Pool equipped with beach entry and waterfall, because why go to Hawaii?

As regular readers already know, we look at some pretty nice houses here at Unreal. But if you’re wealthy enough to be looking at homes in one of the country’s most expensive communities, property that could be described accurately with as simple a term as “a house” might seem a bit pedestrian.

“Experience a sprawling Mediterranean estate situated across 4.71 acres in coveted Rancho Santa Fe!” opens the Zillow pitch for 6314 El Apajo. “Estate” isn’t bad, but really, the place is best described as a housing complex designed for use by just one family. There are nearly 22,000 square feet of indoor living space spread across four different buildings, along with another 4000 feet of covered patios and passageways. That’s more than a half acre of space, just under a roof! Let’s take a look, shall we?

We open with an aerial shot of the grounds, and “sprawling” is absolutely the right word for this property. There’s what looks to be a guard shack leading into a turnaround in the center of a compound that is flanked by multiple structures, along with a separate gated drive that leads to the back, where garages provide housing for up to eight cars. There’s also a palm-lined pool in the background, which I assume we’re going to get to soon.

The office, in case you ever need to bring work home.

“A private gated entry leads to your own Tuscan villa through a circular drive with a serene fountain surrounded by four separate stone & vine covered structures with lush greenery,” is how the listing remarks put it, not inaccurately. But before we get to the “meticulous attention to detail with a grand foyer, rustic stone tile, exposed wood beams, archways, soaring ceilings, abundant natural light with expansive windows & skylights, imposing fireplaces, and high-end fixtures & finishes throughout,” we’re detouring immediately to the pool. It’s certainly a pretty picture of the backyard — shot at twilight and heavily touched up — with a purple sky, green lagoon water, and light shining through at least a dozen doors and windows that look out onto the scene. There’s “beach entry [and a] cascading waterfall with a backdrop of boulders, palms, and verdant landscaping,” which appears to consist of copious amounts of carefully manicured grass.

Back in front, we pass through the entry tower to the main courtyard. The brick drive and fountain are pleasant enough, but what I really appreciate is the bold move of letting creeping vines grow up pretty much all over the exterior walls of the buildings. The entry foyer displays all of the features we were promised earlier, and the marble fireplace in the living room situated off to one side is indeed imposing. But what’s most interesting are the arched passageways from room to room, as it seems that different types of stone have been used to line each.

The open kitchen has perhaps the most breakfast bar seating of any house I can remember writing about to date, along with a dining table that seats eight (it’s the second dining area we’ve seen so far). The stone tile and stained cabinetry contrast nicely with the deep color of the exposed ceiling beams, allowing me a welcome break from complaining about the gray-and-white sterility of so many modern mansions. Before leaving this section of the house, we also get a peek at a brick-ceilinged wine room with more bottles on display than I’m going to try to count.

The ”palatial” primary suite features a bedroom that occupies more than 600 square feet just by itself, along with his-and-hers bathrooms, a sitting area, and an “intricately-crafted closet” lined in wood and filled with more outfits and pairs of shoes than I have cumulatively owned over the course of four decades of life. The rich not only have more money, they have more stuff.

A wood-paneled study features another massive fireplace, plus beautiful built-in shelving stretching nearly to the raised coffered ceiling. The gray floor feels a little out of place with all this wood, but it does something to lighten up the otherwise dark space, so I’m not going to gripe.

Our tour picks up pace from here, quickly rushing us through a handful of bedrooms and baths, a billiards room, a home theater (that reportedly occupies a whole building of the compound by itself), a gym “with three-bed carriage house,” and a separate two-bedroom guest house.

Public records list a Dykmans Family Trust as the current owner of the El Apajo estate; it was last sold for just over $8 million back in 2012. After an aborted attempt to sell in 2020, the most recent listing went live in late April with an asking price of $16,980,000 that remains unchanged to date.

• 6314 El Apajo | rancho santa fe, 92067
• Current owner: Dykmans Family Trust | Listing price: $16,980,000 | Beds: 11 | Baths: 17 | House size: 22,000 sq ft