibu and Catalina and includes a fire pit and water feature that flows down to the ground-floor patio.
The family has decided to sell the home in order to focus on another project in the area.
"It's an incredibly unique property that can't and won't be duplicated," Bathurst says. Killen died last year at the age of 61.
If you check it out, be sure to make an appointment around dusk. You don't want to miss the sunset.