12179 Koenigstein Road

Description

This remarkable forty-four-acre property is set just beneath the Topatopas in Upper Ojai's rugged backcountry where the architect owners designed a modern, sustainable, residential compound. Over the last sixteen years they have rewilded the landscape and developed the walking trails that now vein its chaparral, oak meadowland, sage scrub and riparian habitats. Approached from the South, the compound is entirely hidden from the road. The house, guest house, pool & terraces are enfolded in the crook of a dramatic eastern ridge that provides unparalleled privacy, yet affords views of the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Upper Ojai Valley and Sulphur Mountain Ridge. The property is situated half-way between Ojai and Santa Paula.Surrounded by its gravel precinct, the light-filled, minimalist house sits amidst the trees and shrubs of the chaparral and includes three bedrooms and two baths. The cathedral ceilinged living, dining & kitchen flow into one another flanked by broad passageways and bookended by towering walls that demark the functions. To the North, the house opens to a 12' X 48' pool with views of the Topatopa foothills and beyond, to the mountain's iconic spalled face.Mindful of the heat of summer, the house features shallow covered porches, or loggias, which open to the north and south & provide full summer shade and welcome winter sun. These loggias can be closed behind steel barn doors when there is the threat of wildfire. When not in use they park against the solid stucco walls of the house.The guesthouse/studio and a two-car garage sit below the last curve of the drive