Stunning Mendocino coastal retreat

Dramatic beam architecture with massive Bay Bridge timbers, walls all red cedar, main house is 3 Bdr and 2 Ba, 3200 sq. ft. There are views of the ocean from every window but also incredible privacy, with the house sited on a hill, in the midst of 3 acres of coastal chaparral and expansive lawns.

Renting the main house also gives you the option to add on a beautiful, two-story 1 BR / 1 BA studio loft with ocean views, full bath and full kitchen (studio details below). The main house capacity is maximum 8 people, including children, and max 6 adults. Renting the studio as well will give you space for up to another 2 adults and 2 children. *Please note: when indicating the number of guests in your reservation request, please include both main house and studio guests; if the studio is available for adding on we will arrange this separately (see details at end of property description)*

This property is not The Sea Ranch (a planned development to the south of Gualala), but the wild, rural Mendocino coast. Constantly changing scenery from morning sunrise to evening sunset, whale watching and wildlife. Also wonderfully landscaped grounds with fruit trees, flowers and herbs, big yard for kids to play in, croquet set, outdoor chairs to watch the sun go down. There is also almost 3 acres of carefully-preserved native coastal chaparral ecosystem to explore, with short trails opening to clearings and surprising new views, and even a hidden fort for children to find.

The house itself is a unique, stunning masterpiece with soaring ceilings and massive beams, designed and handcrafted by a noted local architect, who owned the house for decades until selling to current owners, professors and writers who live there part-time.

Kitchen has granite and wood countertops and is fully equipped with all new appliances, including gas stove. Expansive loft and office space with sunburst window, multiple skylights, huge windows with stunning 180 degree views up and down the coast. Large, ocean-view hot tub, outdoor couch, stone fireplace with wood-burning stove, new propane furnace, Apple TV with Netflix subscription, DVD player, games, lots of books. Furnished comfortably in contemporary style. And weather any North Coast storms in comfort: full-house power backup battery and car charger coming in April.

For people working remotely, the house is equipped with the fastest internet on this part of the coast (Further Reach Business Platinum, 110 Mbps upload/download, 60 Mbps minimum) and a cell phone booster that provides the best reception for miles around. The loft boasts two desks (one is a brand-new, sit-stand hydraulic desk), both equipped with high-quality monitors and desk chairs, as well as a multifunction printer. (Guests would need to provide their own keyboard/trackpads and adaptors for the HDMI cables.)

Master king bedroom upstairs, one queen bed and one double bed downstairs, all with ocean views. The living room couch folds out into a fullsized bed, a loveseat in the loft opens to a twin, and there is a queen futon in a private alcove in the loft that is a perfect, private extra sleeping area. Although the bedrooms are all very private, the house has many windows and skylights and is filled with light as soon as the sun rises, so those who like to sleep in late might want to bring eye-shades.

The loft and office space are spectacular, with a massive sunburst window giving views to the south, multiple skylights and large balcony-windows that allow one to step out past the roofline and give dramatic views up and down the coast. Recent re-roofing job also included all-new skylights, including openable ones in the loft, master bedroom and master bath that provide both views and fresh air.

As of April 2025 the house will be equipped with a battery backup system that will keep everything running normally (except the hot tub) through the increasingly frequent power outages caused by storms (winter) or wildfires (rest of the year). The battery system also helps California by balancing out power usage to help take pressure off the grid and will power a car charger in the driveway.

Famous Cooks Beach is right across the street. Beachcomb, surf, or jump in the waves right in your front yard. Kayak the Gualala River (2 kayaks available for guests to use), fish, or take in world-class hiking, local Sonoma Coast wineries and spectacular Anderson Valley (Mendocino) or Russian River Valley (Sonoma) wine trail. Or just relax and whale watch from the upstairs loft or while enjoying the hot tub.

Perfect for art lovers, artists, writers, families, reunions, dreamers, romantic getaway seekers, nature and ocean lovers and those seeking serenity in an architecturally unique house. A family of grey foxes live on the property and, if you get up early enough, you can see them hunting the grounds. The kitchen faces south with ocean views, and ideally located to step out onto the deck for outdoor dining. Would make an ideal writing or artistic creation getaway, as well as a base for comfortable remote working; weekly, monthly and academic semester rates also available.

