Built in 2006, the 4,494-square-foot, single-story manor on 10.8 acres is listed for $4.45 million. It has three bedrooms \u2014 including an elegant primary suite with a deep soaking tub overlooking a private garden through picture windows \u2014 and five bathrooms. Adjacent to the main house is a 780-square-foot detached studio apartment for guests.<\/p>\n
The 4,494-square-foot, single-story manor in Auburn, California, sits on 10.8 acres is listed for $4.45 million. It has three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a guest house. Snap A Prop Pool first, oak tree stays<\/p>\n
In many luxury builds, outdoor spaces are the final flourish. Here, the dramatic backyard infinity-edge pool and spa came first \u2014 and helped determine how everything else would sit on the land.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing built was the pool,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019ll put the pool there first.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the decision to keep a large, majestic oak tree \u2014 an act of preservation that became a design directive.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe brought the architect and designer in and said, \u2018We need to design the house with this oak tree and with the pool,\u2019\u201d Smith said. \u201cThat was his starting point, and then he built it around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The payoff is immediate: the zero-edge pool, with the spa centered like a jewel, throws a straight horizon line toward the river canyon and out to the lake. On clear days, the Sacramento skyline is visible to the west; to the east, the Sierra Nevada rises beyond the foothills.<\/p>\n
A year-round stream runs through the property and feeds a pond, adding another layer of motion and sound to the peaceful setting.<\/p>\n
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Ryan and Randi Smith were married on a clear platform atop the spa in the center of the infinity pool, giving the illusion that they were standing on water. Courtesy Randi and Ryan Smith The North Fork of the American River and Folsom Lake can be seen from the infinity-edge pool. SNAP A PROP <\/p>\n
Smith doesn\u2019t tell the story like a seller reciting upgrades. He tells it like a son remembering how a property came together in real time, project by project \u2014 and celebration by celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey bought this property in 2002,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI was actually in college \u2014 I was at Long Beach State getting my engineering degree \u2014 and I\u2019d come back and help him build it when I was away from college. So I didn\u2019t grow up in the house (but) we lived down the street. Originally, we\u2019re all from Auburn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Home built to endure<\/p>\n
The estate reads like a long-term commitment \u2014 one that started with an idea of what a house should endure. The exterior is a showcase of materials chosen for longevity: massive natural stone, a slate roof, custom beams, fine architectural detailing, and copper gutters and downspouts. The message is clear: This is a home meant to weather decades of sun and seasons, not one designed to be repainted every few years.<\/p>\n
In a region where contemporary farmhouses, Tuscan villas and modern glass boxes tend to dominate high-end construction, the home\u2019s French country roots feel intentional rather than trendy.<\/p>\n
\u201c(My dad) originally did custom homes down in Newport Beach,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd my mom, she\u2019s French, and they really liked the clean, simple, single\u2011story lines of a French country house. You just don\u2019t see them around here that much. It was a unique design that he liked, just because it was rare. Nobody ever builds them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listing agent Nick Sadek of Nick Sadek Sotheby\u2019s International Realty said the aesthetic is built to outlast fashion cycles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s timeless,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople like French country \u2014 they\u2019re going to still do French country. It doesn\u2019t seem like it goes out of style.\u201d<\/p>\n
The heart of the house is the soaring great room \u2014 the \u201cgreat hall\u201d \u2014 where massive stonework frames a fireplace and salvaged railroad beams span the ceiling. Snap A Prop <\/p>\n
Single-story homes can sometimes feel segmented \u2014 rooms strung along a hallway, living areas separated from kitchens, entertaining spaces split into formal and informal zones. Here, the layout funnels life toward one central gathering space. That was the point, Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted one room \u2014 just one room where everybody gathers,\u201d Smith said. \u201cMy mom\u2019s one of eight, so I have like 32 cousins on my mom\u2019s side, so they\u2019d all come up at Christmas time. You got to have a room big enough for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
The heart of the house is the soaring great room \u2014 Ryan calls it the \u201cgreat hall\u201d \u2014 where massive stonework frames a fireplace and salvaged railroad beams span the ceiling. The main living areas all lean into warmth and craft \u2014 French white oak floors, Dutch doors, a library or office space, and six fireplaces that spread the glow through the home\u2019s wings.<\/p>\n
Preserving this oak tree and the infinity pool in the back was the starting point for building the house. Snap A Prop Massive beams repurposed<\/p>\n
Look up in the great hall and the ceiling becomes part of the backstory. Smith said the beams weren\u2019t in the original plan \u2014 until a demolition project offered something with history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beams were an afterthought,\u201d he said. \u201cThe beams were from an old railroad building\u2026 they were demolishing the railroad building, and one of his contractor friends says, \u2018Hey, they\u2019ve got these old beams with the original bolts and ties for the railroad. You want to come down and repurpose them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What followed was equal parts scavenger hunt and craftsmanship.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we went down there and grabbed them,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAll these beams are all one piece; they\u2019re repurposed. You can see all the knots and holes from the nails from the old railroad building. You had to cut everything with a chainsaw, because there\u2019s nothing big enough, tool\u2011wise, to cut them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The entrance to the French country-style estate is magical. Snap A Prop <\/p>\n
