San Francisco Mansion With the ‘Pacific Ocean as Your Backyard’ Lists for $32 Million

The 7,540-square-foot home is located in the city’s Sea Cliff neighbourhood, and offers more than 100 feet of water frontage, according to the listing with Neal Ward of Compass. That means almost every room has a view of the water and the Golden Gate Bridge, with Marin County in the distance.

“Sea Cliff is such an exclusive, private enclave,” Mr. Ward said. “There are only 25 homes on the cliff, which is literally on the edge of a cliff looking out onto the ocean. When people buy here, they live here for a lifetime.”

Indeed, the home is on the market for the first time in 35 years.

Built in 1941, the house was the former residence of the late Michael Taylor, the interior designer who was famous for developing the “California look.” The style was “hailed as the new look in decorating in the 1950s and 1960s” and is defined by open spaces, neutral colours and “the light, airy, casual California style,” according to his obituary in The New York Times. He bought the house in 1970, the listing said, and died 1986 at the age of 59.

The home was purchased in 1987 for $2.35 million by the late Arthur Ciocca, and his wife, Carlyse, according to records with PropertyShark. Arthur Ciocca founded The Wine Group in 1981, which is now the second largest wine company in the U.S. He died in December at the age of 84, according to his obituary in the Wine Industry Advisor.

“We bought it in 10 minutes after seeing it with no contingencies. That is how special it is,” Ms. Ciocca said in a statement. “Where else in San Francisco can you live with the Pacific Ocean as your backyard and be anywhere you want to go in 10 minutes?”

The couple brought the home down to the studs, “while retaining both the integrity of the original architecture and Michael Taylor’s iconic ‘California Look,’” the listing said. The couple worked with Porter and Steinwedell on the redesign, the same architects Taylor had employed.

The home retains its original exposed ceiling beams, and boasts herringbone-wood flooring, according to marketing materials. The living room also has a fireplace and a picture window looking out over the bay, and the formal dining room overlooks the water as well.

“We really wanted a California feel with an Italian influence to frame the view as it comes into the house,” Ms. Ciocca added. “At night, the view becomes like black glass, and you see

the running lights on the ships coming into the Bay and the lights of the Golden Gate Bridge.”

Other amenities include a library lounge with a wet bar that leads to the garden terrace, an upper level main bedroom suite with two bathrooms, each with a dressing room; two private offices; and a lower level with a lounge area, a wine tasting room and a terrace with views through mature cypress trees.

The pool was designed by Taylor, and there’s also a gated stairway to the beach, which only a handful of homes in Sea Cliff have, Mr. Ward noted, adding that the home has been meticulously maintained.

“For a property on the ocean, that’s so important,” he said. “This is in extraordinary condition. Someone may want to change some of the finishes to match their own tastes, but it’s move-in ready.”