Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/727689
Featured Property is a Santa Cruz Sentinel Paid Advertisement. For information regarding Advertising, please call the Sentinel @ 426-8000. Tom Brezsny Sereno Group REALTOR ® | BRE# 01063297 831.818.1431 Monika Davidson Sereno Group REALTOR ® | BRE# 01234944 831-515-1113 or 650-465-7628 Santa Cruz - Palo Alto - Los Altos Los Gatos - Willow Glen - Saratoga - Palo Alto - Los 4140 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos (xsts: Johanna & Hudson Lane) Offered for $1,998,000 By Tom Brezsny FeAtuRed Home As you sit back and settle into the comfortable digs of today's feature about a remarkably close-in, country ranch home that sprawls generously out over 3.5 acres of flat, sunny meadow, I'm going to start with a question: How does one begin to describe, let alone capture, the essence of a thirty-nine year labor of love? Isn't that what a great home like this one is about? A labor of love unfolding over the course of four decades? A reflection of the people and the care they have graciously poured into it over time? Even as it has sustained and nurtured them in their own lives? Maybe some folks can view home solely as an object or a financial asset. But in its heart of hearts, home is defined by the actual experience of life that comes from living under it's roof and inside it's four walls. It comes from planting the flowers. Picking the fruit. Swimming in the pool. Feeding the horse. Relaxing in the sun. Cooking for the guests. There's a palpable richness of experience and a deep well of enjoyment here that communicates itself as soon as you arrive. It is all bundled into a powerful sense of place that speaks volumes about the "experience of living" that awaits those next kindred souls who make this their home. And so, we're going to start at the beginning, even before the gate swings open to invite visitors in past stately old oaks and an enticing stretch of pasture. The home's real approach begins down below, on Porter Gulch Road - a ribbon of ancient redwoods, graceful ferns and bubbling springs that traces a path from the Santa Cruz mountains to the sea before it finally disappears into eddies rippling through the currents at Soquel Cove. The Porter Family built their tannery here in the 1850s and initiated much of the colorful local history of Aptos that followed. Leaving Porter Gulch, the terrain rises steeply up a private lane, until it unexpectedly emerges onto a bright expanse of open, rolling plain generously fed by the sun and bucolic sounds of silence. Despite being just a few minutes away from Hwy 1, there's a quiet magnificence that resides here. A feeling that you possess clear title to your own private planet. One that's far from the madding crowd and set gently in a sea of summer pastures with views of the surrounding foothills, the rugged contours of the Monterey Peninsula and the bold pink and purple sunsets that lie suspended over the horizon. Nestled along one side of the open meadow (with small barn and corral) is a rambling 4 bedroom, 3 bath, almost 5,000 square foot home that offers plenty of elbow room and an easy, comfortable flow adapting to the luxury of alternately spreading-out or hiding- out, as the need arises. Expansive in size, it is also intimate in character. The spaces are expertly tuned to the changing patterns and evolving lifestyles of today. There's a fun downstairs play room with bar and pool table. A formal dining room for elegant evening repasts. A world-class kitchen with breakfast seating, walk-in pantry, small underground wine storage and a butler's pantry with extra dishwasher, sink and fridge for larger functions. Two private offices with custom built-ins. A large TV/family gathering place along with a smaller, cozy living room with stone-fireplace, first-growth redwood ceiling and peaceful vistas looking out onto a secret garden courtyard. The master bedroom is a masterful statement with full walk-in closet, sitting room, steam shower and private ocean-view deck. Everywhere you choose to sit or stand extends the invitation to experience indoor/outdoor living at its finest, in a perfect Mediterranean climate. Lush gardens, brick-lined pathways, hacienda-style private courtyards, koi pond, a small fruit orchard and the presence of a large, flat, open meadow that beckons like a field of dreams for all those intent on reshaping their inner landscapes and achieving their own unique expression of rural renaissance. It's built. All you have to do is come. See you later today • 4 Bedrooms • 3 Baths • 4,507 +/- Square Feet • 3.5 Acre Parcel • Gated Entrance off Private Lane • Ocean Views • Expansive Pool & Outdoor Entertaining • Small Barn/Workshop • Fenced Meadow/Room for Horses • Full Sun & South-Facing Orientation • Extra Parking • Fruit Trees/Gardens today