Peninsula Gem on the Edge

Four years ago, Monique and Peter Anton rescued a classy mid-century modern in Ladera from developers and demolition by beating out competing offers and scooping up the home for themselves.

This month, it's déjà vu time for the young couple, as the Antons look to sidestep developers and save the structure once again, but from the others side of the fence—as sellers.

The home's location and views are what's been getting developers excited. The 1964 home boasts panoramics that are considered to be among the most beautiful in the Silicon Valley. Looking one direction, the view takes you all the way to San Francisco's landmark Salesforce Tower; in the other direction, it's Santa Clara, nearly 20 miles away.

Represented by its owners—Monique Anton is a broker with Modern Homes Realty—the three-story, 2,940-square-foot modernist home at 410 Conil Way is listed at $4.888 mil.

"Ladera is such a great community," says Monique. "For us, it started right when we moved in—our neighbors brought us wine, cheese, and fruit baskets."

Designed by architect Alan Blair, the post-and-beam home is private and positioned away from the flats. "According to neighbors in Ladera, Blair only designed a handful of homes in Ladera/Portola Valley," she says. "We believe that all of his homes faced true north."

As you enter the Anton home, you step into an enormous great room with high, open-beam ceilings and transparent window walls that frame a modernist California vision. The home has five bedrooms, three-and-one-half baths, plus an additional 1,200-square-foot full basement living area—in all a total of 4,220 square feet.

It's been nearly four years since the Antons took their first step inside the Conil Way house. "We got married, and we quickly bought a home," recalls Monique. "The house spoke to us immediately, as we drove up to it. We were so excited that this was finally happening, and wanted to hurry up and share our lives together."

The Antons will be the first to admit: they've poured a lot of love—and money and energy too—into preserving their very original-looking residence.

When they first bought it, however, nothing worked, Monique recalls. "Very frustrating…we learned a lot along the way."

"In this journey to revive houses like this one, I can't underestimate the importance of a good team," Monique says. Eventually, "we could feel the house coming back to what it was meant to be. Didn't Michelangelo say, 'I saw the angel in the marble, and carved until I set him free.' That was the feeling!"