Modern meets ancient Middle East in Beverly Hills

Classic modern melds with a touch of the Middle East in designer Mohamed Hadid’s newest home in Beverly Hills, a dramatic homage to Egypt’s past, filled with fire and water features.

The entrance to the contemporary residence features a glass walkway over a pond that gives the illusion of walking on steppingstones to the mahogany front doors. Inside, the spacious rooms feature 14-foot ceilings, exotic woods and open fireplaces with sea glass-covered hearths. Gray-white Jerusalem limestone is used for the flooring and walls throughout.

A pyramid sculpture, clad in gold flamed Jerusalem stone, sits in the middle of a pond at the end of the foyer, under a retractable skylight. Outside the living room, another pyramid shelters the spa at the end of a 120-foot lap pool.

“Through my travels in Egypt, I saw some elements from the past that I introduced to the house,” says Hadid, a real estate developer who has built Ritz-Carlton hotels and lavish estates around the country. “The wood in the ceiling is African zebrawood, so elements from the old world are put in a modern setting.”

The open floor plan includes a living room, family room, dining room and kitchen. The living room and family room are separated by a 9-foot-long, two-sided fireplace. Sliding glass pocket doors open the length of the room to the patio, a half-bath and pool outdoors.

The kitchen has a center island, a walk-in refrigerator and Thermador appliances. Behind the kitchen is the master bedroom, with a fireplace, that opens to the pool area.

The master bedroom includes a 1,100-square-foot his and her closet/dressing room with built-in shelving and two dresser drawer islands.

The master bathroom suite is divided into his and her rooms as well. A spa tub sits in the center of “her” side, with a dual-sink vanity, indoor shower and an enclosed outdoor shower. On “his” side, a dual-sink vanity stretches almost the length of the room, opposite an oversize shower with multiple shower heads and built-in benches.

The guest wing of the house includes three en suite bedrooms that open to patios and the backyard.

An atrium with ponds, a waterfall and a Jerusalem limestone walkway connects the guest wing with a larger guest bedroom and bathroom on the opposite side of the house. This bathroom features a glass ceiling above the shower and infinity bathtub.

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos on a CD, caption information, the name of the photographer and a description of the house to Lauren Beale, Business, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.