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

A San Francisco mansion on the edge of the Pacific Ocean is set to hit the market Friday for $32 million.

By V.L. HENDRICKSON
Fri, Sep 9, 2022 9:22amGrey Clock 2 min

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.”



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What We Fight About When We Fight About Money

New research tackles the source of financial conflict and what we can do about it

By JULIA CARPENTER
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When couples argue over money, the real source of the conflict usually isn’t on their bank statement.

Financial disagreements tend to be stand-ins for deeper issues in our relationships, researchers and couples counsellors said, since the way we use money is a reflection of our values, character and beliefs. Persistent fights over spending and saving often doom romantic partnerships: Even if you fix the money problem, the underlying issues remain.

To understand what the fights are really about, new research from social scientists at Carleton University in Ottawa began with a unique data set: more than 1,000 posts culled from a relationship forum on the social-media platform Reddit. Money was a major thread in the posts, which largely broke down into complaints about one-sided decision-making, uneven contributions, a lack of shared values and perceived unfairness or irresponsibility.

By analysing and categorising the candid messages, then interviewing hundreds of couples, the researchers said they have isolated some of the recurring patterns behind financial conflicts.

The research found that when partners disagree about mundane expenses, such as grocery bills and shop receipts, they tend to have better relationships. Fights about fair contributions to household finances and perceived financial irresponsibility are particularly detrimental, however.

While there is no cure-all to resolve the disputes, the antidote in many cases is to talk about money more, not less, said Johanna Peetz, a professor of psychology at Carleton who co-authored the study.

“You should discuss finances more in relationships, because then small things won’t escalate into bigger problems,” she said.

A partner might insist on taking a vacation the other can’t afford. Another married couple might want to separate their previously combined finances. Couples might also realize they no longer share values they originally brought to the relationship.

Recognise patterns

Differentiating between your own viewpoint on the money fight from that of your partner is no easy feat, said Thomas Faupl, a marriage and family psychotherapist in San Francisco. Where one person sees an easily solvable problem—overspending on groceries—the other might see an irrevocable rift in the relationship.

Faupl, who specialises in helping couples work through financial difficulties, said many partners succeed in finding common ground that can keep them connected amid heated discussions. Identifying recurring themes in the most frequent conflicts also helps.

“There is something very visceral about money, and for a lot of people, it has to do with security and power,” he said. “There’s permutations on the theme, and that could be around responsibility, it could be around control, it could be around power, it could be around fairness.”

Barbara Krenzer and John Stone first began their relationship more than three decades ago. Early on in their conversations, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based couple opened up about what they both felt to be most important in life: spending quality time with family and investing in lifelong memories.

“We didn’t buy into the big lifestyle,” Krenzer said. “Time is so important and we both valued that.”

For Krenzer and Stone, committing to that shared value meant making sacrifices. Krenzer, a physician, reduced her work hours while raising their three children. Stone trained as an attorney, but once Krenzer went back to full-time work, he looked for a job that let him spend the mornings with the children.

“Compromise: That’s a word they don’t say enough with marriage,” Krenzer said. “You have to get beyond the love and say, ‘Do I want to compromise for them and find that middle ground?’”

Money talks

Talking about numbers behind a behaviour can help bring a couple out of a fight and back to earth, Faupl said. One partner might rue the other’s tightfistedness, but a discussion of the numbers reveals the supposed tightwad is diligently saving money for the couple’s shared future.

“I get under the hood with people so we can get black-and-white numbers on the table,” he said. “Are these conversations accurate, or are they somehow emotionally based?”

Couples might follow tenets of good financial management and build wealth together, but conflict is bound to arise if one partner feels the other isn’t honouring that shared commitment, Faupl said.

“If your partner helps with your savings goals, then that feels instrumental to your own goals, and that is a powerful drive for feeling close to the partner and valuing that relationship,” he said.

A sense of mission

When it comes to sticking out the hard times, “sharing values is important, even more so than sharing personality traits,” Peetz said. In her own research, Peetz found that romantic partners who disagreed about shared values could one day split up as a result.

“That is the crux of the conflict often: They each have a different definition,” she said of themes such as fairness and responsibility.

And sometimes, it is worth it to really dig into the potentially difficult conversations around big money decisions. When things are working well, coming together to achieve these common goals—such as saving for your own retirement or preparing for your children’s financial future—will create intimacy, not money strife.

“That is a powerful drive for feeling close to the partner and valuing that relationship,” she said.

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