Classic Style Makes Itself at Home in Luxe Residence 2806 The Strand Offered by Bryn Stroyke of Stroyke Properties Group
It’s one of the biggest lots on The Strand,” says real estate agent Bryn Stroyke of Stroyke Properties Group about one of the most iconic properties along this area.
“It’s probably got the second-largest rooftop deck on The Strand,” Bryn Stroyke says of the resort-like perch, which has a fitting and dramatic entrance.
After gliding up a curved staircase of pure marble, one walks through a retractable dome on the ceiling of the home’s uppermost floor. There one is alone in a retreat made even more inspired by its top-of-the-world views—an Eden-Esque panorama of sunny skies and white-tipped ocean that’s set against a welcome section of sandy beach. Details on the deck include a gleaming Viking kitchen and ready engineering for a pool, making it an ideal spot for private sunbathing or partying under the stars.
It’s a grand setting—and a grand house too, inspired by the homeowners’ trips to Italy, where their vision for the residence was sharpened by the gracious properties they encountered. This inspiration, says Bryn Stroyke, “manifested itself in the design, which is very much an Italian villa.”
More coastal than Tuscan, however, makes its Southern California setting feel like a natural one for this property, which was designed by architect Edward Beall and constructed by Rick Tomaro.
“It was purely at no expense spared,” says Bryn Stroyke of the home, which was completed in 2012.
As one breezes through the interior, one finds a gilded, yet fresh, coastal atmosphere. There are handcrafted tiles and mosaics, marble wainscoting, and thick columns. Ceilings are coffered and corniced, and no corner—not even the elevator floor, with its colorful floor tiles—has been left untouched by the meticulous hands of its builders.
The size of the home has been optimized by a floor plan that is efficient and modern, carving out diverse living spaces, along with half a dozen en-suite bedrooms, across three spacious levels. Rooms are amply scaled, sporting a variety of classic finishes that render individual spaces visually interesting while keeping a unified aesthetic throughout. Polished earthen tiles warm the first floor, for instance, which is largely given over to recreation.
Here one can wander from the movie theater to the gym, then find themselves in a generous club room with a swank wood bar and a saltwater aquarium teeming with colorful underwater life. Arched windows open to let in beach light and views, and a keyhole door bridges the access from the indoors to a spacious patio along The Strand. The most public of the home’s outdoor spaces, the patio is outfitted with a Viking kitchen and lots of seating for festive beachfront gatherings.
“A lot of times on The Strand the first floor is constructed too low, so you can’t see the ocean,” points out Bryn Stroyke.
In this case, the first floor and the patio have been built at a level that offers ample views of, and easy access to, both sand and surf. As a result, the home’s second level, which hosts the residence’s most formal, public spaces—a salon and a living room, along with a kitchen and dining room—has been constructed at an altitude that’s high enough to grant plenty of views while enabling privacy from passersby on The Strand.
Notable is the meditative atmosphere in the living room and dining room; both are formal yet free-flowing due to the blend of exquisite finishes and the openness of their design. A marble fireplace sits at the heart of the salon, while arched windows heighten the beach and sea panorama that lies just outside. A colonnaded balcony with a marble tile floor is roomy enough to serve as an alfresco dining spot and lends a charmed, exotic touch to the seaside scene.
The third floor is likewise blessed with privacy, while also being home to the bulk of the bedroom suites, including a master retreat that’s akin to its own stylish apartment. A round foyer, decked with a petal mosaic floor and a skylight that brings in extra natural light, signals the importance of the space. There’s a walk-in closet that’s studio-sized and a grand bathroom that, at its center, features a marble tub, thickly carved and sculptural with fine veins of antique gray.
In the bedroom, one wakes to views of the sunny beachfront through a romantic setting of arched windows and slender columns. One can take their morning coffee, fixed at the sleek butler’s kitchen just steps away, in the adjacent morning room, or amidst the ocean air on the suite’s private balcony.
Adding to the property’s advantages is its location—this tucked-away section of The Strand benefits from having a quieter, neighborhood feel, and being an equal distance to dining and shopping hubs in both Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.
One can stroll or hop on a beach cruiser and, in less than five minutes, reach either of the town’s piers—an edge in parking and accessibility.
“It’s a comfortable and convenient walk in either direction.”
Bryn Stroyke of Stroyke Properties Group
And another plus: “Normally, there’s no parking along The Strand,” Stroyke notes. “However, on this northern section, you have the best Strand parking at the beach anywhere.”
That’s due to the home’s position, along a lightly traveled swath of Hermosa Avenue, just past the point when the main drag switches from Hermosa to Manhattan Avenue.
Whether situated along the shores of the Mediterranean or, in this case, the Pacific, the history of the coastal villa has evolved over centuries. But as a style of residence, it’s always been premised on serving as a well-appointed post from which to savor one of Earth’s most dazzling scenes—the ocean. In this home, luxury has been formally satisfied by the well-considered stock of fine materials and classic details throughout.
“The attention to detail and craftsmanship matches or exceeds any property that I’ve ever been in on The Strand,” says Stroyke.
Beyond this, there’s a welcoming air and a sunlit openness that make the villa as fresh and accessible in 2020’s California as it was in the Mediterranean context—and in its days ahead too.
Bryn Stroyke | 310.880.3436 | DRE 00855690
Stroyke Properties Group | Bayside Real Estate Partners
List Price: $18,995,000
Photographs by Paul Jonason
