The Tree House: a pretty perch for the prosperous.

All good things — and indeed, most mediocre things — must eventually come to an end. With the latter in mind, I think the time has come to say goodbye to our biweekly check-ins on how the obscenely wealthy among us are living. There’s only so much to be said about conspicuous consumption, and so many ways to say it, after all.

Over the last 11 years, we’ve looked at 284 of San Diego’s swankiest personal palaces from across the county, but nowhere have we visited more frequently than La Jolla, our original seaside bastion of opulence, dating back to the late nineteenth century. For our 285th and final installment, let’s head back there once more, for a look at the most expensive listing currently on the market that I haven’t already covered (there are actually three higher-priced homes in that part of town, but we’ve seen them already).

The Zillow remarks describe the 11,239-square-foot estate at 1547 El Camino Del Teatro as “a marvel of sculptural and exceptional design” that “slowly reveals its magnificence from a secluded drive on the most exclusive street in La Jolla.” I might argue that the title belongs to the oceanfront Camino De La Costa, dubbed the “Street of Dreams” by its residents — and a lane we’ve written about at least three times over the years — but then, I’m not trying to sell a house on El Camino Del Teatro. The hilltop perch for today’s house certainly is no slouch when it comes to location, anyway.

“Dubbed ‘The Tree House’ by award-winning architects, KAA Design, the 1 1/2-acre estate balances panoramic ocean views and vivid natural topography with a sophisticated materiality and nuanced colors,” the listing continues. “The home’s edifices of cantilevered volumes brilliantly integrate with a collective of mature cork oak, Torrey Pines and fragrant Southern magnolias, while honed limestone flooring, rich woods, and rough-hewn stone walls are elegantly juxtaposed with private courtyards and reflecting pools.” 

That’s a mouthful of marketing, to say the least. Let’s take our last tour, shall we? We begin at the front driveway around dusk, where we see a central courtyard to our right, one of those “cantilevered volumes” that appears to house a living room, and enough of a hint of the ocean to suggest we’re in for some pretty impressive views once we get inside. In the backyard, there’s a patch of grass next to the lap pool (which the listing would like us to know is 150 feet long — I have no idea how long a lap pool is supposed to be, but this sounds big), and one of those massive retractable walls of glass on the first floor that effectively turns whatever room we’re looking at into a giant covered patio.

Inside this room, we can see a bar off to one side and a massive table with seating for 14 in the center. However massive it may be, it’s dwarfed by the enormity of the TV (with a couch set up way too close for a screen this size). I think maybe this is the 150” home theater in the “detached recreational room with bar,” but if one giant boob tube isn’t enough, we’re told there’s a “TV/video wall” in the living room that measures 130” diagonally.

Next we head upstairs to a seating area on the second floor. From here, we get the first of those sweeping ocean views we were promised, and even though we’re about a mile inland, there’s still a peek at breaking whitewater waves along the coast. We jump back outside for a couple of shots of a meticulously-landscaped yard, and then we’re back on the interior, looking at a bedroom with a gas fireplace (one of at least four on the property). If this is the primary suite, I’m not incredibly impressed with the size, but the attached bath with freestanding tub and enormous vanity is nice, and I’m even more drawn to what looks like a big wooden hot tub in an attached walled garden that also features a koi pond.

Moving on, we arrive at what I think is the outdoor cooking area with “commercial grade appliances, a wood burning pizza oven, Evo, sink, refrigerator and wine cooler.” I don’t know what an Evo is, but I’m still irked by the trend that dictates every modern mansion needs its own dang pizza oven. The overhead heaters are a pleasant touch, though, and the game room — beyond yet another set of retractable glass doors — looks like a fun hang.

Wait, now that we’re in here, I’m realizing that this is the rec room, and that other bar/dining/TV room we saw must’ve been the living room, with its pathetic screen that’s not even 11 feet across. The home theater is beyond the parlor by the outdoor kitchen.

We cycle through some more dining and entertaining spaces, another living room and another fireplace, a wine room (of course), a couple of staircases — including an outdoor one that looks like it’s floating over a water feature, and an indoor curving one made from massive slabs of floating wood — a shuffleboard court, an aerial view touting the massive number of solar panels (126!) it takes to run an operation this big...and then we’re dumped off outside the wood-and-concrete entry gates.

Public records list a Senyei family as the estate’s current owners; they’ve owned the parcel since well before the reported construction date of 2019 for the existing home. The listing first went live in mid-January, and the asking price of $34,750,000 remains unchanged to date.

Well folks, it’s been a journey touring a collective several billion dollars’ worth of grandiosity over the years. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams — or, if you prefer, eat the rich. So long!

1547 El Camino Del Teatro | La Jolla, 92037

Current owner: Senyei | Listing price: $34,750,000 | Beds: 5 | Baths: 11 | House size: 11,239 sq ft