facebook-pixel

For $4.5M, live in a ‘Queer Eye’ star’s vision of Utah’s ‘quiet luxury’

Bobby Berk helped shape a Holladay estate that reflects high-end housing’s shift in Utah toward supporting lifestyle rather than showing off.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The newly completed home designed by Bobby Berk (formerly on Queer Eye) in Holladay Hills on the site of the former Cottonwood Mall, is pictured on Thursday, July 30, 2026. The luxury home is part of the LivingWell collection by Tri Pointe Homes.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The newly completed home designed by Bobby Berk (formerly on Queer Eye) in Holladay Hills on the site of the former Cottonwood Mall, is pictured on Thursday, July 30, 2026. The luxury home is part of the LivingWell collection by Tri Pointe Homes.

Holladay • Oversized windows that flood light throughout the halls. A courtyard with a year-round pool. A view of towering Mount Olympus. A bastion of “quiet luxury,” the designer says of a new six-bedroom residence.

Those are just a few of the features of a new 7,700-square-foot Tri Pointe Homes house featured in this year’s Salt Lake Parade of Homes. And it’s one of six estate lots planned for Pavilions at Holladay Hills, part of a massive redo of the former Cottonwood Mall site.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The newly completed home designed by Bobby Berk (formerly on Queer Eye) sits in Holladay Hills on the site of the former Cottonwood Mall.

Each of those homes – starting at around $4.5 million – will have an intentional connection between the indoors and outdoors, said Bobby Berk, who worked with a California-based builder on the three-story model home.

That idea is central to Tri Pointe’s new LivingWell concept.

“It’s not about every room or a room,” said Ken Krivanec, Tri Pointe’s division president for Utah and Washington. “It’s about the whole house and how it lives.”

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Large windows mean there's plenty of light in every season, even in this basement room.

Berk, best known for eight seasons on Netflix’s “Queer Eye” as one of the reboot’s original “Fab Five,” said that sense of flow you feel in the home is key to good design.

Like the rest of Utah’s luxury housing market, the home marks a shift from showing off to supporting a lifestyle.

“I’d consider this home quiet luxury,” Berk said.

“It’s not flashy. It doesn’t yell, ‘I’m expensive,’” he said. “But you know it’s quality without it needing to tell you.”

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bobby Berk (formerly on Queer Eye) sits for a portrait as he looks out at Mount Olympus from the newly completed home he helped Tri Pointe Homes design.

Eating in the dining room “kind of feels like you’re outside,” he said, and the connection extends beyond the home’s four walls. The home utilizes “other space in the sides and courtyards, and really making sure that you’re getting the most out of your space.” Tri Pointe activates “every square inch of your lot,” he said.

Krivanec said the focus is on supporting daily living, from the courtyard and natural light throughout the seasons to automated window shades and light switches that blend into the walls.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People walk through the first of Tri Pointe's LivingWell homes in Holladay Hills.

Berk said that functionality and flow promote wellness by creating a home that enhances life instead of causing chaos.

“Your home is like your phone charger. If you don’t get your phone plugged in at night, it’s not going to make it through the day,” he said. “Same with your home.”

The home includes a fitness room, abundant natural light and dedicated pet spaces, all meant to support different parts of wellness, he said. And there are spaces to be together with your “big family and seven kids” — but also places to be alone if you don’t want to see them.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A fitness center in the LivingWell home by Tri Pointe Homes features a stationary bike and yoga equipment.

And each of the six houses will have a different take on Berk’s vision of quiet luxury, said Linda Mamet, Tri Pointe’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. The layouts are specific to the shape of the lot, how the sun hits the homes and the views, she said, including sweeping vistas of Mount Olympus.

Those are pretty much designed, Berk said. Buyers can personalize finishes, Krivanec said, but the builder doesn’t customize.

There’s even a chance for some personalization on the model home, in which part of the basement is unfinished.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Several rooms in the LivingWell house by Tri Pointe Homes feature a view of Mount Olympus.

Tri Pointe has poured the foundations on two lots, Krivanec said, and will hold off on doing more work there until someone buys them.

Support free news for Utah

sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.

Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.

You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.