Listing of the Day
Location: The Sea Ranch, California
Price: $2.45 million
The iconic Hines House, one of the first private homes designed by well-known Northern California architect William Turnbull Jr., has come on the market publicly for the first time since 1972.
In the early 1960s, Turnbull was one of a handful of architects who created the master plan of the ecologically designed 10-mile Pacific Coast stretch known as The Sea Ranch.
"They were geniuses," said Hines House listing agent Ilana Gafni. "Their main thing was they wanted the houses to be integrated into the landscape."
"It’s a really idyllic setting, with lots of trees—there were wild turkeys walking around when we visited," she said. "You’re in a forest, but with views of the ocean, too."
The Hines House is unusual because of its "big house/bunk house setup," she said, with a main house for the family and an almost adjacent smaller guesthouse right next door.
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"There is an elongated terrace between the two structures," Ms. Gafni said.
"The main house is really interesting because he put the windows on the corners to direct your views to the ocean," she said.
The extensive use of sturdy redwood and Douglas fir in the home help to unite the buildings with the surrounding landscape, she said. There are also six strategically placed skylights.
"They were very careful about materials because it’s windy there, and it rains," Ms. Gafni said.
The house is built into a slight slope, she said, "but you don’t really notice it when you’re inside the house because of the way he designed it."
Turnbull worked on the 1968 house throughout his life, designing a kitchen expansion, library, view deck and new skylights. The home won the Sunset/AIA Home of the Year Award in 1970, and has been extensively published in Japan, Europe and North America.
Ms. Gafni thinks the buyer will likely be an "architecture aficionado—it’s not a traditional sort of place."
"This is pure Turnbull, and pretty unaltered," she added. "It’s in really good condition."
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Stats
The 2,382-square-foot house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It sits on a 1.58-acre lot.
Amenities
Amenities include a wine cellar, laundry room, two-car garage, tool shed, wood shed and a security system. The driveway holds an additional three cars.
Neighborhood Notes
Gualala, an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, is about 10 minutes to the north, Ms. Gafni said. Once a logging town, it serves as a commercial center for The Sea Ranch and surrounding area. The Sea Ranch is about 100 miles north of San Francisco.
Agent: Ilana Gafni, Crosby Doe Associates Inc.
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