Veronique Lievre and Heinz Legler were already thinking about hospitality when they started building a retreat of their own.
The couple — who made their way through the Golden State’s entertainment industry as set builders and decorators — began building a hotel on 5 acres in Yelapa, Mexico, in 1997. Using local materials, the designers expanded the property over time, experimenting with their structure and making “this resort out of the jungle, more or less,” explained Brian Linder, a Compass agent who runs the Value of Architecture. The practice focuses on architecturally significant listings, helping buyers and sellers better understand how a home’s design affects their life and mind. Linder is the property's referring agent, and Jonathan Spencer of Compass is the primary listing agent.
Nearly a decade later, the couple purchased another 5-acre plot, this time on a grassy hillside in Big Sur. They wanted to create something smaller and more personal. “They just wanted a getaway that was really respectful of the natural beauty,” Linder said.
Completed in 2017, the resulting one-bedroom, one-bathroom design was pared back, with clean lines and materials seemingly pulled from the surrounding landscape. Despite its expansive site, the building at 9265 Sycamore Canyon Road is a compact 1,325 square feet, plus a detached outbuilding, and it’s listed on the market for $1.85 million.
Although Lievre and Legler wanted something personal, they cultivated an easy design and aesthetic that might garner wide appeal — the home was, after all, a retreat and not a primary residence. “They weren’t going to let it sit there all year and come and visit three or four times,” Linder said. “They were like, ‘Let’s make this pay for itself.’”
And the home did just that, he noted, earning Lievre and Legler “substantial income” by moonlighting as an Airbnb rental. Although Big Sur is teeming with “cozy cottages” and “rustic cabins” for rent, Linder said, the modern aesthetic that 9265 Sycamore offers is a bit harder to come by and has drawn the eyes of some design-minded folks on the market.
The home’s contemporary design also foregrounds the surrounding hills. Generously sized windows pull daylight into the open-concept interior, where a central kitchen flows into the surrounding living spaces. The bedroom and bathroom are closed off for privacy.
Linder points to size as the property’s biggest drawback. “I always tell people, build a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, end of story,” he explained. “If you’re going to be building something, it doesn’t cost that much more to add a legitimate second and third bedroom and a full extra bathroom.”
But for a hospitality-inspired retreat, he noted, the size works, especially considering the pullout bed in the study and extra bedroom and sleeping space in the outbuilding. Important, the space is flexible: Its inherent simplicity bends to suit the needs of whoever is inside.
Lievre and Legler “are not afraid to experiment with designing and building,” Linder said. “They put a lot of their own blood, sweat, and tears into this project, and I really admire that.”