Keys to the Coolest Abode

The “Girl on Fire” and 15-time-Grammy-winner, Alicia Keys together with husband Swizz Beatz, holds the keys to Razor House, in La Jolla, California, widely considered near the top of best contemporary homes in America. Designed by Wallace E. Cunningham, with its sleek contemporary lines and commanding views over the Pacific Ocean, the luxury property has graced the pages of cutting-edge magazines and websites around the world, in addition to a starring role in Visa Black Card and Calvin Klein television commercials.

Built in 2007, Razor House extends several stories below the original surface so that each room forms a terrace to the adjacent upper floor. The centre of the structure is essentially hollowed out, creating a perimeter house wrapped around an open courtyard which allows daylight, moonlight and stunning views.

The main house has 10,240 square feet of living space including two master suites, two additional bedrooms, six baths, two steam rooms/showers, gym, roof-top spa and built-in outdoor BBQ. The master-suite baths include showers and freestanding tubs as well as closets. The detached multi-levelled guest house has 1,301 square feet and includes two bedrooms and two baths, each having separate entry points on different levels.

Luxury finishes and special touches include travertine stone floors that run seamlessly from interior to exterior, solid-walnut flooring in the library and on the family-room ceiling, with suede-wrapped walls in the primary master suite. The library contains a custom Ralph Lauren glass-and-stainless pool table. Both the main kitchen and service kitchen are furnished with Gaggenau, Miele, Subzero and Hoshizaki in multiples to cover large-scale entertaining, while a computer room houses all the integration and automation systems.

A subterranean garage with ample space for four cars features a glass elevator, operating from the subterranean garage level all the way to the rooftop-terrace level of the home. Entertainment includes a state-of-the-art theatre and a 5,100-cubic-foot-infinity swimming pool to blends in with panoramic ocean views.

One of California’s most picturesque locations on the Pacific Coast, La Jolla has been the home of Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, actor Gregory Peck, Jonas Salk who developed the polio vaccine, astronaut Sally Ride, NFL pioneer Paul Brown and actress Raquel Welch.

Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys has scored one of today’s contemporary masterpieces for $20.8 million, originally listed at $45 million, and conveyed with a guarantee of spectacular sunsets. Located in La Jolla, near Torrey Pines Golf Course, Del Mar Racetrack and the La Jolla Playhouse. Josh Altman and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman were the brokers for the sale.