Two NorCal Modern Sparklers - Page 2

Mentored as a student by Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Marya Lilien, Cunningham was later the second vice president of the Wright-founded Taliesen Fellows, succeeding the master's grandson, Eric Lloyd Wright. Three times the Pennsylvania native has been named one of the nation's Top 100 Designers by Architectural Digest magazine. Gazing around 'Serenity,' one can easily imagine it inspiring his return to that list for the first time in nine years.

San Francisco-based Aidlin Darling Design is a similarly lauded firm, its accolades including the 2013 'National Design Award' from the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum. The company, founded in 1998 by principals Joshua Aidlin and David Darling, is the designer of the striking In Situ restaurant at SFMOMA as well as a somewhat mysterious residential listing overlooking the Napa Valley.

The price of the gorgeous home sited on an Oakville hillside falls under the 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it' category. Neither the price point nor the street address are specified on the Sotheby's web page on the listing, and the realtors declined to discuss it.

Nonetheless its beauty is no mystery. The 5-bed, 4-bath house, according to the Sotheby information, is 4,464 square feet in a gated community boasting "unobstructed views of the valley floor and western foothills of the Mayacama Mountains." The property features hardwood floors; an outdoor pool, hot tub and deck; a terrace, steam shower and "wine cellar/grotto."

Hard to say whether it's worth the unidentified price, but with glassy modern architecture and that panoramic view…well, it's definitely worth some price, and it's probably one with eight figures.

While you're deciding which of these two masterpieces you'd prefer to take home, we hope you savor our healthy helping of dreamy eye candy (plus more pics at property links), which we couldn't resist serving up just for you.