Among ‘top private gardens’ in U.S.: See 20,000-square-foot CA estate listed at $68M
The historic Far Afield estate that sits on nearly 10.5 acres in Montecito, California, with more than 25 cultivated and native gardens, is now on the market for $68 million, according to Coldwell Banker Realty.
The newly renovated residence in Santa Barbara County spans 20,000 square feet with seven bedrooms and 14 bathrooms.
“Far Afield has recently been renovated and redesigned with over 25 separate gardens surely to be considered as one of the top private gardens in America,” said Timothy Di Prizito of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, the co-listing agent with Joyce Rey. “The garden renovation took six months with significant investment. It’s not the same property as it was in 2021. It’s an entirely new experience.”
The compound’s history is extensive.
In 1916, Far Afield was parceled off from the original Las Tejas Estate by owner William Alston Hayne, an early Montecito settler, according to a Coldwell Banker news release. Hayne sold it to American writer Hobart C. Chatfield-Taylor and wife Rose Farwell, the daughter of U.S. Sen. Charlie B. Farwell.
Designed by Santa Barbara architect Francis T. Underhill, the Mediterranean villa-style estate was completed in 1918.
Farewell and Chatfield-Taylor named the property Far Afield, which designated the estate as a vacation home located quite a distance from their primary home in Lake Forest, Ill.
“At an enormous expense and length of time, the 15-year restoration project completed in 2017 delivers art and architecture thoughtfully finished with handcrafted custom details using 17th and 18th century reclaimed building materials curated throughout Europe,” according to Coldwell Banker Realty.
The Far Afield gardens include portions of the original “Bridal Path” connecting horticultural, botanical, native and formal parterre gardens. The grounds also feature the historic statuary of Rose Farwell.
There are orchards and groves of citrus and stone fruits, along with several formal rose gardens, too.
The property offers views of the ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains.
A gated driveway set back far from Hot Springs Road leads to the main villa and guest residence. Inside the main residence, the patterned parquet floors were custom built on-site with hand-cut French oak, imported from historic chateaus, according to Coldwell Banker Realty. A curated collection of Dutch, Italian and Spanish antique tiles are used throughout the estate’s interior and exterior.
“In the prime Montecito Golden Quadrangle, Far Afield is a legacy estate for the ages with everything one would expect of class and sophistication,” Rey said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity thanks to its location, acreage, gardens and pedigree architecture, which is impossible to replicate today.”
Zoning laws prohibit the property from converting into a hotel, but the estate “is an ideal residence for someone seeking privacy with sophisticated taste and appreciation for incredible architectural detail and extraordinary quality,” Rey said in an email response to the Sacramento Bee.
The house would be the most expensive ever sold in the Santa Barbara area if it fetches the asking price, according to real estate records.
Billionaire Peter Sperling and his wife Stephanie G. Sperling were asking $74 million for the Far Afield estate last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 12:51 PM.
