See it to believe it: Joshua Tree’s “Invisible House” hits the market

Your dream home may be right in front of your face, but you just can’t see it.

A 225-foot-long, 5,500-square-foot home — known as the “Invisible House” because of its reflective glass exterior — in Joshua Tree, California, has been listed for $18 million by owners Chris and Roberta Hanley, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Aaron Kirman and Matt Adamo of AKG | Christie’s International Real Estate have the listing.

The home, which sits on 70 acres, came about after the Hanleys were told their prefab vacation house violated local laws because it wasn’t wide enough.

Chris Hanley, an artist and movie producer, began sketching out what he wanted for his new home and, with the help of architect Tomas Osinski, designed what became the Invisible House, which has been featured on Netflix’s “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.” Celebrities such as Diplo, Alicia Keys and Demi Lovato have rented the home, which was modeled after the famed monoliths from the Stanley Kubrik film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

“I just drew a rectangle on paper and said, ‘OK, we’ll build this,’” Chris Hanley told the outlet. “I thought it could just be a monolithic, reflective, ultra-minimal thing.”

One end is lifted off the ground on caissons, giving the appearance that the home is floating over the rocky landscape, according to WSJ. It took six years and millions of dollars to build the home, which was completed in 2019.

The resulting appearance is unusual, if not unique, with the house looking different depending on the time of day and the weather, the outlet reported.

Inside, the home features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, lounge; open-plan living, kitchen and dining space; and a nearly 100-foot solar-heated pool, according to Mansion Global.

Unlike other mirrored structures, such as U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, the Invisible Home isn’t an avian death trap.

Chris Hanley told WSJ that a few quail have “bumped” into the house, but there have been no major events. Even so, the couple was criticized by some for disrupting the park’s landscape.

The listing also includes the home’s furniture — not that there’s a lot of it, as the Hanleys wanted a minimalist look — and the 720-square-foot prefab home that’s still on the grounds, according to WSJ.

“I like that it just sort of exists on its own, so I don’t like to throw my clothes all around,” Roberta Hanley told the WSJ. “I wanted it to be a place where your mind [could] drift and you could be inspired.”

The home had been available to rent for $150,000 a month, $6,000 per day or $1,000 per hour for production shoots, Mansion Global reported last year.

The Hanleys — who say they decided to sell to focus on their next project, a house composed of shipping containers — have their own Hollywood experience, having produced “The Virgin Suicides” and “American Psycho,” among other movies.

— Ted Glanzer