Lagoon Estate, Bolinas

Sold 9,000,000

This cosmopolitan Bay Area Arcadia built by Matarozzi Pelsinger is nestled away in a seaside hamlet just a short ride and a whole world away from San Francisco. The home sits on 7.7 acres punctuated by guest houses, a barn, orchards, gardens and majestic oak trees. The property, in its magnificent present incarnation, was lovingly conceived over 20 years as the culmination of a lifetime of travel and design appreciation. Light and air flow easily through an architecture that breathes with the offshore winds and the rhythms of this beatific stretch of the Northern California coast. The scale confidently exposes its extraordinary craft, with high ceilings, Chinkapin oak, reclaimed European oak floors and custom Spanish walnut cabinetry hand hewed by renowned artisans. The vernacular is cultivated, informed by travels through Asia, Europe and South America. A trip to Pablo Neruda’s home inspired the trees that permeate the cottage and support the balcony overlooking the lagoon where leopard sharks swim beneath the egrets and herons. Living in this magical oasis throughout the mild seasons, one could feel as though they were anywhere in the world. Owl, fox, deer, coyote, and a plenum of birdlife animate the rolling verdant ranges and cerulean skies. There is a distinctive mastery present in the custom-built features thoughtfully deployed for an understated and artful living. The estate is perched on a plateau in Bolinas’ most agreeable climate, a banana belt between the equestrian horseshoe hill and the lagoon where friendly, worldly neighbors appreciate their space and the gardens can grow nearly anything.