Del Dios Ranch: Rancho Santa Fe’s Modernist Marvel
Del Dios Ranch is an expansive estate that brings distinctive modernist style and materials to its ultra-exclusive location
Del Dios Ranch is an expansive estate that brings distinctive modernist style and materials to its ultra-exclusive location
In an area so rarefied, where vast luxurious residences nestle secluded in the hills of Rancho Santa Fe, and a perfect balance of indoor-outdoor living is envied, Del Dios Ranch, a sprawling 210-acre estate, manages to stand apart.
From the beginning, Del Dios Ranch was destined to be different. In 1969, a local family bought 50 acres in the exclusive Covenant of Rancho Santa Fe and set about building their dream home. Eschewing the typical Spanish stucco Southern Californian style of the region, they hired Laguna Beach-based Fred Briggs. A West Coast pioneer of modernist architecture, Briggs was given free rein. “It’s every architect’s dream,” Briggs recalled. “I went in and expressed myself in redwood and poured-in concrete.” Other emblems of the property’s modernist provenance abound. The sublime stones that make up the surrounding walls are original to the property and region, and New Orleans-made glass figures in floor- to-ceiling windows and skylights that let light pour in.
The house, at the end of a winding road, was completed in 1972, its interior lovingly created by a maestro of mid-century-modern style Arthur Elrod, most famous for his Palm Springs home. Its timeless, classic design means today Del Dios Ranch remains a grand, contemporary dwelling.
For such a magnificent stately home, it is also incredibly private, unseen from the roadside
Marble floors that run throughout took six months to lay – entirely without grout. The formidable vaulted ceiling of the living room lends a sense of the divine, abetted by the splendidly soaring floor-to-ceiling fireplace of custom-made rare white bronze. There are three en suite bedrooms on a first-floor wing, and at the top of the grand spiraling staircase the master suite boasts views over the manicured grounds and the mountains and countryside beyond.
Del Dios Ranch was built for sharing. “It’s a phenomenal structure,” says Zackary Wright, a Senior Vice President at Christie’s International Real Estate. “It’s perfect for entertaining – I’ve even known the pool area to be configured so that an orchestra can play there.”
The original owners gradually bought up pockets of land – 160 acres of it, around their initial 50 – to make up today’s breathtaking estate, complete with tennis court, cypress trees, lake, and hiking and trekking paths. The grounds have hosted lavish parties and events, and so rich and varied is the landscape that Hollywood has come calling, finding it a perfect movie set. There are many acres of organic lemon orchards and a great expanse of undeveloped land, which, says Wright, “adds great value.”