Many homes aspire to have a cohesive interior design. Few are as bold as Jae Omar’s ODIN, which cites the Norse Allfather as its unifying direction. Omar’s newest project is an 18,000-square-foot home in celebrity-saturated Encino, California. It carries a $22.9 million price tag which, if met, would become the most expensive home sold in Encino.
ODIN, as one might expect from the name, was inspired by Norse mythology and contemporary Scandinavian design. Eran Gispa worked as the principal architect on the property, with landscaping by Fiore Landscape Design.
“The symbol of Odin, and all that it represents as the Norse God of strength and wisdom, underpins the materials and methods found throughout the property,” says Omar, Principal Designer and Storyteller for ODIN. “The story of ODIN coming to life is a myth in itself, chronicling the power of ancient myths to influence and build our own myths in the present.”
In many ways, the ODIN house is simple, playing on contemporary Scandinavian design with a muted color palette and materials that reflect Northern European landscapes. “Throughout ODIN, materials were chosen and details were crafted to best represent the Scandinavian region and its history. I think of these materials and details as characters within a broader narrative or myth,” Omar says.
The rooms are airy, using light woods like cedar and knotty oaks as paneling for entire rooms and as character in others. Neutral-colored stone is utilized for hardscaping and as a texture in rooms. Those mellow design touches are emphasized with dramatic lighting and eye-catching art. Touches of Nordic flair—like a bedroom chandelier made of antlers and mossy green textures—are found throughout the home.
In other ways, the 40,000-square-foot property is not simple, but opulent in size and theme. It has eight bedrooms and 11.5 bathrooms, plus another bedroom and bathroom in its guest house. The home also contains a curated mythology library where all of the books are at least a century old.
It is not light on amenities. It features a junior Olympic-sized pool, outdoor sports court, bowling alley, wellness spa, massage area, meditation space, sauna, steam room, and plunge pool. That is all in addition to its beautiful indoor-outdoor living spaces and airy balconies overlooking the yard and pool.
The announcement from Omar’s company highlights other unique touches, both subtle and bold, some of which it calls signatures of Omar’s design. That includes angled wooden room dividers that diffuse natural light, meticulously designed skylights, sinks adorned with laser-cut quotes and Nordic poems, floating architectural staircases, meditative
ODIN sits near its Omar-designed sister structure ONIN, which was inspired by “the explosion of Japan’s creative culture following the Onin War of the 1400s.” ODIN, not to be confused with the similarly-named sister property, is being sold fully furnished with furniture by Molteni&C, and artwork and sculptures by Creative Art Partners and D2 Art.
“ODIN is a one-of-a-kind sensory experience all in itself. I particularly enjoy how the home carefully reveals its character and dimension to guests,” says Sally Forster Jones of Compass, who represents the home along with The Altman Brothers of Douglas Elliman. “Nothing here is overstated; everything is just as it needs to be. There is very much a story woven throughout the home, from each hand-cut, hand-laid stone tile, to every book-matched slab, to generous floods of cedar.”
