After selling his billion-dollar company to Paypal in 2020, George Raun, founder of the popular coupon browser extension Honey, purchased an opulent but unfinished $60 million Bel-Air home with views of both the mountains and the sea. After completing the home with Los Angeles architecture firm Woods + Dangaran, Raun has since placed the estate back on the market, this time for for a cool $150 million.
While a modernist home—not to mention one complete with infinity pools, marble-accented closets and staff quarters—isn’t typical for architecture in Louisiana, there are a few ways to achieve a similar aesthetic in your home. We spoke to Dustin Rousseau, an architectural associate at DNA Workshop, to get his perspective on the design.
For Rousseau, the interior of the home is most appealing. The wood accents on furniture, he notes, pair well with the home’s other natural elements like leather on the sofa and the soft textured rug. “The house is a grand statement using a lot of concrete, steel and glass,” Rousseau says. “So the wood helps to bring the scale of things down to a more human scale.” Incorporating pops of color in abstract artwork also helps direct visual interest in this otherwise monochromatic room.
The exterior of the home is a departure from typical Louisiana style, Rousseau says. However, it does feature a few design trends that can be duplicated here, with a few tweaks. The sunken fire pit is reminiscent of the conversation pits that are a sought-after feature in many modern homes. “It gets to be pretty hot and humid here in Louisiana,” Rousseau says. “I think as long as it’s well-designed and has some sort of shade structure above, it could potentially work.”
Sliding doors help make the interior and exterior of a home appear connected and seamless, says Rousseau, who adds that this home’s landscaping also helps to add a soft, natural touch to an otherwise angular and gray exterior.
Check out more photos of the Bel-Air estate below:
