Some things old, some things new
Estrella Mer is an architectural marvel of old-world taste and elegance, coupled with modern, high-tech amenities.
Originally built as a 3,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial in 1929 by the head of an Illinois power company, the La Jolla home later was sold to a local attorney and stayed in that family until 1999, when Philip and Cheryl Stewart purchased it. Two years later, they began a renovation that would transform the small hillside home into an 8,563-square-foot estate.
In a town of mostly high-end homes -- out of 250 homes listed for sale earlier this month, only 10 were listed for under $1 million -- this four-level home stands out because of its size and design features, including a mosaic-tiled dome atop the master bedroom, from which hangs a historic Spanish chandelier.
The home is within walking distance of downtown La Jolla and its fine dining and shopping. The town is home to UC San Diego and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as the La Jolla Playhouse.
About this house: When the Stewarts purchased the home 6 1/2 years ago, Philip envisioned a masterpiece based on the original design of the structure.
He pored over stacks of books about European and Mexican Spanish Colonials for two years and compiled, with architect John Oleinik, the features they wanted to incorporate in the expanded version.
Maintaining the bones of the then-two-level home, Stewart and Oleinik went on to create an estate with such Spanish-Colonial elements as molded ceilings, loggias, exquisite tile work and wall niches for santos Stewart had acquired from around the world. The tile colors selected for the loggia ceilings are echoed in other rooms throughout the house.
Stewart, an antiques collector, purchased wrought-iron railings and banisters and unusual light fixtures from Jayne Mansfield’s Beverly Hills estate, which were replicated and placed throughout the house.
Additional custom fixtures, carved wood columns and hand-painted tiles also adorn the house, whose front door faces one La Jolla street and back door faces another.
Tiles in the new, circular pool mirror the dome’s mosaic design.
Asking price: $14,995,000
Size: The 8,563-square-foot house, with six bedrooms and 7 1/2 bathrooms, is on a 13,198-square-foot lot.
Features: The home -- which comes furnished -- includes ocean views from nearly every room; Honduran mahogany windows and exterior doors; lath-and-plaster interior walls; detailed plaster coffered ceilings with faux finishes; handmade San Felipe “chocolate” paver floor tiles; antique chandeliers and sconces; antique stained-glass pantry windows; built-in stainless-steel barbecue; computerized lighting system; theater; library with built-in bookshelves, two-story French windows and a two-story fireplace with a Henri II mantel and trumeau (door jamb) from a Normandy manor.
Where: La Jolla
Listing agent: Linda Daniels, Willis Allen Real Estate, (858) 459-6326.
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos on a CD and a detailed description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st
St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
