330 Homes Fall 2022

d r e a m h o u s e

J oel Testa wants to be Iron Man when he grows up. It’s a common dream for many kids. But Joel’s an adult. “I think the movie character was actually created after me,” he says with a wink. And judging from his home, he appears to have realized that

and Bumblebee Transformers suits and a nine-seat mar ble-topped bar, where Joel can indulge as well as host guests for the ultimate VIP the ater experience. It all connects to the showroom that also has a mogul-worthy desk and mounted guitars as well as three oversized glass doors and a nano wall of folding glass doors that opens to a backyard overlooking scenic Silver Lake — making it an enviable man cave. “[It's] the best place in the house,” he says. Joel, his wife, Cassie, and their children, Zoe, Giovanni and Sofia, moved into the home built by Testa Builders in September 2021. (Cassie gave birth to their fourth child, Malia, shortly after). Their goal was a traditional one: A move to bring them closer to relatives and a spot for them to raise their family. The house’s modern farm house exterior, with white stone and board and-batten siding, black carriage house doors and a black metal roof, fits in with other houses on the road, many of which are prewar vintage. But inside, the home gives free rein to the Testas’ modernist tendencies while making it a gath ering place.

dream. The lower level alone of his 8,500-square-foot Silver Lake home bears more than a

passing resemblance to Tony Stark’s high tech residence. And like Stark, Joel too is a big-time entrepreneur. He operates several companies encom passing construction, architecture, property

management, real estate and dining including his name sake Testa Cos.

There are high-pow ered sports vehicles — a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a Ducati motorcycle — in a lower-level showroom. There’s a sumptu ous theater with a 16-foot screen, cushy recliners and sur round sound. There are even a couple full-size replica Iron Man suits on display. And outside the the ater, there’s a light-up Marvel marquee, a red carpet lined by red velvet ropes, a snack bar with a popcorn machine, a ticket win dow, life-size Spider Man, StormTrooper

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