You’ve Never Seen Anything Like San Francisco's Most Expensive Home
This house in San Francisco might be the most insanely decorated house we’ve ever seen. It’s also the most expensive house for sale in Fog City.
And for good reason. Le Petit Trianon is an historic, 20-room house that spans 17,895 square feet. It includes nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, three powder rooms, two kitchens, two wet bars, a ballroom, several offices and a massive central atrium. The mansion also comes with an intriguing history that includes bankruptcy, abandonment and a squatter who christened it his “thug mansion.”
Today, every room is creative and drastically different from the last. And it’s up for sale at $30 million. Want to see what it looks like? Come take a walk though San Francisco’s most expensive (and possibly most colorful) home.
The History
The home is known as both Le Petit Trianon, and the Koshland Mansion. The mansion was built in 1904 by Marcus Koshland; his family’s business, the Koshland Brothers, was a lucrative wool import and export company. Marcus and his wife traveled to France and were enchanted by Versailles — particularly the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette’s chateau built by King Louis XV. When they came back to San Francisco, they had a mini Petit Trianon constructed on Washington Street close to The Presidio.
The History, Continued
Fast forward a century later. Halsey Minor, the guy who founded CNET and co-founded Salesforce.com, purchased the mansion in 2007 for $22 million. Minor was rich; CBS purchased CNET for $1.8 billion in early 2008, and Salesforce.com had gone public with a $110 million IPO in 2004.
But then Minor fell to a one-two punch: the 2008 recession and a battle with depression.
The History, Continued
Speaking to TNW, Minor says his 2006 divorce caused him to slip into a depression, which made him withdraw from family and friends. Minor poured his money into lawsuits and lawyers until he declared bankruptcy in 2013.
“I didn’t talk to anyone. Often, I didn’t even show up in (bankruptcy) court, because I was basically in my house all the time,” Minor told TNW.
Minor put the home on the market for $25 million in 2012, but the house was in terrible shape for the price. La Petit Trianon sat abandoned and fell into disrepair.
Until one unlikely person moved on in.
A Squatter’s Palace
By 2015, the home was listed at $17 million. But there didn’t seem to be much interest nor buyer foot traffic in the run-down slice of Versailles, because a 39-year-old man moved on in with ease.
A Squatter’s Palace, Continued
Jeremiah Kaylor, a homeless man, wandered into the property in 2014 via an unlocked back door.
“When I first saw it, I thought to myself, ‘This is it. This is my headquarters. This is my thug mansion',” Kaylor told the San Francisco Chronicle during a jailhouse interview. Kaylor found the main house barren, but used a ladder to climb in, where he said he lived for over two months.
He also may have been hoping to run into Taylor Swift. It was reported that the singer had been eyeing the mansion for purchase; Kaylor believed he and Swift were soulmates.
Kaylor also believed everything in the house belonged to him.
And a Squatter’s Storefront
Kaylor also stole approximately $300,000 worth of artwork and sold the pieces to local pawn shops. Most of the pieces were recovered, and Kaylor was eventually arrested, even though he tried to claim ownership of the property under “adverse possession laws,” as he told the Chronicle.
Eventually the home did sell, this time to Ronald Jankov, a venture capitalist and founder of Global Link 1 Capital. Jankov renovated the property, but it wasn’t until 2019 that the house took on its incredible new look.
Every Room Is Different
But not everything you see comes with the house. Listing agent Joel Goodrich tells us that most of the furniture from the showcase has been removed. Although these designers are just a phone call away.
The Atrium
At the mansion’s heart is a three-story atrium. This one has been designed with a living wall near the stained glass skylight window. It was designed by Brandon Pruett. There is an elevator, but it’s currently inoperable.
Houghton Hall
Designer Jonathan Rachman designed this large living room with inspiration taken from Houghton Hall, a 1722 country house located in Norfolk, England. It features long pink and red sofas and classic furniture.
Houghton Hall, Continued
According to Curbed, Rachman used 200-year-old de Gournay wallpaper for his reimagining of Houghton Hall.
Houghton Hall Salon
The Houghton Hall area also includes a two-bed salon saturated in deep blue, tucked away behind rose pink curtains.
The Staircase
Head on back to the main level and take the stairs down, past the marble bench.
The Red Staircase
Artists Victoria Weisse and Daniel Bletterman created this warm staircase space. The sconce was crafted with a technique called Verre Églomisé, an ancient artistic technique that dates to before the Roman Empire.
The Ballroom
Head to the lower level and check out the ballroom, a fusion of 18th-century Europe and modern designs, like those wall-to-ceiling art installations and faux bearskin rug. This room was designed by Applegate Tran interiors.
