With Stunningly Handcrafted Details, 71 Marguerite Drive is a 1.26-acre Property on the Palos Verdes Peninsula 25 Years in the Making
In 1999 a grand blufftop house was completed on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Approximately 7,300 square feet, every corner of the 4-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom residence was considered—from dreamy Impressionist scenes painted by a local artist, to intricate wood and stone details, and more.
“They set out on a mission,” says real estate agent Kevin Moen of RE/MAX Estate Properties about the homeowners. “They wanted to create their lifelong vision of an Italian villa with some French influences. It was their passion.”
The grounds—spanning a spacious 1.26 acres—were treated just as lovingly. There are terraced gardens where you wander along quaint stone pathways lined with fragrant flowers and textured shrubs; all the better to highlight a glorious display of ocean, sky and cliffs. There’s a slender pool for swimming laps along the side of 71 Marguerite Drive, and multiple terraces to lounge, dine and entertain. A stone-clad patio along the bluffs seems suspended over the ocean, bringing you closer to the rush of waves and soft blue of the horizon that lies in front of you.
The homeowners were just getting started. Over the years the couple continued to add to their oceanfront Eden with fine details sourced from all over the world. There are 18th-century French sconces and elegant chandeliers shimmering with Baccarat—the earliest dating back to 1630. Garden stonework, including pedestal vases carved from French stone and classic statues sourced from England, were positioned along the carefully landscaped grounds.
“There are many exceptional elements they brought into the house,” explains Kevin Moen, “and a notable amount of custom woodwork.”
Handcrafted woodwork is a theme throughout 71 Marguerite Drive. There are carved columns in the impressive entrance, its floors inlaid with mosaic tile. Above you, coffered ceilings are finely detailed. The stately library features elaborate walls and grand bookcases, and in the kitchen, custom cabinetry and dual islands are topped with glossy, veined stone.
“It harkens to a different era, when craftsmanship and quality was a high priority” Kevin Moen points out. “I’ve had a hundred people through the house, and the first thing nearly everybody says is, ‘Wow.’ I’ve not heard that so consistently in any house. It feels like you’re walking into a piece of art.”
Despite 71 Marguerite Drive’s flourish of grand details, it’s a comfortable place that works on multiple levels.
“It’s a very livable house,” says Kevin Moen, describing how the homeowners designed the residence as a long-term family home built for everyday comfort and ease. “It’s a warm house that really embraces you, and doesn’t feel like a museum.”
When one wishes to entertain in a luxurious style, however, the property is fully equipped for the task. With the swinging open of wrought-iron gates, you’re ushered into the entrance courtyard. It’s a majestic welcome, with palm trees and columns and pale stone tiles. Romeo and Juliet balconies are part of the scene, as are stone vases overflowing with flowers, and walls clad in lush greenery. Once inside, there are scores of places to host along the spacious grounds or fine interiors. The home has also been blessed with a tucked away location, at 71 Marguerite Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes.
“It’s a unique blufftop location in the secluded, stately neighborhood of Lunada Pointe,” the agent says of the private cul-de-sac, located off Palos Verdes Drive West. “Despite its prominent address, the home is accessible to dining and shopping.”
There’s a handful of schools within a 10-minute drive, and less than 5 minutes away are local shops and a sidewalk cafe at Lunada Bay, plus a larger shopping center for groceries and dining.
Back at home, though the aesthetic is classic, 71 Marguerite Drive’s atmosphere and airy scale are in keeping with a contemporary desire for breezy, sunlit spaces, particularly among coastal homes.
“There are big, free-flowing open rooms with a lot of view orientation,” says the agent, “which is great, because you could be sitting pretty much in any room, and have a view of the ocean.”
Big ocean views are aided by double-height glass in the main spaces, from the kitchen and primary bedroom suite to the office and great room. The homeowners, he points out, have also been meticulous in maintaining 71 Marguerite Drive.
“It’s been here for 25 years,” Kevin Moen says, “and it looks like it was built yesterday.”
Almost startling in its detail is a richly decorated wood ceiling in the sun-splashed conservatory. Geometric in shape, the ceiling features a complex sequence of elaborately carved wood panels and a central skylight streaming in natural light and scenes of the sky. It’s a feature so ornate it seems unfathomable in its construction. (71 Marguerite Drive, by the way, was constructed by The J. Alexander Company, a longtime builder of luxurious residences in Palos Verdes and the Beach Cities.)
There’s a studied thoughtfulness of its design and placement that’s consistent with the rest of the home and the grounds: Both are the result of a decades-long pursuit to create a home that supports a superb life; luxurious and filled with elevated, refined details. Such enthusiasm can be found in every hand-crafted corner.
“It’s reflected throughout every detail of this house, from the custom fireplace mantels to the hand-hewn limestone columns and custom wine cellar,” says Kevin Moen. “All of these things reflect the homeowners, who really cared about what they were building, and how they were building it.”
Kevin Moen | DRE #01014808 | 310.466.4656
Director, Luxury Division
RE/MAX Estate Properties
[email protected]
List Price: $12,600,000
Photography Courtesy of RE/MAX Estate Properties
