DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
Issue link: https://www.southbaydiggs.com/i/1218126
80 DIGS.NET | 3.6.2020 S W E E T D I G S | 1 7 C R E S T R O A D E A S T M A R K E T outhern California and the Spanish Colonial Revival home fit hand in glove. With deep roots in this region's history, the architectural style is loaded with design features that create a wonderful unison between its stylized interior and an uplifting exte- rior landscape. These homes create a familiar and romantic sight when encountered, particularly in coastal communities. Head to Rolling Hills, the gated private community atop the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and one meets a rare find: a bona fide equestrian estate, spanning over 10 acres and built in the authentic Spanish Colonial Revival style, as well as brand-new construction, with a luxurious interior that offers well-crafted design spins on a classic genre. "It's one of the most premier lots in all of Rolling Hills," real estate agent Neil Chhabria says of the property. "It's located on Crest and surrounded by other comparably-sized properties." The property's introduction first happens along its meandering driveway where one is flanked by lush green trees while majes- tic ocean views rise in the background. Then the grandeur of the crisp-white, clay tile roof estate comes into focus, complete with a spacious five-stall barn, a tack room, a feed room, and a riding arena with two paddocks. Wander along the property, delightfully even in slope and therefore a pleasure to navigate, and one finds other luxuries, like an al fresco sunning deck, an oval swimming pool and a tennis court. One imagines evenings spent lounging under the pergola with the company of friends and a crackling fire nearby. The otherworldly atmosphere of this sunny, top-of-the-world spread heightens everything here. "It feels like you're somewhere else in the world," Chhabria says of the property. "It's a classic ranch estate—but with ocean views." To create the home, which is approximately 8,900 square feet in size, the owners enlisted the preeminent designer of Span- ish Colonial Revival homes, architect Michael Burch. Among the many accolades of his firm are three Palladio awards, a prestigious U.S. prize given annually for excellence in classical design. Two elements were central to the design of the home: the view, and the interior courtyard. For the first, sweeping views were optimized by orienting the home and its main spaces around a three-pronged bounty of perspectives; miles of dramatic California coastline, Catalina Island and swaths of the Pacific Ocean so vast one might forget they're living on the mainland. The home's interior courtyard, or gallery, provides a protected place to experience the wide-perspective ocean view, Burch's firm points out. The house, which spans five bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, S