House is less than 2 miles north of the town of Gualala. The town offers 2 good markets (one organic), art galleries, great independent bookstore, funky cafes, video rentals, gym, yoga studio, and many excellent restaurants. Quite a few other restaurants in area, including world-class St. Orres (walking distance from house), Vue, Sea Ranch Lodge and Timber Cove Resort’s Coast Kitchen.

Parking easily for 4-5 cars. Set back from the road, private estate feeling, on berm above and to the West of Highway 1 with thick forest screen, so almost no traffic noise, which is rare for oceanfront property along this stretch of coast. We are in the banana-belt area of Northern Sonoma / Southern Mendocino, in the fog shadow of Pt. Arena, so usually very sunny and mild.

With advance notice, the garage studio is available as an add-on to the main house, which gives you full and exclusive use of the almost 3 acre estate. It is otherwise occasionally occupied by the owner or friends, in which case you will still have exclusive use of the entire property except for the small area immediately beside and behind the garage.

** The Studio **

A separate, two-story, ocean-view studio on the back of the property (above and beside the garage) will give you space for up to an additional 4 people (2 adults, 2 children). 648 sq feet (264 upstairs, 384 downstairs). It must be rented if you exceed the capacity of the main house (8 total, and no more than 6 adults in main house).

The unit is attached to garage behind the main house and has two floors.

It is a stunning but cozy space. The upstairs bedroom / living room has a bank of three big, brand-new skylights providing ocean views and amazing light, as well as ocean views from both the new north and south windows. The lower full bath and kitchen / dining room is to the side of the garage, and lets out to small private patio and attached small greenhouse with citrus trees and herbs.

The studio has a new queen bed and two couches that fold into twin futons. Please note: no dogs allowed in the studio.

The studio has its own separate rental rate of 20% of the main house base rate (that it, the rate before any additional guest fees) and an additional $150 cleaning fee. All of this can be paid via separate arrangement. Contact me for details.

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Guests access house through a keypad with code provided at booking.


In main house, maximum 8 people, including children over 2 years of age, and a maximum of 6 adults. Renting studio as well allows up to another 2 adults and 2 children, as well as providing an extra full bath and full kitchen.

1-2 dogs are welcome, and the beach across the street is dog-friendly. There is a $150 pet fee, per dog (if you have a second dog, the second fee is payable to owner through separate arrangement). We'd also appreciate it if shedding dogs are as much as possible kept off the furniture; there is a pet cover for the couch that can be used. Excess cleaning charges (for instance, for fur coating all surfaces of house, uncleaned dog droppings, etc.) may also be held back from security deposit. We are pet friendly; please help us to stay that way. Please no dogs in the studio.

Note on our cleaning fee, which is relatively high: We’ve stayed in a fair number of short-term rental places, and cleanliness levels vary. Sometimes it’s spotless, sometimes you’re not sure what surfaces are safe to touch. How recently was that comforter cover washed? Sunburst is always brought to hotel-level cleanliness, which in a house of this size (especially one that allows dogs) takes time. The spa is also always professionally serviced between guests. We pay our property manager and helpers relatively high hourly wages because they are meticulous professionals, can handle any cleaning or maintenance emergency with grace and aplomb, and because they are great people and our friends. Sunburst could not function as a rental property without them. The cleaning fee is set at what is basically our historically minimum cost, which we very occasionally encounter (2 guests with no pets who don't light a fire, eat out for all their meals, strip their bed as requested, and leave the entire downstairs wing untouched); otherwise we pay the difference.

11% local Mendocino tax for any rentals under 30 days included in your VRBO total charge.

The owners are Edward Slingerland and Thalia Wheatley. Edward is a professor of Chinese philosophy and comparative religion at the University of British Columbia and Dartmouth College and also a writer of general audience books (Trying Not to Try and Drunk). Thalia is a social cognitive neuroscientist at Dartmouth. They split their time between this house, the University of British Columbia and Dartmouth and would be happy to answer any questions or deal with concerns by phone, text or via e-mail.