Stunning Mendocino coastal retreat

Dramatic beam architecture with massive Bay Bridge timbers, red cedar walls, balcony windows, and ocean views from every room.

This listing is for the main house, which is 3 Bdr and 2 Ba, 3200 sq. ft. 180 degree views from Fish Rock to Gualala Point, but also incredible privacy, with the house sited on a hill, in the midst of 3 acres of coastal chaparral and expansive lawns. There is a new, huge entertainment deck in between main house and garage, with grill, fire pit and ocean views. The main house can accommodate 8, with a maximum 6 adults.

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Note: We list 4 BR / 3 bath and 12 people max so that larger groups who would like to add the studio can also find us. This is a beautiful, two-story 1 BR / 1 BA studio loft above the garage with ocean views, full bath and full kitchen. The studio provides space for up to another 2 adults and 2 children, and groups that exceed the main house limit (8 total, 6 adults) must book it as well. Please see the end of the listing description for details about how to request the studio.
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This property is not The Sea Ranch (a planned development to the south of Gualala), but the wild, rural Mendocino coast. Stunning ocean views, constantly changing scenery from sunrise to sunset, whale watching and wildlife. In between the main house and garage is a brand-new, enormous entertainment deck with a grill, couches, fire pit , outdoor table and heat lamp, as well as a second deck off the living room with a hot tub and outdoor couch. There is also a wonderfully landscaped grounds with fruit trees, flowers and herbs, vegetable garden, big yard for kids to play in, croquet set, outdoor chairs and couches to watch the sun go down. 3 acres of carefully-preserved native coastal chaparral ecosystem to explore, with short trails opening to clearings, and even a hidden fort for children to find. Famous Cooks Beach is a 5 minute walk, right across the small county road.

The house itself is a unique, stunning masterpiece with soaring ceilings and massive beams, designed and handcrafted by a noted local architect, who owned the house for decades until selling to current owners in 2017, professors and writers who live there part-time.

Upstairs in the main house is an expansive loft and office space with an enormous sunburst window that gives views to the south, as well as large balcony-windows to the west that allow one to step out past the roofline and enjoy dramatic views up and down the coast. There is also a workout area (with a roman chair, exercise balls, mats, free weights and other equipment) and fully-equipped work stations. The master bedroom is also upstairs, with a queen bed, huge vaulted ceilings, skylights and new furniture. It has its own full bath.

Downstairs, in their own private wing, are bedrooms 2 and 3, the first with a queen bed and the other full. Both have vaulted ceilings, skylights and ocean views and share a sink, shower and toilet room.

The kitchen has granite and wood countertops and is fully equipped with all new appliances, including gas stove. The living room has a stone fireplace with wood-burning stove.

In between the main house and garage is an enormous. multi-level deck, with large Weber gas grill, propane fire pit, teak outdoor dining table, heat lamp, ocean views and loads of seating. A separate deck off the dining room has an ocean-view hot tub and outdoor couch.

The living room couch folds out into a fullsized bed, a loveseat in the loft opens to a twin. Although the bedrooms are all very private, the house has many windows and skylights and is filled with light as soon as the sun rises, so those who like to sleep in late might want to bring eye-shades.

The house is also equipped with Apple TV with Netflix subscription, DVD player, games, and lots of books. Furnished comfortably in contemporary style. There is a full-house battery backup to weather winter storm and summer wildfire blackouts in comfort, and high-speed car charger in driveway.

For people working remotely, the house is equipped with the fastest internet on this part of the coast (Further Reach Business Platinum, 110 Mbps upload/download, 60 Mbps minimum) and a cell phone booster that provides the best reception for miles around. The upstairs boasts two desks (one is a brand-new, sit-stand hydraulic desk), both equipped with high-quality monitors and desk chairs, as well as a multifunction printer. (Guests would need to provide their own keyboard/trackpads and adaptors for the HDMI cables.)

The house is equipped with a battery backup system that will keep everything running normally (except the hot tub) through the increasingly frequent power outages caused by storms (winter) or wildfires (rest of the year). The battery system also balances out power usage to help take pressure off the grid and powers a fast car charger in the driveway.

Famous Cooks Beach is right across the street. Beachcomb, surf, or jump in the waves right in your front yard. Kayak the Gualala River, fish, or take in world-class hiking, local Sonoma Coast wineries and spectacular Anderson Valley (Mendocino) or Russian River Valley (Sonoma) wine trail. Or just relax and whale watch from the upstairs loft or while enjoying the hot tub.

Perfect for writers, families, reunions, romantic getaway seekers, nature and ocean lovers and those seeking serenity in an architecturally unique house. A family of grey foxes live on the property and, if you get up early enough, you can see them hunting the grounds. Would make an ideal writing or artistic creation getaway, as well as a base for comfortable remote working.

The new, large entertainment deck, equipped with couches, chairs, a propane fire pit, heat lamp, and large teak dining table also makes Sunburst the ideal venue for family reunions, holiday celebrations and small events. Events involving non-overnight guests require a separate fee and must be approved ahead of time, please contact us for details.

The house is less than 2 miles north of the town of Gualala. The town offers 2 good markets (one organic), art galleries, great independent bookstore, funky cafes, video rentals, gym, yoga studio, and many excellent restaurants. Quite a few other restaurants in area, including world-class St. Orres (walking distance from house), Vue, Sea Ranch Lodge and Timber Cove Resort’s Coast Kitchen.

Parking easily for 2-4 cars. Set back from the road, private estate feeling, on berm above and to the West of Highway 1 with thick forest screen, so almost no traffic noise, which is rare for oceanfront property along this stretch of coast. We are in the banana-belt area of Northern Sonoma / Southern Mendocino, in the fog shadow of Pt. Arena, so usually very sunny and mild.

With advance notice, the garage studio is available as an add-on to the main house, which gives you full and exclusive use of the almost 3 acre estate. It is otherwise occasionally occupied, in which case you will still have exclusive use of the entire property except for the greenhouse and small patio off the greenhouse immediately beside the garage.

** Adding the Studio **

A separate, two-story, ocean-view studio on the back of the property (above and beside the garage) will give you space for up to an additional 4 people (2 adults, 2 children). 648 sq feet (264 upstairs, 384 downstairs). It must be rented if you exceed the capacity of the main house (8 total, and no more than 6 adults in main house).

Our listing indicates 5 beds / 12 people capacity so that large groups can find us, but please note that this reflects the overall capacity of both the main house and the added studio.

** When indicating the number of guests in your reservation request, please indicate the full size of your group, including both main house and studio guests. **

The studio is attached to the garage behind the main house and has two floors and a private separate entrance.

It is a stunning but cozy space. The upstairs bedroom / living room has a bank of three big, brand-new skylights providing ocean views and amazing light, as well as ocean views from both the new north and south windows. The lower full bath and kitchen / dining room is to the side of the garage, and lets out to small private patio and attached small greenhouse with citrus trees and herbs.

Upstairs is a new queen bed and two couches that fold into twin futons. It also has brand new skylights and windows on both sides.

Please note: no dogs allowed in the studio.

As an add-on to the main house, the studio rent is partially covered by the Additional Person Fee already included in your rate quote (please make sure your reservation request indicates your full group size), and then has a separate surcharge of $60/night for most of the year ($100/night most holidays and July/August, $200/night over Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Memorial and Labor Day weekends) and an additional $150 cleaning fee. I will request this amount from you, through the booking site, after you have booked the main house. Cancellation policies for studio mirror those of the main house.

And apologies for any confusion about main house capacity and how adding on the studio works, this system makes it impossible to indicate the full capacity of the whole property without this clunky workaround.