Now I understand why Larry Ellison's old property in Atherton is lingering on the market. The house, put up for sale at a price of $25m in 2005, is now listing for just $16m. The location is fine, in Silicon Valley's most desirable neighborhood. But one would have to share the Oracle founder's fetish for contemporary Japanese landscaping and furniture design. And even the fans of Ellison's taste in decor would have pause: the Atherton house was an early model of the tech magnate's ideal home and, like the first release of a software package, now slightly dated. Larger pictures, and the real estate broker's description of Ellison's pocket shoji screens and koi ponds, after the jump.

An exquisite expression of the guiding principles of Japanese aesthetics, Larry Ellison´s extraordinary West Atherton estate offers visual appeal around every corner. Abundant windows and sliding glass doors with pocket shoji screens open to the exquisitely landscaped grounds, affording seamless integration between the interior spaces and the Japanese gardens. The elegant and flowing floorplan of 7 bedrooms and 7.5 baths is arranged over two levels, highlighted by a sumptuous master suite with a fireplace and two full bathrooms. The outstanding grounds of approximately 1.78 +/- acres include an authentic Japanese tea house, exquisite Japanese strolling gardens with decks, ponds, waterfalls, a koi pond, an in-ground spa off the master suite, and a dark-bottom swimming pool rimmed with boulders that melds into the landscape. Each season is announced by a timed burst of color. Located near the Menlo Circus Club. [Allen Pinel Realtors via Realestalker]