Architecture
as a Way
of Living
Founded in 2014, Aether Properties represents architecturally significant homes in Los Angeles and beyond.
A Firm Built
on Architecture
Aether was founded in 2014 by Nadia Salari and James Whitfield — an architect and an art specialist who, after years working at the highest levels of their respective fields, arrived at the same conclusion: Los Angeles had no real estate firm that truly understood its architecture.
Nadia had trained at SCI-Arc and spent years at Morphosis and Olson Kundig, developing the kind of design literacy that made commodity real estate feel deeply inadequate. James had spent a decade as a Post-War & Contemporary Art specialist at Christie's, where he learned to treat physical objects — regardless of medium — as cultural artifacts deserving careful stewardship.
Together, they saw a gap. Architecturally significant homes in Los Angeles — by Neutra, Schindler, Lautner, Thom Mayne, Gehry, Ando — were routinely changing hands through agents who had no framework for understanding what made them significant. Properties were being mis-priced, poorly photographed, and transferred to buyers who would renovate them beyond recognition.
They founded Aether to do it differently. Today, the firm represents homes by some of the most celebrated architects in history — Gehry, Ando, Lautner, Thom Mayne — alongside contemporary works that will one day hold the same status. Every engagement is approached with the rigor of a museum acquisition and the discretion of a private bank.
"We don't sell square footage. We place people inside the work of artists."
— Nadia Salari, Co-Founder
People Who
See Architecture
Our team comes from architecture, art, and luxury real estate — disciplines that share a common obsession with the integrity of craft. Each person at Aether was chosen for what they notice that others miss.
Nadia Salari
Co-Founder & Principal
Trained at SCI-Arc, Nadia practiced architecture at Morphosis and Olson Kundig before co-founding Aether. Her design literacy shapes every acquisition and bespoke build the firm undertakes. Named to Architectural Digest's Women in Design list in 2023.
James Whitfield
Co-Founder & Principal
James spent a decade as a Post-War & Contemporary Art specialist at Christie's before turning his curatorial eye toward built space. A regular contributor to Wallpaper*, he brings a collector's sensibility to each property Aether represents.
Elena Voss
Director of Acquisitions
With fifteen years in Los Angeles luxury real estate — including a tenure as VP at The Agency — Elena brings a forensic understanding of the market. She has a gift for finding properties before they reach the open market.
Tomás Reyes
Design Curation Lead
A graduate of UCLA's M.Arch program, Tomás bridges the worlds of architecture and real estate with ease. He manages Aether's bespoke build projects — from site identification through material selection — with rigorous attention to a home's architectural intent.
Ava Park
Client Relations & Portfolio Management
Ava spent eight years as a gallery director before joining Aether, where she found that the skills are identical: understanding what a collector truly wants, and building a relationship rooted in trust and taste. She manages Aether's ongoing client portfolios with quiet precision.
Three Principles
We Don't Compromise
Architectural Integrity
We represent only properties that meet a rigorous architectural standard — buildings by makers whose work has shaped how we understand space. We do not represent homes merely because they are expensive. We represent them because they are meaningful.
Discretion
Our clients are private by nature. We conduct every engagement with the understanding that the details of an acquisition, a build, or a portfolio are not ours to share. Confidentiality is not a feature of our service — it is the foundation of it.
Long-Term Thinking
Significant architecture appreciates — in financial value and in meaning — when it is cared for with continuity. We think in decades, not transactions. Many of our clients have worked with us through multiple properties across multiple years.
As seen in & recognised by
Architectural Digest
Women in Design 2023
Wallpaper*
Contributing Editor
Christie's
Post-War & Contemporary
The Agency
Former VP, Acquisitions
Begin a
Conversation
Tell us how you envision living. We take on new client relationships selectively — and every engagement begins with a private conversation.