San Marino | $3.98 Million
A Cape Cod-style house with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a guesthouse with its own bathroom, on a 0.3-acre lot
San Marino, a small city south of Pasadena, is known for being home to the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, which has wide-ranging collections that include 15th-century illustrated manuscripts and William Morris textiles. This house is a five-minute drive from the Huntington and about the same distance from Lacy Park, where there are two walking loops and a picnic area.
Downtown Pasadena is around 10 minutes away; downtown Los Angeles is about a 20-minute drive, traffic permitting. Hollywood Burbank Airport is 25 minutes away.
Size: 3,514 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,133
Indoors: From the street, a paved path edged with brick leads to a covered brick porch and a Dutch front door painted blue.
The door opens into a foyer with wide-plank hardwood floors. Off this space is a guest room with built-in bookcases and street-facing windows, used by the sellers as a home office.
The hardwood floors continue into a living room with white coffered ceilings and a gas fireplace framed in floor-to-ceiling marble.
Beyond the living room is a combined family and dining room with a built-in entertainment center along the far wall and LaCantina glass bifold doors that open to the backyard.
The adjoining kitchen has a large center island with seating for three, a pale blue La Cornue range and marble countertops. Nearby are a butler’s pantry with a sink and a full bathroom with a combined tub and shower.
Three bedrooms are on the second floor, reached from stairs in the foyer. The spacious primary suite has a built-in desk and cabinetry, a sizable closet and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and walls covered in blue tile laid in a chevron pattern. Two guest rooms large enough to hold queen-size beds share a bathroom off the hallway with a combined tub and shower.
The guesthouse includes a living room, a kitchen, a lofted sleeping area and a full bathroom.
Outdoor space: The patio off the family room is covered with wood slats and has enough space for separate dining and lounging areas. An outdoor kitchen with a barbecue grill is a few steps from a swimming pool with another lounge area and a fire table at the far side. The detached garage has two parking spots.
Kenwood | $3.998 Million
A modern farmhouse built in 2020, with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and one half bathroom, on 10 acres
Kenwood, an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, is about an hour and a half from San Francisco, making it a popular weekend and second-home destination for people who live in the Bay Area. This house was built with fire safety in mind: It has concrete siding, a roof sprinkler system and a backup generator.
The property abuts Trione-Annadel State Park, which has more than 5,000 acres of open space with hiking and riding trails and a lake that draws bird-watchers and fishers. It is less than 10 minutes from the center of Kenwood, putting it within close range of numerous wine-tasting rooms.
Size: 3,046 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,313
Indoors: A long driveway leads to the covered front porch and the adjacent garage. The bright red front door opens into a foyer with hardwood floors and a staircase with a powder room tucked underneath.
The hardwood floors extend into a sitting area with large, folding glass doors that open to the pool area in the backyard. To the left of this space is an open living room with more folding glass doors, a wood-beamed ceiling and a built-in banquette. The kitchen, to one side, has stainless steel appliances, including a refrigerator with a glass door and a six-burner GE Monogram range topped by a hand-painted, custom-made hood.
Behind the kitchen is a pantry and a door to the covered outdoor passageway between the house and the garage.
There are two bedrooms on the main level, to the right of the foyer; one has folding glass doors that open to the pool area. They are connected by a bathroom with a walk-in shower.
On the second level, at the top of the stairs, is a space with a private balcony that could be used as a den, a family room or an extension of the primary suite. The primary bedroom, to the left of the landing, has a walk-in closet and overlooks the backyard; the attached bathroom has a sauna and a separate shower with a bench.
Outdoor space: The patio behind the house and the pool area beyond are paved with concrete and offer views of mature trees, some of them fruit bearing. The lot is large, with enough space to add a guesthouse and other outbuildings. The detached garage has parking for three cars, and includes a mudroom and a laundry room.
Taxes: $49,980 (estimated)
Contact: Maurice Tegelaar, Compass, 707-484-8088; compass.com
El Dorado Hills | $3.995 Million
A 2021 house with four bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, on a 0.7-acre lot
El Dorado Hills, about 30 minutes from downtown Sacramento, is popular with those looking for ample space and good schools. This house is less than a 10-minute drive from two well-ranked public schools: Oak Ridge High School and Rolling Hills Middle School. It is about the same distance from a shopping center with a Safeway grocery store, a bagel shop, and a brewery and restaurant.
Folsom Point State Park, which offers open space and walking trails along the banks of Folsom Lake, is also nearby. Sacramento International Airport is about a 40-minute drive; Lake Tahoe is less than two hours away.
Size: 4,739 square feet
Price per square foot: $843
Indoors: A wood gate in a low wall running along the street opens into an entry courtyard landscaped with drought-tolerant plants. The tall glass front door opens into an expansive foyer with a soaring ceiling, white-painted brick walls and hardwood floors.
The hardwood floors continue into an open living area with a sleek fireplace and huge windows facing a covered patio.
Opposite the living area is a dining area. A few steps beyond is an open kitchen with a quartz-topped center island and stainless steel appliances, including a Thermador range.
Behind the main kitchen is a secondary kitchen with additional appliances, making it easy to hold large dinners and events. A pantry and a powder room are also off the kitchen.
All four bedrooms are off a hallway that extends from the living room. The primary bedroom has a fireplace and a bathroom with a soaking tub and two showers: one indoors and one outdoors. Next door is another en suite bedroom, as well as a home office with built-in bookcases. Two more en suite bedrooms are farther down the hall.
The property also includes a full-size indoor basketball court with N.B.A.-grade wood flooring, a rock-climbing wall and a full bathroom.
Outdoor space: Paving wraps around the pool and the separate spa. The patio close to the house includes an outdoor kitchen and a covered dining area with ceiling fans. Steps lead down to a terraced lawn and a paved sitting area with a fire pit and a window looking into the pool. The five-car garage includes storage space for a boat.
Taxes: $49,932 (estimated) and a $100 monthly homeowner association fee
Contact: Nick Sadek, Nick Sadek Sotheby’s International Realty, 916-966-4444; sothebysrealty.com
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