Dome Home Curious? Here’s a Compound That’s Reasonably Priced (for L.A.)

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This dome home “rocker” compound in Eagle Rock will have you singing a new tune.

Dome Home

This recently renovated “rocker compound” in the hills of Los Angeles is a bit different. On the second story of one of the two houses on the property is an intriguing geodesic dome loft.

The dome, which peeks over the half-acre property, is a local landmark in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. Now shiny and new, the entire compound is on the market for $1.7 million.

Dome Home

Longtime area residents have many stories about the distinctive dome home. Such is the case with the current owner Nicky Panicci, who grew up not far away, in Pasadena.

In 2014, Panicci was living in an A-frame nearby with a view of the dome home, and was drawn to it. One day, he left a note on the door of the property to say that if it was available, he’d like to buy it. He eventually negotiated a deal with the owner. “It was meant to be mine,” he says.

Panicci, a guitarist, says that restoring the residence to its current gleaming state was a full-time job for him for several years. While working on it, he was visited by rockers and artists in his social circle. Many lingered for some time. “We made a lot of special music up here,” he says wistfully.

Dome Home

He notes that the entire property, dome home and all, had “fallen into ruin” when he first came across it. But now, after “beating it into submission,” the result is a natural and organic structure in pristine, turnkey condition.

And this wasn’t Panicci’s first riff on home renovation. His signature design style has been described as “earthy meets midcentury.”

As for the dome itself, it’s a modified loft, with a kitchen, domed ceiling (of course), and star-motif windows. There’s a cozy loft bed over the bathroom, accessible by a ladder.

dome home

dome home

The entire property dates back to 1922. Panicci says the dome structure was added sometime in the 1980s, built by an architect responsible for some of the geodesic dome structures constructed in communes of the 1960s.

The dome loft is accessed via a winding staircase that leads up from the two-bedroom main floor, which also has a number of common rooms. The structure has two decks with great views, and Panicci says it could provide a steady income stream should a new owner choose to rent it out.

dome home

The 2,000-square foot, three-bedroom main house is set just down the hill. It features a modern kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, quartz stone countertops, and sleek slide-open cabinets, all installed by Panicci himself.

Main house
Main house bedroom
Main house great room

He’s worked so hard to make this dome home property a dream, so why is he willing to part with it?

“I’ve made my living collecting things, owning them, then passing them on,” says Panicci. “I needed to finish what I started here, and now I want to pass it along to someone who will live the dream, rather than build it.”

dome home

The listing agents are Brad Holmes and Megan Wilson, both with the Brad Holmes Group at Compass.

Get more photos and info on this dome home property in my feature on Realtor.com.

Make your own property a dome home compound with this kit:

Or just read about Buckminster Fuller, the father of the dome home, here:

 

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Lisa Johnson Mandell

Lisa Johnson Mandell is an award winning journalist, author and film/TV critic. She can be heard regularly on Cumulus radio stations throughout the US, and seen on Rotten Tomatoes. She is the author of three bestselling books, and spends as much of her free time as possible with her husband Jim and her jolly therapy Labradoodle Frankie Feldman.

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