$20 Million San Francisco Home Offers Period Elegance and Modern Luxury – Robb Report

Brad Knipstein for Sotheby’s International Realty

Perched high above the Pacific Ocean at the southwest end of San Francisco’s popular Baker Beach, a comprehensively updated 100-year-old residence in the scenic Sea Cliff neighborhood, with gasp-worthy views of the Golden Gate Bridge, is fresh to the market with an asking price of $19.8 million. Neill Bassi of Sotheby’s International Realty, San Francisco Brokerage holds the listing.

Completed in 1920, the Edwardian home was designed by Sylvain Schnaittacher, an influential yet little-celebrated local architect. The symmetrical residence sits somewhat unusually sideways on its clifftop lot, with its column-framed front door facing the front door of an almost identical mansion across a shared, gated driveway. The driveway slopes down to a private parking area and garage.

The property has been owned since 2013 by a veteran hedge fund manager who, per tax records, shelled out $13 million for the property back in 2012. The slightly more than 6,300-square-foot, four-story home has since been extensively updated with contemporary finishes and plush furnishings that complement its restored original details.

The grand entrance gallery features an inlaid wood floor and a curved staircase, and the spacious fireside living room spills out to a slender terrace with sweeping views of the Marin Headlands across the mouth of San Francisco Bay. A silver-leafed ceiling and white-lacquer walls wrap the dining room in shimmering glamour, while wood accents add earthiness to the sleek chef’s kitchen that’s flanked by a casual dining space and a cozy TV lounge.

There are a total of five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, plus a powder room. Three ample ensuite guest bedrooms are joined on the second floor by the principal bedroom, which offers two walk-in closets and dreamy Golden Gate Bridge views from both the bedroom and the bathroom. There’s another ensuite bedroom on the top floor, along with a den/home office, another bathroom, a wet bar, and a roof terrace with pretty views over the neighborhood. The semi-subterranean lowest level houses the two-car garage along with a theater room, a gym with a sauna, and a wine cellar.

Despite the frequently chilly climate and the precipitous terrain, a multilevel terrace with a heated swimming pool and a spa are carved into the cliff’s face. At one end of the pool is a linear fire feature, and at the other is a small pavilion that houses a built-in grill and beverage fridge. An open-air pavilion for dining on a lower terrace feels like it’s floating over the dramatic coastline.

Sea Cliff was founded in 1913 as an affluent haven for city dwellers seeking a more suburban coastal lifestyle. The neighborhood, often blanketed in fog, comprises just a handful of tidy streets lined with handsome and substantial homes, some of which are perched along a high cliff with epic ocean, bay, and bridge views.

In addition to the residences of several consul generals, current and past residents of the discreetly elite neighborhood include a surprising number of Hollywood heavy hitters, including Robin Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Sharon Stone, Kirk Hammett, and Eugene Levy, along with a more expected assortment of billionaire financiers and tech tycoons such as Tom Steyer, Marc Benioff, and Jack Dorsey.

Click here for more photos of 130 Sea Cliff Avenue.