MW Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis: Why they tore down their $17 million beach home
By Charlie Lankston
The day cottage appears to have been been razed
It has been a difficult few months for Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis-who were inadvertently dragged into Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking scandal, not long after they faced outrage over their support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.
For the most part, the married A-listers have shied away from the controversy, opting to hunker down in their custom-built Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion. However, while they have done their best to remain out of the public eye, it seems they are ready to embrace a new chapter in their life-at least where their $17 million Carpinteria, Calif., beach home is concerned.
Images obtained exclusively by Realtor.com reveal that the property-which is made up of two homes-is undergoing some very significant construction, which has seen one of the abodes completely torn down, just over two years after it was swamped by sludge during a mudslide in late 2022.
Kutcher, 47, who is due to return to the small screen in Ryan Murphy's upcoming series "The Beauty," and Kunis, 41, purchased the two-home dwelling for $10.1 million in 2017 via an LLC, according to property records. Today, it is estimated to be worth up to $17 million. It is not clear how the construction will affect the property's value.
The home, which is located on the same street as dwellings owned by Kevin Costner and George Lucas, originally featured a main residence and a day cottage, offering a total of six bedrooms, according to the listing.
However, photos of the plot reveal that the day cottage has now been razed, leaving just a bare patch of land behind.
Meanwhile, the main house has undergone a drastic transformation that has seen its spacious two-story porch ripped down, along with the outdoor stairs connecting the upper level to the ground floor.
Even the chimney has been removed from the structure-which is seen surrounded by construction vehicles, including an excavator and a pile driver, as well as an enormous dump truck.
The two-story dwelling appears to have been gutted as part of the renovation work, with plastic sheeting covering the spaces where the windows were once fitted.
Similarly, a raised porch area that once sat at the back of the main property has been removed.
Photos that were taken in February reveal the beginning stages of the work, when both structures were still standing-albeit with clear signs that construction was taking place, from a huge dumpster in the yard to pieces of wood seen on the porch.
The dramatic overhaul of the property comes just 18 months after Kutcher and Kunis offered one lucky fan the chance to spend the night in their day cottage while teaming up with vacation rental company Airbnb.
In the listing for the one-night rental-which was available only on Aug. 19, 2023-the cottage, which has now been demolished, was described as being able to accommodate four guests in two bedrooms, with the couple noting that their beach house had become their "home away from home."
"Our Santa Barbara County beach house is our home away from home, especially when we're in need of some R&R (you fellow parents know what we're talking about)," they wrote.
"Steps from the beach, and with beautiful views of the Santa Ynez mountains, you'll find no shortage of sights and plenty of activities to make for an unforgettable summer stay."
The images of the property at the time revealed an elegantly decorated beach cottage with a cozy bedroom with a queen-sized bed, as well as a bunkroom that could fit three guests.
Additionally, the cottage featured a small kitchen, a living space with a small table for dining, and an expansive back deck overlooking the beach. It also offered a hot tub, a seating area, and an alfresco dining space.
Their decision to offer the home on Airbnb $(ABNB)$-albeit for only one night-came around eight months after Kutcher and Kunis' property was affected by severe flooding and mudslides, which took place between December 2022 and March 2023.
The floods led to several mudslides, which saw the couple's once-lush property turned into a veritable swamp. Images taken at the time revealed that the waterway, which runs alongside the property, had risen to dangerous levels and was also filled with sludge and debris.
It is not known whether the flooding caused any structural damage to either of the homes on Kutcher and Kunis' property-or if the fallout from the mudslides prompted their decision to carry out such significant work on their home.
Realtor.com has contacted the couple's spokesperson for comment.
As noted in their Airbnb listing, the Carpinteria property does not serve as the couple's main residence-which is located in Beverly Hills.
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That dwelling was custom-built for the duo, who opened its doors in a 2021 photo shoot with Architectural Digest, during which they discussed the process of designing and completing the sustainable farmhouse.
At the time, they explained that they wanted to build a real "home, not an estate" on their 6-acre plot of land on a hilltop overlooking Los Angeles.
"We wanted the house to look like an old barn, something that had been here for decades, that was then converted into a house. But it also had to feel modern and relevant," Kutcher said.
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The couple also gave some insight into the important role that their home plays in providing them with a sanctuary from their hectic Hollywood schedules.
"To feel tranquility in a space, everything needs to be in order," Kutcher said. "If the world around you isn't in order, it's hard to get your brain in order. When we're in our home, the world just makes sense."
It may well be that their latest construction project was intended to add more "order" to their Santa Barbara beach house amid what has been a somewhat fraught time for the couple.
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In October, Kutcher became embroiled in the controversy surrounding Diddy's arrest on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering-charges the rapper has vehemently denied-with critics calling into question years-old images of the pair partying together during their 20-year friendship.
That scandal came almost a year to the day after Kutcher and Kunis faced furious backlash over their decision to write letters in support of their former "That 70s Show" co-star Masterson following his rape conviction.
The couple later issued an apology on Instagram.
"We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson," Kutcher wrote to his followers.
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"A couple of months ago, Danny's family reached out to us, and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years, so that the judge could take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing.
"They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or retraumatize them in any way. We would never want to do that and we're sorry if that has taken place."
This story originally ran on Realtor.com.
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March 25, 2025 04:59 ET (08:59 GMT)
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