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The prinicpal elevation of Guigne Court.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
Devoted Readers will recall the 2011 essay on The Devoted Classicist about a celebrated estate near San Francisco known as
Guigne Court. It had been decorated by
Anthony Hail in the early 1960s in a classic style that has proven to be timeless.
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Satellite view of the estate showing location.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
The latest news is that the mansion of 16,000 square feet on 47 acres in Hillsborough is for sale. Listed as the Estate and Lands Deguigne on the Sotheby's International Realty site, the asking price is $100 million. Of major consideration is that the current owner Christian de Guigne, 4th, age 75, is to maintain occupancy for the rest of his life.
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Driveway entrance.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
A driveway of 4,500 feet winds through the picturesque property, allowing a variety of views. Comparing Sotheby's interior photos with those from about 50 years ago, much of Mr. Hail's decoration has remained.
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Entrance Hall as view from the front door.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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Entrance Hall, with a view to the garden.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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Although labelled the Living Room
in an earlier publication, it may be
considered the Ballroom.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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Another view of the same room,
showing the fireplace.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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Unlabelled, it is unclear if this is
considered the Living Room or Library.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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The garden elevation.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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A view down to the swimming pool,
showing the Pavillion to the left.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
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The steps down from the swimming pool
terrace to the garden.
Image: Sotheby's International Realty. |
The real estate description indicates that there is a "grand-scaled Ballroom, Living Room, Library and Pavillion" that open to a pool courtyard. The rooms are not labelled on the website, so a best guess is given for the captions above. It is a rare opportunity to own such a large estate so close to a major city, so it will be interesting to see how much activity is generated with the price and the life tenancy restriction.
Life tenancy? Well, that will keep me out of the bidding, I'm afraid...
ReplyDeleteAt $100 million, I hope that includes the furnishings.
Love it -- move in conditionas far as I'm concerned. How lovely to see a house decorated and maintained in what my friend Michael Simon refers to as "the old taste," which is right up Reggie's alley. RD
Reggie, this would make an ideal West Coast base for your household. Perhaps the old gentleman would allow joint tenancy since you approve of the decor and would not be there full time, anyway.
DeleteWith the Fourth's matrimonial history and $100 million cash, I am sure there are plenty of young potential wives that would have enough determination that there would not be a very long wait for life tenancy to end, if you get my drift.
ReplyDeleteDutch, we all have to go sometime so maybe being 'loved' to death wouldn't be so bad.
Deletethis property is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteFaye, there are more pictures of the grounds on the real estate web site. Unfortunately, I was not able to provide a link, but it is easy to find.
DeleteDoes the life occupancy refer to the house itself? Seventy-five is not such an advanced age, and one is reminded of the story of Jeanne Calment, who signed an annuity arrangement to sell her apartment, then lived to 122.
ReplyDeleteThere has been interest in developing the property for a number of years, so I am not sure if that effort would move ahead with the new owner before the old gentleman's death or not.
DeleteOh Lordy! You all will LOVE this! My husband of almost 35 years (Feb 26th!) grew up in San Francisco; and Christian (the one who owns it) was in his class in school (more than one!)
ReplyDeleteHe told me last week one morning; "Christian de Guigne's house is for sale!"
He grew up going to birthday parties from the second grade......every year...and then debutante parties.......sheesh! I tried to pry every detail !! He loved the house! He could only say "beautiful! lovely, comfortable, so pretty"!
(Frankly; I give him a big A+!! He is a straight guy; and this was his school-mate!)
This is normal!
The "old taste" is alive and well!!!
What a gorgeous and irreplaceable house!
How lucky my husband was to grow up "playing" there; and then attending parties there! It was just a part of his life!
There is nothing like this!
Penelope
Penelope, congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! Thanks, for commenting.
DeleteMaybe it's just me, but I'm having a difficult time looking beyond the current appearance
ReplyDeleteof those rooms, when the Anthony Hail incarnations were so very iconic.
As often happens with 'freshening', some of the subtleties of the original Hail decorating scheme have been lost, but enough remains to make the interiors better than most. It is interesting that the interior of the Pavillion, shown in my earlier post, is not shown in the current real estate photos as that would surely be among the most memorable images to be identified with the property. Thanks for commenting, Toby.
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