Sandra Bullock's Ranch, Valley Center, California
Does your home have a nurturing relationship with its surrounding environment? Actress Sandra Bullock's California ranch does. I'm not exactly sure what that phrase means, but according to Zillow it apparently involves solar panels, RV hookups, and avocado trees.
Nurturing those avocado trees can be challenging if your surrounding environment has an ongoing drought, though, which may be a reason that Sandra is selling. The 91 acre property is being sold in three separate lots. Lot One includes the Mediterranean-style ranch house:
It was built in 1990. Sandra bought it in 2007.
The house is built around a central courtyard, which makes it feel like a resort:
The rooms have been staged in calm, neutral colors.
It's pretty, but those shapeless drapes and flowing slipcovers remind me of this scene from the movie The Proposal, where Grandma Annie's (Betty White's) wedding dress doesn't quite fit Sandra's character:
If it were mine, I'd tailor the room to look more like this:
The wood grain of the coffee table and the "Moody Mountain" artwork would feel perfectly at home on the ranch. The olive tree looks like it came right in from the courtyard.
The living room connects to the dining room, which, other than needing a bigger table and rug(s), is already light and bright and awesome:
Maybe the dining room table is little because most of the meals are in this beautiful kitchen instead:
The 5,938 square feet house has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms are featured in the listing.
There are also nine fireplaces, which sounds like each bedroom has one. The other three fireplaces are outdoors.
The view is of the Palomar Mountain ridge. Valley Center is about 40 miles northeast of San Diego. (From LA, you'd take the 15 instead of the 5.)
In addition to the main house and 1,200 Hass and Dusa avocado trees, Lot One also includes the saltwater swimming pool, chicken coop, gazebo, workshop, and spa.
As for the horse corral promised in the listing -- well, it's not exactly there yet. Lot Two offers space for it, you see, as well as for the greenhouses that could be. Lot Two is a "gentle home building site." Meanwhile, Lot Three already has a manufactured home on the property, currently used as a three bedroom guesthouse. You can just make it out toward the left of the photo below.
You can also clearly see the avocado groves. Avocados are a serious business. San Diego County produces 60% of all California avocados, while California accounts for 90% of the nation's domestic crop. It makes for boring blog reading, but certainly livens up your toast in the morning.
Valley Center seems to pride itself on not offering much to do except hike and stargaze. There are no upcoming events on the community calendar, which makes it seem like an ideal retreat. Apparently Sandra is focusing on her retreats that are outside of California, though, because she's also recently sold her properties in West Hollywood and is renting out her Malibu cottage. She must be creating more nurturing environments elsewhere.
The listing is here.
