Epic’s Sylvia Rhone Buys Bel Air Midcentury Modern
By James McClain
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – After settling into her new role as Chairman and CEO of Epic Records , where she oversees an enviable roster of big-name artists that include Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, DJ Khaled, 21 Savage and French Montana, veteran music industry exec Sylvia Rhone has substantially upgraded her residential circumstances with the $5.35 million acquisition of a sophisticated and upgraded midcentury modern house in Bel Air.
Located almost directly across the road from Rupert Murdoch’s $28 million vineyard estate, the Rhone villa was built in 1959 and last sold in late 2017 for about $3.3 million. The buyer, Australian businessman James Vaile — a former Expedia vice president — then spent a full year on a comprehensive overhaul of the structure that preserved its timeless core midcentury features while also imbuing the premises with a slick new contemporary twist.
Though it appears deceptively modest from the streetfront, the flat-roofed structure spans a roomy 3,622 square feet of living space with three bedrooms and four baths. A gated courtyard has a short walkway that leads to an all-glass front door; inside, there are porcelain concrete floors and an open-concept floorplan that offers a formal dining area adjacent to a glossy kitchen with graphite custom cabinetry, designer Miele appliances and dazzling arebescato marble countertops.
Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass bathe the home’s interiors in natural light and slide easily away, provide direct access to the outdoors. Other sunny spaces inside include a family room, an office with its own private bathroom, a living area with fireplace, and sumptuous master suite with walk-in closet and a bathroom with dual vanities and a magazine-worthy indoor/outdoor shower.
The .55-acre hillside lot includes a backyard patio that surrounds a dark-bottomed plunge pool with inset spa. Overlooking that space is a steep, ivy-covered slope dotted with mature evergreen trees, which imbues the property with a forested, enviably private feeling.
Rhone’s former L.A. residence, a blocky contemporary confection near West Hollywood, is currently on the market and saddled with a $3.599 million pricetag, a notable amount less than the $3.7 million she paid for the house in 2017.
James Harris and David Parnes of The Agency held the listing; Timothy Enright of The Enright Company repped Rhone.
