A show-stopping West Palm Beach home painted in bold black and white swirls, circles and diamond patterns is up for sale south of the city’s bustling downtown for $725,000.
The 1,340-square-foot house has served as a short-term rental since its 2019 purchase by Gene Maltsev, who as an admirer of modern art wanted to do more with the home than paint it a bland taupe, beige or cream color.
It also has a 450-foot separate guest house painted in a similar manner.
“I like interior design and art and I was inspired by Wynwood,” said Maltsev, who is a New York real estate agent. “That’s what gave me the idea to find an artist to paint the exterior and do some of the stuff inside the house.”
Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami known for its walkable outdoor museum of giant wall murals.
The home at 411 El Vedado was built in 1940 and has kept its hardwood floors and original fireplace but has otherwise been completely remodeled with sleek modern finishes. The main house has four bedrooms and two bathrooms with the black and white theme repeated throughout the interior, including painted staircase risers and dramatic wallpaper designs. The guest house has one bedroom and one bathroom.
Intuitive abstract artist Annissa Zak painted the exterior of the home and some of the interior details. In a 2020 interview with The Palm Beach Post, Zak said her goal was to create a modern art home where each part of the house was a different art installation.
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“I hope that people will notice that there aren’t any patterns within the free-handed work,” she said in 2020. “The non-repetitious and interconnected lines act in opposition to our daily encounter with time as a mundane experience fueled by habits, which dull our perception of our surroundings.”
Maltsev purchased the property for $260,200 in May 2019. He said although he has managed short term rentals in the past, this was the first he has owned.
The artistry of the home has attracted renters who have used it to film music videos and as a backdrop for modeling shoots.
Although the listing price is a 178% increase from what Maltsev paid, the residential real estate market in West Palm Beach has seen prices skyrocket following an influx of pandemic-driven transplants.
The home behind Maltsev’s at 412 El Prado sold for $780,000 in July. That was a 57.5% increase since its last sale in March 2021 for $495,000.
“I don’t think the price is outrageous at all to be honest with you,” said Don Moore, a broker associate with Compass, about 411 El Vedado. “I think it’s reasonable. For unique as it is, it’s priced reasonable for this market.”
The house is along West Palm Beach’s storied Antique Row but is just west of Dixie Highway.
Still, Moore said more people are being pushed west of Dixie as prices rise in the coveted historic neighborhoods to the east.
“I do believe the next big area is between Forest Hill Boulevard to Belvedere Road going west to I-95,” Moore said. “It’s still affordable.”
It’s also largely free of historic restrictions, giving buyers more freedom to tear down old homes and build new ones.
Maltsev said he’s testing the market with the $725,000 price tag and isn’t in a rush to sell.
Moore thinks the unique paint job on the house is a selling point, especially if it stays a short-term rental. But Maltsev said he may have to paint it a neutral color if the home doesn’t sell this season and depending on feedback from potential buyers.
“I don’t know if we’ll find someone with the kind of taste this house would appeal to,” Maltsev said. “It has to be a very unique buyer who likes this aesthetic or another short-term rental operator.”
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to [email protected]. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
