The vineyard and adjacent woods in Sonoma County, California, where Christine Murray and her husband bought land about 25 years ago are strikingly beautiful. The couple wanted to build a house that would stand apart from this landscape yet do it justice.
Given her interest in mapmaking, Murray asked the architects to orient the house on a precise north-south axis that contrasts with the rows of grapevines that cover much of the 156-acre property. The three-story home completed in 2005 is arranged around a long reflecting pool, also aligned to the north. The house looks out on an east-west path cutting through the vineyard that ends in a set of fruit orchards and a meditation garden.
“I loved that idea of planting something on the landscape to add artistry to the geography, adding markers on the globe that have meaning,” Murray told Homes.com.
Marcy Roth and Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman Real Estate recently listed the property at 7596 Sonoma Mountain Road with Daniel Casabonne of Sotheby’s International Realty for $28.5 million. Along with the 14,000-square-foot main house, there is a 3,000-square-foot guest house and an agricultural barn. San Francisco-based Aidlin Darling Design was the architect for all three buildings.
The main house’s length, its north-south orientation, or the way it’s divided into two sections on opposite sides of the reflecting pool, isn’t so evident when one is inside, Roth told Homes.com. Wedged between the vineyard and the hills, the house is indeed long, but it also has depth, she said.
Besides the north-south orientation, Murray and her husband were also concerned about how the house would look on the horizon as visitors approached on the long driveway, Roth said. Nestled amid the grapevines and trees, the house is barely visible from drivers’ view as they approach.
The property includes a redwood forest and sits on the edge of Jack London State Park, providing an additional layer of sanctuary from more developed parts of the county.
The Murrays were so taken with the work on their home that they buried several sets of architectural drawings for the property in a time capsule near the barn. There are instructions for when to open the capsule inside the barn, according to Roth.
Although the house was a refuge for the couple, Murray organized a number of fundraisers for various causes that drew a crowd to their home, Roth said.
The agent said while the couple would sell the grapes from the vineyard to a wholesaler, the money they made doing so wasn’t so significant. She described the property as a “gentleman’s farm.”
“It’s the definition of a trophy property,” Roth said. “It would be for someone who wants to be in the country and be secluded, not someone who wants just another house. If you’re a city person, this is not for you.”