Peacefully placed amid 40 acres of madrona forest in Northern California’s wine country, this Healdsburg compound is unforgettable. There are four separate buildings connected by boardwalks: three sleeping cabins, each with an indoor/outdoor bath, and a two-structure central lodge for lounging, cooking, dining or watching a movie. Now in contract, the property is listed at $3.5 million with Sheryl Morgensen of Sotheby’s International Realty and Graham Sarasy, also at Sotheby’s Int’l Realty.
Designed by Berkeley-based architect Douglas Burnham, each cedar-clad cabin is stained black on the exterior, with interiors of clear cedar and exposed plywood. On stilts above the forest floor, each cabin includes a private deck and lots of built-in furniture. The bunkhouse, perfect for children, sleeps eight. There’s also a separate guest cabin, and if that’s still not enough room for guests, there are two additional platforms for tents.
Frankly, if we were the owner, who is a Bay Area branding expert, we’d never leave the homeowner’s cabin: there’s a wood-burning stove, a bathroom with floor-to-ceiling rose-tinted windows, and an outdoor shower alongside a sunken redwood hot tub. A couple of books and a bottle of wine and we’d tell everyone we’ll see them Monday.
The best part of the whole compound, however, may be the pool area, with its beautiful views over rolling hills and 42′ x 23′ saline pool. A huge deck next to the pool includes a second sunken redwood hot tub as well as a cold plunge pool. While the grown ups are winding down with a sunset cocktail by the pool, tell the kids to work off some extra energy in the in-ground trampoline, and later, tell stories and make gourmet s’mores around the gas fire pit on the patio.