Ted Clark and Partners at deasy/penner

2027 Mar Vista Avenue Altadena

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Offered at $1,512,500

Country in the City

Over the past fifteen years, the owners of this light-filled historic home in Altadena have lovingly transformed its landscape into a productive and beautiful farm. Carefully tended, with many upgrades inside and out, this gorgeous and unusual property combines an elegant, graceful house in the city with a peaceful rural atmosphere.

Set on a 36,303 square foot lot that stretches the entire width of the block from Mar Vista Avenue to Maiden Lane, this property remained in the same family for sixty years, and has had only two owners since. It includes three residences: the main house with five bedrooms and three baths, a guest house with two bedrooms and one bath, and a studio with bath adjoining the garage.

In the main house, character and original details delight the eye, starting in the tiled entry hall with its pitched ceiling details and window wall framing a view of the courtyard patio. The gracious living room is highlighted by a marble-faced fireplace, bay window, crown moldings and hardwood floors. French pocket doors open to the sunroom, its tile floor, barrel ceiling, and roped molding detail echoing another era; a wall of windows brings in the changing play of light, and doors open to the pool and verdant landscape beyond. The library, also accessed via a pocket door, features a fireplace, built-in shelves, redwood-paneled walls, and crown molding.

The dining room features paneled pocket doors, hardwood floors, wainscoting, crown moldings, and a built-in corner cabinet. French doors open to the long hall that wraps around the courtyard patio, where floor-to-ceiling windows blur the boundary between inside and out. The hallwayâ??s pitched ceiling, corner details, paneling, and wide tiled floor make it a room of its own.

The heart of the home is an enormous chefâ??s kitchen with a superbly planned workspace and cooking areas, including high heat, excellent ventilation, and a nine-foot end-grain butcher block island. Skylights, vaulted ceiling, and clerestory windows create a sunny ambience, making it the ideal place to prepare the wide array of fresh foods that flourish all over the property.

Nourishing the soil carefully and organically over time has made the earth healthy and generous. The garden attracts ever-increasing numbers of butterflies, beneficial insects, and birds. 75 different fruit trees, a large herb garden, and three separate vegetable gardens provide year-round fruits and vegetables. Chickens and turkeys live in a large yard and barn; two beehives pollinate the orchard. The garden has been featured in the LA Times, the Pasadena Star News and on KCRW’s “Good Food.”