An 18,000-square-foot mansion modeled after the Chateau Versailles’ Le Petit Trianon, which was built in the 1760s for Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and later home to the frivolous French Queen Marie Antoinette? There’s a story here.
Built in 1904 for wool merchants Marcus and Cora Koshland, the so-called Koshland House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, got its start in life with an opulent costume ball christening inspired by Antoinette herself. Situated on Washington Street in a tony part of Presidio Heights, the mini palace has a sandstone facade, fanciful columns, and artist-made stained glass windows.
Fast-forward to 2007 and the home was picked up by CNET founder Halsey Minor who, after blowing his jillions and filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was forced to wash his hands of it, listing it first at $25 million, then $21 million, and leaving it in utter disrepair. The grand old dame reportedly had water damage and holes in the ceiling, not to mention being totally out of date.
In 2014, Taylor Swift was rumored to have bought the place, but the Fearless singer seems to have run scared because it’s been on and off the market ever since, and at an ever-decreasing asking price.
Finally in 2019, the home was transformed for the modern era to host the 42nd Annual SF Decorator Showcase. Its 33 lavish spaces were touched by 40 interior and landscape designers—Jonathan Rachman and Studio Heimat notably among them—who reimagined it with a myriad of ultra-luxurious materials, hand-painted wallpapers, and one-of-a-kind fixtures. Truly, it’s as extra as ever.
The month after the show house, the home hit the market for $30 million. One month later, it dropped to $19.8 million. Now over two years later, they’ve slashed another two-and-a-half mil off the asking.
If you’ve got the dough, you’d get a quite a steal on this Neo-Classical behemoth—and it’s not like it needs a remodel. The home has nine bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, and two kitchens.
You’ll enter the main level via a round foyer, swathed in marble on the floors and walls, with Grecian-style columns, French doors peek at indoor gardens, and a dramatic domed ceiling. Once inside, a three-story central atrium with a stained-glass windows and skylight is residence’s crowning moment.
Each room here is lavishly designed and heavily detailed, from the great room with its beamed ceilings and picture windows to the baronial dining and family rooms with barrel-vaulted ceilings. Several fireplaces are intricately adorned with classical carvings or Moroccan tiles.
The gourmet kitchen feels both modern and ladylike with Lilac Quartzite countertops and pops of rich fuchsia on the commercial Hesta appliances. There is also a large catering kitchen and butler’s pantry with two of everything—refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens, and sinks—on the lower level.
A palatial marble staircase connects the entry level with the second floor, which has a massive landing that overlooks the atrium and multiple bedroom suites with amenities such as marble bathrooms, fireplaces, and private sitting rooms with wet bars. More bedrooms, including a guest suite with its own kitchenette and Japanese-inspired spa bath, can be found on the third level.
There are countless pretty spaces here, but second only to the atrium is the lower level’s original Hall of Mirrors–inspired ballroom, which has been updated as a modern nighttime lounge with a Calacatta Viola marble bar complete with inset lighting and under-counter wine storage and refrigeration.
Parking for six cars, endless French-style landscaping, and an elevator complete this home.
Bedrooms: 9
Bathrooms: 7.5
Size: 18,788 sq. ft.
Asking price: $17,300,000
// 3800 Washington St. (Presidio Heights); for more information, visit 3800washingtonstreet.com.
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