70 DIGS.NET
| 10.1.2021
S W E E T D I G S | 1 5 0 9 V I A M O N T E M A R
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hese days, with our entire lives are on display, privacy
has become the new luxury. Within this increasingly
intrusive and inquisitive world, home has become our
safe haven and, as we learned over the last year and a
half, our whole world. But where, we wonder, will we ever find
a home that feels like a true sanctuary?
It would need to be surrounded by a landscape that conjures
up the beauty of the legendary countrysides that make up
our dream destinations. Designed for comfort and tailored
for pleasure, it would include a plethora of amenities, from
spa bathrooms to gracious living spaces to a resort-style pool.
Impeccable details like graceful arches, stone pathways, fili-
greed balconies, mosaic tiles and beamed ceilings, would
transform it from a place to live to a place to experience. Set in
one of the country's preeminent districts, plush with parks, its
peaceful setting would only be matched by the tranquility of the
home itself. Architectural firm Ashai Design brought that vision
to life when they created 1509 Via Montemar.
Perched high above Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes Estates, with a
masterplan designed by the legendary landscape architect Fred-
erick Law Olmsted, Jr., the landscape architect behind many of
the country's most visually astounding national parks and monu-
mental public spaces, this beautifully designed and maintained
community is one of the country's exclusive enclaves and the
backdrop to this astounding estate.
The impeccably manicured exterior hints at the understated
luxury inside. A mature palm and lush trees play peekaboo with
a home sheathed in soothing sandstone and topped by a red
roof, a nod to the neighborhood's roots in the classic Spanish
Revival styles that found their greatest expression just after the
turn of the last century. Leave your car in one of the garage's
three space along with the cares of the day as you step through
the gated entry into the tiled courtyard and into the home's
upper level. "It's pretty rare for my jaw to drop when I walk
into a home and even more rare for it to stay dropped," says
realtor Ed Kaminsky, "But as soon as I saw that one hundred
