A Pair of Stylish Hillside Retreats

Noteworthy new listings….

75 Conejo Road ($3.25 million) doesn’t look like much from the street—the 1975 house could be mistaken for an outbuilding—but it drops down the hillside, capturing the widescreen mountain views, and there’s an expansive deck and garage (which wants to be ADU) off to one side. “I’m convinced this could be made really cool….” I wrote when it sold for $1.325 million in August 2020. Indeed, the buyers stylishly renovated it with with help from Studio Preveza, as detailed by the New York Times. P.S. Love the pretty-boy inspo in a guest bath.

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And off Painted Cave Road is 4828 Glenn Road ($1.995 million), a sexy 1977 A-frame featured in the book Surf Shacks. Let’s buy it just to soak in the wooden tub and take naps.

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The seller of 290 Sheffield Drive ($10.975 million) paid $9 million in September 2022 and brought the 2000 house into the current decade—white walls, painted kitchen cabinetry, wood floors upstairs, and so on. (Compare it to photos from the last time it was listed.) There are things to quibble with, such as the shared driveway, tight foyer, and upstairs primary, but the sheer size (5,608 square feet) makes it feel very livable.

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The floor plan of 7373 Shepard Mesa Road ($6.495 million) made me nervous—the kooky angles of the foyer, dining room, and primary suite can result in decorating challenges. In real life, however, they don’t feel awkward, and together with the retro tiled fireplace, they give the house (built in 2018) some midcentury elan. The single-level layout is nice, with all the guest rooms shoved off to one side, and every house with a pool should have a door from the patio into a bathroom. (This house has two; the occupant of the primary bathroom might want to add window coverings or commit the pool guy’s schedule to memory.) Last but far from least, the views out over Carpinteria to the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands are sublime.

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2868 East Valley Road ($4.9 million) was not open this week, but the 1960 house looks pretty as a peach from the outside. The interiors want to be refreshed; changing out the brightly colored walls will go a long way, but you still have to deal with those floors. The outdoor fireplace gets an A+.

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The 1924 house at 20 E. Los Olivos Street ($4.35 million) has been reconfigured into a duplex—the left third of the building has one bedroom downstairs and one upstairs, and the other two-thirds has one bedroom downstairs and three above. The purist in me wants to revert it to one residence, but how you’d go about it is not immediately apparent.

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The houses on Alan Road and its side streets, across from Hendry’s Beach, generally feel of a piece—and then there’s the architectural statement at 24 Wade Court ($4.095 million). Built in 1996, it’s not exactly trying to blend in. As you can see from the floor plan, there are even more levels than you’d imagine from looking at the exterior. Speaking of which, replacing the stone cladding (inside, too, while you’re at it) could up the cool factor.

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When I recently walked the Harbor Hills part of (the?) Alta Mesa, the see-through topper at 1724 La Coronilla Drive ($3.445 million) stood out, literally and figuratively. Ferguson Ettinger Architects gave the 1975 two-bedroom house a contemporary makeover that successfully frames the jaw-dropping view out back. Upstairs is kitted out as a party room, with a small bar, half-bath, and a deck. The views up there are great, of course, but for the power lines.

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1924 Anacapa Street ($2.995 million) is a 1924 1920 Structure of Merit rich with Traditional Home appeal. While the low ceilings lend the living room a little too much coziness, there’s a brighter sitting room upstairs, as part of the primary suite. Or you can always go hang in the gazebo. P.S. Any guesses as to the stager’s rationale for that wagon wheel in the dining room?

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And a few others worth checking out:
••• 502 Las Alturas Road ($2.395 million): 1979 three-bedroom with great views and a splendid wall of river stones (above).
•••1228 San Miguel Avenue ($2.695 million): 1951 Craftsman on the Mesa; it’ll go fast.
••• 2634 Puesta del Sol ($1.999 million): One-bedroom cottage on a pretty .3-acre flag lot with expired plans to add 1,400 square feet.
••• 936 Camino del Retiro ($3.9 million): 1995 Calgon-ready five-bedroom in Rancho San Antonio (below); the listing says there was a “meticulously renovation” in 2012 but I still think a more cohesive style would help.

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