High-tech meets history: Mother’s Cookies home in Oakland listed at $1.4 million
A 1925 Spanish Mediterranean home in Oakland, California — where Leopoldine Wheatley, the “mother” behind the famous Mother’s Cookies, is believed to have lived for 67 years until 1992 — is for sale for $1.395 million, according to Compass real estate firm.
Mother’s Cookies was founded in 1914, 11 years before the house was built. Think bite.
Now, the home has been re-imagined as a techie’s dream home. Think byte.
“The residence has been automated for just about everything — from climate control to window shades to audio to lighting, essentially the house can be run by smart phone,” according to the official property listing. “Most every detail and every decision was made with the highest standards of design and authentic craftsmanship in mind, ensuring an inspiring space to live and entertain.”
Mother’s is best known for its pink-and-white iced Circus Animal Cookies. Mique and Leopoldine Wheatley and their children, Eleanor and Floyd, lived in the home at 2311 7th Avenue, according to at least one published account of the neighborhood legend.
The four-bedroom, four-bath house is even more colorful than a Mother’s cookie, with splashes of vibrant color throughout 2,704-square-foot living space. Located in the Ivy Hill neighborhood, the home has had only three previous owners, according to Compass.
“Both of us love color, but also know that it is easy to overdo it,” owner Jenny Finkel said in a statement. “We kept a lot of wood, neutrals and whites in play, in order to help balance the places where we used color.”
The living room, breakfast nook and kitchen open onto a deck that features a built-in firepit. The deck then “drops into the outdoor oasis with a lawn, paver walkway, secret grotto area and a cool Airstream ‘guest house,’” the listing states.
“We strove to stay true to the history of the area,” Finkel added. “The original trim had been painted over many times so we replaced it with beautiful vertical grain Douglas fir, the same wood as the original trim. we also removed, cleaned, polished and reinstalled much of the original door hardware, when we replaced the interior doors. We had the original radiator in the entryway powder-coated international orange to match the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Ryan Mason, who met his wife at Burning Man Festival in Nevada, said the couple took great care in choosing textures, materials and colors as they reimagined the house. The collaboration wasn’t unfamiliar territory since the couple had worked on other large-scale artistic endeavors, he said.
“After looking at tons of houses with tasteful but plain renovations, we wanted to embark on something wholly different,” he said. “We both love colors, textures and materials. As a guiding principal, we aimed for materials that grow more beautiful with age.”
In the chef’s kitchen, the centerpiece is an orange stove. Mason explained how the appliance fits into their dramatic theme:
“I always wanted a bright orange stove as the centerpiece of a chef’s kitchen. After choosing it and the turquoise wall of Zellige tile, we chose the orange and turquoise in the hand-painted Fireclay tiles in the entry to tie together the theme.”
The Airstream trailer has a bathroom and kitchenette for guest house or rental, according to the listing.
The home last sold for $800,000 in 2015, according to realtor.com.
Andrew Pitarre of Compass is the listing agent.
