Until this year, the only spongy moths I had encountered were the winged adults — the occasional males I counted in nighttime surveys every July, during the citizen-science events of National ...
21Sep
$5 Million Homes in California
Manhattan Beach | $4.995 Million
A 2017 house with five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, on a 0.1-acre lot
About half a mile from Manhattan Beach Pier, this house was designed with beachgoers in mind, with plenty of storage for surfboards and other gear, as well as an outdoor shower for washing off sand. Veterans Parkway, a trail that draws dog owners and cyclists, is a few blocks away, as is Live Oak Park, which has designated play and picnic areas.
Manhattan Beach is less than 20 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport, making it popular with frequent travelers who want a beach lifestyle. Downtown Los Angeles is half an hour away; Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach are about a 10-minute drive.
Size: 4,383 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,140
Indoors: A wood gate at street level opens to stairs that lead to the front entrance on the second floor. Beyond the entry is an interior staircase up to the open kitchen and living-and-dining area on the top floor. (An elevator also runs from the street level to the top floor.)
The living space is bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a central fireplace and hardwood floors that continue into the kitchen, which has a Bertazzoni range, sleek white cabinetry with stone counters and an adjacent powder room. A deck off the living area is used for outdoor dining.
Four bedrooms are on the level below, including the spacious primary suite, which has a walk-in closet with built-in shelving, a private deck overlooking the street and a bathroom with a soaking tub and an oversized shower. The other three bedrooms are off a central hallway. Two have en suite bathrooms; the other one, currently used as a home office, has the use of a hallway bathroom.
The ground floor holds a flexible space that the sellers have outfitted as a recreation room, complete with a 120-bottle wine refrigerator. Another bedroom with an en suite bathroom is on this level, as is access to the outdoor shower.
Outdoor space: The deck off the main living area functions as an extension of the entertaining space, with room for several sofas and multiple chairs. The bedroom on the ground floor has access to a small side yard with a hammock. The attached garage at the front of the house holds three cars.
Taxes: $62,436 (estimated)
Contact: Gus Ruelas, The Agency, 626-375-5401; theagencyre.com
Bolinas | $4.995 Million
A rustic beach house built in 1958, with three bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half bathrooms, on a 3.3-acre lot
Bolinas is just over an hour from San Francisco, but it feels like another world, especially on the cliffs overlooking the beach, where this house is. It was designed to take advantage of the panoramic views, with the main living area, the bedrooms and the hot tub on the deck all oriented toward Bolinas Bay.
The property is 10 minutes from Bolinas Beach, which is popular with surfers and those who enjoy watching them. The center of town, five minutes away, has a small grocery store, a hardware store and a public library.
Size: 3,480 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,435
Indoors: A winding driveway leads to the front door, which opens into a living area with a lap pool running alongside it. In warm weather, the floor-to-ceiling windows enclosing the pool can be opened to turn this part of the house into an indoor-outdoor space.
The room’s rough-hewed ceiling beams and columns continue into the adjoining kitchen-and-dining area, which has Spanish-tile floors, wood cabinetry and a Wolf range.
The primary bedroom is off the other end of the living room, with more floor-to-ceiling windows that open to the outdoors; a custom-designed, cypress-and-brass walk-in closet; an en suite bathroom with a turquoise-tiled shower at the center of an enclosed atrium; and a small staircase that leads up to a sunny loft space.
Another bedroom is a few steps up from the kitchen, with an attached home office and an en suite bathroom with a teak sauna. The third bedroom is on the ground floor, below the main level, with its own exterior entrance; it has an en suite bathroom with access to an outdoor shower. A wine cellar is also on this level.
A detached structure with a half bathroom is currently used as a yoga studio.
Outdoor space: Private outdoor spaces abound: There are several patios and decks, one with a hot tub that has views of Bolinas Bay and access to a half bathroom. Strawberries, artichokes and other crops grow in gardens on the property.
Taxes: $50,907 (estimated)
Contact: Cristina di Grazia, Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, 415-710-1048; sothebysrealty.com
San Francisco | $4.995 Million
A four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom condominium in a 1904 Edwardian building
This apartment is in Pacific Heights, a San Francisco neighborhood known for its elegant Edwardian homes and access to green space. It is a few blocks from Alta Plaza Park, with its tennis courts and city views, and a 10-minute walk from the shops and restaurants on Fillmore Street, which include a Blue Bottle Coffee and a Salt & Straw ice cream store, a French restaurant and an Italian trattoria.
The Presidio is less than a mile away, and the Golden Gate Bridge is also nearby, which makes driving into Marin County relatively easy. Black Sands Beach is 20 minutes away; Sausalito is about a 15-minute drive.
Size: 3,964 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,260
Indoors: The main entrance is on the side of the house, at the end of a short path. The front door opens into a sunny foyer with pink-and-yellow stained-glass windows.
To the right is a dining room with a fireplace and white-painted coffered ceilings. To the left is a living room with a window seat offering panoramic views of San Francisco Bay.
Between the two main spaces on this level is a kitchen with a breakfast area and stainless steel appliances from Thermador and Miele. A half bathroom and a laundry room are also in this part of the unit.
All four bedrooms are on the second floor. The large primary suite, on one side of this level, has a separate sitting area, large windows facing the bay and a marble-tiled bathroom with a glass-walled shower and a double vanity. Two of the three guest rooms have en suite bathrooms.
A family room with access to the rear deck is on the lowest level of the apartment. Another full bathroom, with a combined tub and shower, is also on this level, as are two large closets.
Outdoor space: The lower-level deck has space for a dining table, chairs, a barbecue and a pair of outdoor heaters. It steps down to a backyard shared with the residents of the other unit.
Taxes: $62,447 (estimated), plus a $1,000 monthly homeowner association fee
Contact: Nina Hatvany and Lionel Shaw, Compass, 415-710-6462; compass.com
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New Hope, Pa. | $1,099,900 A cottage built in 1861, with three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, on a 0.8-acre lot Mary Elizabeth Price, an Impressionist painter who once owned this house, ...