Magnificence in Marin

Hidden away in the Del Mesa neighborhood of Kentfield, 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, you'll find a property like no other.

There, at 45 Vista Drive, Bay Area architect John Marsh Davis created a tour de force in 1965 with a sort of modern-meets-nature-head-on design. What makes the property so special is the architectural expression of the home in its natural wooded setting.

Custom built for Dr. David Barbour and his wife, Nancy, the Barbour residence, and its terraced gardens designed by landscape architect Thomas Church, are so revered that Hans Baldauf, architect and author of the book The Design Legacy of John Marsh Davis, led a tour of the property for The Cultural Landscape Foundation, an organization whose mission is "connecting people to places."

"The fact they decided to use the house because of its unique characteristics says so much," says Bitsa Freeman of Boulevard Realty, who holds the listing for the 45 Vista property now on the market for $4,995,000.

"This home is breathtaking, the very definition of Zen," Freeman says. "It gives you the feeling of being on the hillsides of Rwanda waiting to see the gorillas in the mist; a respite from the crazy kind of cold and antiseptic feeling of some of the homes we see [today]…that monochromatic white, kind of cold, and uninteresting look."

The home's south-facing hillside is set among towering oaks and stepped gardens that seamlessly blend indoors and out. Native plant species are dotted along pathways that lead through multi-leveled gardens, meandering past native oaks.

A pair of 14-foot-high sliding-glass doors form the eastern side of the home, connecting the garden and living room. "When the wall is open," according to the listing, "the home feels like a floating pavilion at grand scale." At each end of the pavilion are sky-high bookshelves that house pocket doors to partition the spaces for privacy.

Moving to the west-facing side of the home and exterior decks, views to Mt. Tamalpais can be seen. A separate 19,000-square-foot parcel of land is included in the sale for those looking to add an ADU, guest house, or swimming pool.