A grand spot to soak up the view
This richly elegant estate is a standout among Montecito’s historic homes. The Monterey Colonial was built in the early 1930s by David Gray Jr., part of a philanthropic family that bestowed much upon the Santa Barbara area.
One of the neatest features is a tower, built in 1924 as a water tower for the senior Grays’ neighboring estate -- now the Brooks Institute -- and which later served as an art studio for Nancy Gray, David Jr.’s wife. Garages on the original estate once housed Gray’s collection of classic cars.
Historic grandeur, privacy, breath-stealing panoramas: Even the color palette of yellow and brown is true to the architectural period, and there are 3-foot-thick adobe walls and redwood beams.
About this house: Hand-forged iron entrance gates open to a serpentine driveway bordered by natural stone and lined with Italian cypress tress. There are more than 300 rosebushes, a half-acre citrus orchard, oaks, avocado and fig trees.
An arbor-covered entertainment terrace with a fountain and fireplace overlooks a solar-heated swimming pool. There is also a cabana featuring a full-service kitchen, dressing rooms and a 16-foot deck with views of Santa Barbara Harbor.
Asking price: $10.9 million
Size: The main house has 6,300 square feet, which includes five bedrooms and five full baths. The property sits on about 7 acres.
Features: The living room has a seismically reinforced fireplace and a spacious bar as well as the original redwood-beamed ceiling. The library, which is filled with built-in bookcases, has a wall of windows, its own fireplace and a full bathroom and wraparound deck.
Where: Montecito
Listing agent: Maureen McDermut, Sotheby’s International Realty Montecito; (805) 570-5545.
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To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeofthe week@latimes.com.
