Peek inside architect’s famed Corte Madera home, asking $4.2 million

Perched along a tree-studded mountain side in Corte Madera, 238 Summit stands apart from other luxe constructions in the area due to its unabashed originality. Which should come as little surprise since the circa-1968 house was built by and for architect Robert Overstreet (passing away in 2009), who used it as his primary residence for 20 years.

Featuring four beds, four baths, and 4,517 square feet, this unique home comes with redwood paneling; boxed ceiling light wells; an 82-inch fireplace with railroad ties pulled from an Oakland railroad yard; covered gazebo deck that doubles as an extension of the home, with views of the garden and koi pond.

The property has been featured in many publications over the years, including The New York Times, who described it thusly:

Mr. Overstreet's own hillside house in Corte Madera, Calif., near San Francisco, took over a decade to build. He did much of the work himself with fellow owner George White. He makes structural members, such as beams, decorative simply by extending them; he complements them with simple pieces of wood regularly applied to the sides and to the balconies.

Furnished with a collection of oriental antiques, the house is richly landscaped outside—plants spill off embankments in the hillside. Several years ago the architect completed a pergola that, like the house, is raised on telephone poles above the garden with outrigger beams and decorative strips of wood applied like so many matches. Flowering vines loop through the trellises, and Balinese wood drums and chimes hang from rafters. The structure is a percussion instrument.

The most recent owners, who purchased the property 21 years ago, renovated the home with a delicate touch. Refreshed details include an entirely restored wood exterior and an entryway door with custom stained glass insets depicting the floor plans of each level of the house.

It also comes with a separate one-bed, one-bath guesthouse, including a fireplace finished with railroad tie plates paralleling those in the main house.

A stunning specimen that never fell prey to trends. Asking is $4,200,000.

• 238 Summit [Tamara Goldman at Pacific Union International Real Estate]
• Free-Spirited Design from the West [New York Times]
• Robert K. Overstreet obit [Legacy]