The Ballroom, Continued
The ballroom includes a wet bar that’s half marble. The illuminated, star-shaped design behind the bar isn’t just an art piece, it’s a wine rack that holds bottles both vertically and horizontally.
The Ballroom, Continued
This art piece — a white dress half-covered by rose vines reminiscent of “Sleeping Beauty” — is the central piece on the ballroom’s stage. However, this piece probably doesn't come with the house.
The Ballroom Bathroom
Nicknamed the “Public Secrets: In the Garden of Good and Naughty,” this slightly evil looking room includes a dripping gold sculpture, long marble sink and designer toilets by Kohler.
Bohemian Hideaway
The Wiseman Group took inspiration from French industrialist Pierre Berge's and fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent’s penchant for collection and travel to create this gentleman's parlor on the first floor. The room features an antique Oushak carpet and an Edwin Lutyens table.
Bohemian Hideaway, Continued
Each piece of the Bohemian Hideaway room — such as that Noguchi hanging lamp — was hand-picked by the San Francisco-based firm.
Bohemian Hideaway, Continued
The fireplace “has been reimagined with custom Moroccan star-patterned tiles by Monique De La Plaza through Da Vinci Marble,” explains the Wiseman Group on its website.
The Living Room
Just off of the Bohemian Hideaway is a living room designed by Studio Collins. It includes a purple sectional sofa, carved marble coffee table, two nearly wall-length mirrors and a mid-century modern chandelier. The fireplace’s jet black interior sits in contrast to the bright white walls and green garden views.
Le Petit Kitchen
This kitchen is petite. It’s a 175-square-foot kitchen with marble countertops, royal purple appliances and wisteria wallpaper.
The Butler's Pantry
Off of the petite kitchen is a butler’s pantry with enough room to store everything that can’t fit in the smaller kitchen.
The Catering Kitchen
The expansive catering on the lower level features fossil stone flooring, two refrigerators, two double-ovens, two dishwashers and two large sinks.
The Recital Room
The recital room/corner library on the main level features de Gournay wallpaper, herringbone-patterned parquet floors and a black, barrel-vaulted ceiling with white geometric shapes.
The Recital Room, Continued
The room’s wood burning fireplace — just one of Le Petit Trianon’s nine total fireplaces — is a dramatic carved marble centerpiece framed by custom molding.
The Wo-Man Cave
Man cave? Forget that. This room is called the Wo-Man Cave, designed as a place to relax for the modern businesswoman. Kelly Hohla Interiors crafted this room, which includes De Sousa Hughes floral wallpaper.
The Rooftop Room
This room — dubbed the Rooftop Rendez-Vous Retreat — is located on the top floor. The yellow couches are adorned with what looks like ground spikes used in hostile architecture — studs and spikes installed on the ground to prevent the homeless from sleeping there. Either that, or the furniture designer really doesn’t want anyone sitting on the edge.
The Breakfast Room
This breakfast room, designed by Eche Martinez, “incorporates a mix of antique, vintage and contemporary pieces to illustrate the passage of time,” according to the San Francisco Decorator Showcase Facebook.
The Twin Bedroom
This bright pink bedroom holds two twin beds. Aside from the bright colors, the real eye-catching features in this room are the two swing-like clear tables suspended by thick ropes tethered to reinforced ceiling squares.
The Artist's Room
Check out the crazy geometric furniture that decorates this top-floor room, nicknamed the Artist In-Residence Retreat. With ceilings over eight feet high and lots of sun from the French windows, this is an excellent place to paint, sketch or write.
The Children's Room
This children’s room is a far-out homage to the Space Age, with a faux skylight painted like a clear night sky, wooden cogwheels which doubles as a headboard and a rocket-shaped partition.
L’Appartement
This corner study — nicknamed L’Appartement — features French antiques and artwork, as well as parquet flooring and a stunning, modern fireplace.
The Master Bathroom
The de Gournay wallpaper in the master bathroom creates a breathtaking backdrop. It’s also extremely expensive, ranging from $707 to $1,885 or more per three-by-seven foot panel.
The Master Bathroom, Continued
The master bathroom doubles as a spa with its fireplace and cozy, armless chairs.
The Master Bathroom, Continued
The paneled glass door on the walk-in double shower allows for tons of light.
The Gardening Room
Off the main level is a small, sun-bathed and Zen-like room for gardening.
The Backyard
The backyard has been professional designed by Zeterre Landscape Architecture. It features modern statues, places to sit, and pseudo grass cut and shaped into a sprawling piece of art that spans the entire yard. The house sits on a 20,311-square-foot lot, but accuracy is not guaranteed — you’ll need to get that independently verified.