Estates like The Straus House don’t come along very often. Widely considered the most significant oceanfront architectural design by Wallace Neff, this listing in the coveted Hope Ranch enclave in Santa Barbara, California is sure to attract buyers. Neff’s other work included homes for names like Charlie Chaplin, Groucho and Harpo Marks, Mary Pickford, and more.
Designed in 1970 as the weekend home of Macy’s department store heir Robert Straus, the home has been lovingly modernized, expanded, and restored over the past decade and is now for sale for an undisclosed sum “available upon request” from agents Weston Littlefield, Dalton Gomez, and Aaron Kirman of the Aaron Kirman Group at Compass. Previous asking prices have ranged from $21.5 to $32.7 million between 2017 and 2019, after the current owners purchased the home in 2007 for $7.5 million.
The home is a California “hacienda” type design done in collaboration with noteworthy landscape architect Thomas Church, and is situated on an oceanfront acre of land on the crest of a bluff where the blue sky meets the Pacific Ocean and panoramic views, including the clear sight of Channel Islands.
The current owner worked closely with the Historical Committee on all aspects of preserving the integrity of the design and inspiration of Neff’s work while simultaneously breaking the mold and creating an estate of unrivaled excitement, comfort, and effortless luxury and indulgence.
The home stands at just over 14,000 square feet on a single level, in an H-shape with the bedrooms on each wing. The home’s exterior is as private as the owners, with large iron gates and dramatic white scallop shell walls leading to a Mission-style courtyard.
The home offers panoramic ocean views from nearly every room, including an impressive glass entryway with floor-to-ceiling windows.
The property boasts five bedrooms, five baths, a screening room, wine cellar, and chef’s kitchen inside, with an infinity pool outside, plus a chic and private separate guest suite tucked underneath the pool deck.
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