California’s famous ‘Whale House’ hits the market in Santa Barbara

An incredibly imaginative California home known as the “Whale House” has hit the market, asking $3.3 million. Designed and modeled after the structure of a whale, the Santa Barbara home has no right angles — it’s full of wavy lines and unconventional features. 

“The pictures don’t even do it justice,” said listing agent Daniel Carpenter of Sotheby’s International Realty. “It has the whole anatomy of the whale.”

The design of the home, built in 1978, is inspired by famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Visitors enter the house through the whale’s “mouth” into the “head of the whale,” which includes three floors of living space spanning 2,600 square feet. The dining area, living room and kitchen are on the main floor, with a bedroom and bathroom on each of the two higher floors.

An interior courtyard — the belly of the whale — includes patio space, an outdoor shower and a 75-foot, rock-lined lap pool that stretches through a wood-paneled tunnel.

A one-bedroom guest house is the whale’s tail, and it’s all surrounded by vegetation and more patio space on just over a half-acre lot. 

Carpenter said legend has it that musician Eddie Vedder spent time living at the property, though he was never an owner. The current owners purchased it in 2015 for $1.1 million and occupied it for a time, but it also has been a popular Airbnb for years. 

There’s been an incredible amount of interest since the property was listed, Carpenter said, and bids were due for potential buyers earlier this week. 

He said the owners love the property and almost had second thoughts about putting it on the market. Ultimately, they decided it was time for them to move on.