In the Provencal-inspired kitchen, the French country look is as much about craft as it is about high-end appliances. A Viking range and dual sinks anchor the space, paired with cream-colored marble flooring, but the refrigerator disappears into a hand-painted encasement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a refrigerator \u2014 nobody ever realizes it \u2014 but he wanted an encasement for a refrigerator,\u201d Smith said, running a hand along the paneled front. \u201cUsually you just put a panel and call it a day. He goes, \u2018No, no, we\u2019re going to bring in an artist.\u2019 They found an artist in Grass Valley and said, \u2018Here\u2019s a blank slate. Just do an art piece that you want on it.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took him a little over two weeks,\u201d Smith said. \u201cSame with the (kitchen\u2019s) fireplace \u2014 it was originally just plaster. They wanted texture and something artistic, so they brought in a lady from Grass Valley and she did all the vine work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen island is a single, seam-free slab of elm wood \u2014 no typical marble counter here \u2014 sourced from an unlikely place: a fallen downtown Sacramento tree during a big storm. Smith\u2019s father heard about the fallen trees through arborist friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is from a tree in downtown Sacramento,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want any seams. They went down there and sliced a slab for all one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Built by contractors and artists<\/p>\n
For Smith, the pattern repeats: contractors for the bones, artists for the character.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the most part, you obviously have contractors that build stuff, but he wanted to bring in more artists to do all the little pieces around the house,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what really makes it unique \u2014 it\u2019s a combination of using a contractor, but also an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-listing agent Debra Evans of Nick Sadek Sotheby\u2019s International Realty put it simply:<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the fixtures and lights in the house are art,\u201d she said. The family found the furnishings in Carmel, Monterey and other California cities.<\/p>\n
The front door is a true masterpiece \u2014 a five-inch-thick slab of hand-carved oak adorned with vine-and-flower motifs around a beveled window. Weighing nearly 600 pounds, it took six months to build, Smith said, and required four heavy-duty hinges to hang. The cost: $28,000.<\/p>\n
Above the heavy wood door, a small flame burns continuously inside an enclosed gas lamp, inspired by a WWI-era French tradition. Families would leave lights in windows or over doors during battles, such as Verdun, as a sign of hope and remembrance \u2014 a tradition that later became a lasting tribute to France\u2019s sacrifice and alliance.<\/p>\n
Inside the house, Evans pointed to the livability of a true single story.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really easy to get around \u2014 you\u2019re not negotiating any steps,\u201d she said. \u201cA true single\u2011story like this is hard to find, especially with this level of detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the ridge, the estate\u2019s views not only stretch to downtown Sacramento but as far as Mount Diablo, too. Smith said his father searched for years for that kind of visual payoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had been looking for many years, and the biggest thing for him was the view,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe just wanted a view. He said, \u2018Once I can find the view, then the house \u2014 I know what I want to do.\u2019 And he wanted to stay in Auburn.\u201d<\/p>\n
To protect that extraordinary view, the family bought five acres of neighboring land \u2014 and they didn\u2019t build on it, simply to keep the horizon open.<\/p>\n
That additional acreage isn\u2019t included in the listing price, but Smith said the buyer will get the first chance to buy it.<\/p>\n
Double-barrel water tower<\/p>\n
In the foothills, luxury often means thinking about infrastructure as much as finishes. This property has a private well and septic, plus a backup water storage-and-treatment setup designed for reliability, and keeping the landscaping alive in a dry year. The water tower\u2019s attractive exterior design appears to be an extension of the other residences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just a water tower \u2014 it\u2019s got two big storage tanks,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThere\u2019s a 5,000\u2011gallon up there and a 2,500, because we\u2019re on a well. When you\u2019re on a well, sometimes it doesn\u2019t produce as much water as you need to use, so he built storage containers so you\u2019d always have water if the well wasn\u2019t keeping up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The system includes filtration, UV treatment and a water softener, Smith said, and a separate storage container was meant to ensure the landscaping wouldn\u2019t suffer if the well lagged.<\/p>\n
The estate also has access to Placer County Water Agency ditch water for irrigation.<\/p>\n
\u201c(With) the PCWA ditch water \u2014 you\u2019re allowed an inch and a half of that water for irrigation, farming, or if you actually wanted to put an orchard,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThat\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 10-acre foothill estate can swallow hobbies \u2014 cars, boats, tools, collections. Here, the property\u2019s roughly 3,412-square-foot, seven-car garage complex includes an RV garage, a golf cart bay and custom vertical wood doors. Smith ties that capacity back to his father\u2019s meticulous personality and appreciation of finer unique things.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad was a hot\u2011rod fanatic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the $4 million to $5 million price point, buyers can shop views, acreage and square footage. What\u2019s harder to recreate \u2014 especially with today\u2019s labor and materials costs \u2014 is the level of craftsmanship and the sheer weight of the build, Sadek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an expensive estate to build,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at the copper downspouts, copper gutters, even the stone. Ryan was talking about the slate roof \u2014 this is a super\u2011expensive roof. Just the quality and detail that\u2019s in the house, honestly, you don\u2019t see that much. Even the big homes that we sometimes put on the market, they\u2019re not built like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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