Buy a bit of James Bond: Iconic modernist Palm Springs home up for sale

With 24 official James Bond movies released over more than 50 years, you’d be forgiven for struggling to pick your favourite Bond villain lair (in fact, the one from Spectre was up for sale late last year). 

That said, this one is pretty memorable, and the even better news is that it’s on the market.

The striking modernist home featured in the 1971 Bond film Diamonds are Forever. In this, the last of the official Sean Connery films, the home was the setting for a fight between Bond and two bikini-clad women, which ended with Bond being thrown into a pool.

It features distinctive curved walls and windows, mountain views, a protruding pool deck and a rock grotto bathroom. The listing, through Christie’s International Real Estate, refers to it as “art and architect are fused as one”. 

Named after the famous interior designer who commissioned it – Arthur Elrod – the property is known as the Elrod House and was designed by the equally famous architect John Lautner and built in 1969.  

2175 Southridge Drive, Palm Springs Photo: Christie’s International Real Estate.

Elrod gave Lautner full creative control of the project, telling him: “Give me what you think I should have on this lot.” Lautner obviously didn’t hold back.

The property was reported as being one of three significant modernist properties in the area in default in 2014, when it belonged to real estate investor Michael J. Kilroy. At the time, there were concerns it was falling into disrepair. 

It’s now on the market for $US10,495,000 ($A13,896,061).

2175 Southridge Drive, Palm Springs. Photo: Christie’s International Real Estate.