Berkeley: Touch Of Old-Style Hotel Luxe

I mentioned that a house would be coming up for sale on Avalon Avenue back on March 14, and here it is.

The friend I was with when I visited this $2,895,000 5++ bedroom home stood on the front path and declared, “I am going to like this house.”

And she did. And it’s not difficult to see why. It’s a grand, 6,600 sq ft home and one that looks instantly inviting just looking through the front door.

The living and dining rooms are enormous and give onto a generous deck with great Bay and city views. There’s lots of space downstairs which is configured as a separate apartment – for a teenager perhaps – and also includes a wine room and work-out area.

The bedrooms are all spacious with good storage space and there’s another great terrace for views and outdoor lazing on the first floor.

The loft has dramatic exposed joists and a great floor space – I could imagine flinging open the windows and holding yoga or ballet classes there – as well as two further bedrooms and an old-fashioned bathroom which reminded me of the maids’ quarters in Parisian apartment buildings, but on a much larger scale.

Something about the proportions of the house, its great potential for entertaining, as well as the era of some of its remodeling (1970s?) made me think of old-style, upmarket hotels.

The kitchen is not what you would expect for a house which will probably sell for in excess of $3m and, apart from the terraces, there is little outdoor space as the back yard is small.