Succession’s season four premiere earlier this week brought us multiple over-the-top luxe real estate interiors to feast our eyes on, as usual. One eye-catching location was the $83 million mega mansion where the Roy siblings strategized their next move at the start of the episode, and another, where the trio flew to via private jet, was a striking Montecito locale that Robb Report identified as the Peabody Estate, a.k.a Villa Solana.
Constructed in 1914, the palatial stucco home was designed by politician and architect Francis Townsend Underhill for local businessman Frederick Forrest Peabody. From 1958 to 1978, the hilltop estate went on to serve as a headquarters for the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, a policy institute that was visited by the likes of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Henry Kissinger.
In the show, the estate belongs to Nan Pierce, owner of the fictional media giant Pierce Global Media. Reality isn’t too far off, as the current owner of the historic mansion is former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who bought it for $30.8 million in 2020. The 11-acre property had been on and off the market several times since 2012 when it was priced at $57.5 million–nearly double the sale price it garnered eight years later.
Inside, the sprawling 22,729-square-foot abode offers five bedrooms. A separate guesthouse provides an additional two bedrooms and brings the total bathroom count to an impressive 20. At the center of the main house, paned glass doors lead into a spacious atrium featuring clusters of palm trees that soar way above the rooftop. Many of the original details are still intact, including limestone and marble fireplace surrounds and 17th-century French oak paneling lining the parlor. Antique light fixtures, parquet floors, and beamed ceilings abound, while French doors throughout grant access to the arched loggias that line the building.
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Beyond the loggias, the lushly gardened grounds are abundant with greenery, including lots of mature palms, a rose garden, and a plethora of fruit trees, including lemon, lime, banana, fig, and pomegranate. Panoramic ocean, mountain, and city views surround the picturesque plot, which is also dotted with statues and fountains. In addition to a swimming pool, a huge rectangular pond adds to the water views on the property.
