Restoring this historic home in San Rafael, California, was a labor of love—one that took three-and-a-half years to complete.
The seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom home was "taken down to the studs," said owner Jeff Haggin. It’s now on the market for $8 million.
On the campus of a 19th-century boys school, the home was built in 1906 as a vacation spot for Frank Madison, co-founder of the San Francisco law firm of Pillsbury, Madison, and Sutro. Mr. Haggin and his family bought the property in 2006 for $4.75 million, according to public records, and are only the third family to live there, he said. It was listed for sale on Tuesday.
In redesigning the home, which has almost 9,000 square feet of living space, Mr. Haggin paid careful attention to the historic details while giving the space a modern overhaul. So while everything has been updated—from the plumbing to the lighting to installing in-ceiling speakers—it retains an old-world charm.
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"That’s the most special thing about it to me," Mr. Haggin said of the home, which is on the California Register of Historic Resources. "It’s not all new material."
Mr. Haggin had the "beautiful old redwood" window frames preserved, hand-finished and re-installed. He and his team worked to preserve the look and feel of the place, and selected materials to enhance it, as well as using additional reclaimed wood and other elements. A 400-year-old fountain from Saint-Tropez, France, bubbles outside, and the house boasts a fireplace from room 310 at New York’s Plaza Hotel.
The home sits on almost one-and-a-half acres, and the outdoor space was completely redesigned, Mr. Haggin said. They moved the location of the pool, which is saltwater, and added a hot tub and pool house. There is an irrigation well on the property, plus two reserve tanks for water and solar paneling. It also has a three-car garage.
There’s also a bocce ball court and a giant chess board, which Mr. Haggin hoped his two children would be more interested in than they actually turned out to be. Another kid-friendly amenity: There’s a secret fort in one of the bedrooms.
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Still, "it’s the definition of indoor/outdoor," he said. The pool and the landscaping around it, which includes dogwood and cherry trees, among others, is his favorite place on the property. But, with his son soon to go off to college, "it’s just too much house."
Mr. Haggin—who sold his marketing and advertising company in 2006 and is now writing a novel—and his family is looking to relocate in the area.
Listing agent Lindy Emrich is quick to point out how close the property is to San Francisco, while still being a quiet, peaceful refuge. Recently it has been featured as the home of one of the characters on Selena Gomez’s Netflix series "13 Reasons Why." Mr. Haggin also hosts the galas on the property for local theater companies.
For Ms. Emrich, the home provides the best of both worlds. "There’s the historic element, and the warmth of that, and then you have the contemporary vibe. It’s fabulous to entertain there, but it’s also so relaxing."