Rarely is a property so unique and so spectacular that it simply defies description
and can only be truly appreciated by an actual visit. Nine Arroyo Quemada is just
such a property. Located in a small enclave of eclectic beach homes, twenty
minutes North of Santa Barbara, California, this eighty feet of oceanfront
accommodates an architectural masterpiece with spectacular views of
the Pacific Ocean and its sea-life. On a property set high on a bluff, some
sixty feet above the surf, Michael Carmichael, given free rein architecturally,
created a work of art. In the spirit of Gaudi and anticipating the curvilinear
masterworks of Frank Gehry, Carmichael designed, engineered, and built
what he called the "Wave House." Rising from a base of beach stones, the
house is defined by long, sweeping laminated wood beams, custom crafted
to form the underside of a huge wave which curls up and over the living space.
The design also incorporates amazing wave-shaped glass panels which
provide stunning vistas of the ocean beyond. Carmichael added louvered
openings high on the ocean side of the house which flood the interior with
sounds of the surf breaking on the shore below. It is truly amazing to sit in the
Living Room or to be reclining in the Master Bedroom and experience the
sensation that the waves are actually moving through the interior of the home.
The house also provides spectacular sunset vistas not only from inside but
especially from the expansive deck and hot tub at the edge of the bluff.
The main home has two bedrooms and one bath, plus a den/office, and a
large
open kitchen & living room. The property is .7 of an acre in size and also
includes
a detached three room, one bath, Guest Tower that is 30ft high and boasts
an incredible observation deck. In springtime one can watch mother Gray
Whales with their young in route from the birthing lagoons of Baja California
to their summer home off the coast of Alaska. Arroyo Quemada is located 3
miles North of Refugio State Park, where a gated lane passes through the
thirteen oceanfront properties. The home was recently improved with the
addition of a new stairway which provides direct access to the beach below.
Because of the remoteness of the home from public beaches, one often finds
that the only footprints in the sand are one's own.
