The West Coast residence of famed interior designer John Saladino has come to market in Montecito at $12,500,000.
For design followers, this is a rare chance to buy a home that reflects the “designer’s designer” at a personal level — more than a commission, it’s a place he lived with and refined over time.
Saladino’s influence is well documented (in 2013 Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi bought one of his most celebrated works), but this property tells the quieter story: measured sightlines, classical gestures, and rooms organized for light, conversation, and evenings that stretch by candlelight.
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Set in a Montecito golf club community
Set within the Birnam Wood Golf Club community with the Santa Ynez Mountains as backdrop and The Valley Club to the south, the 1960s residence was designed and built by John W. Bancroft with architect Hugh M. O’Connell, Jr.
French doors cue long garden axes; classical columns mark the poolside terraces; and the overall composition follows Saladino’s lifelong theme — architecture and landscape in constant dialogue.
Specs and features:
- Address: China Flat, Montecito, CA 93108 (Birnam Wood Golf Club)
- Price: $12,500,000
- Beds/baths: 2 bedrooms / 3 baths
- Size: 3,448 sq. ft.
- Year built: 1960s
- Architect: Hugh M. O’Connell, Jr. (with builder John W. Bancroft)
- Interior designer / former owner: John Saladino
- Setting: Park-like grounds with composed garden views, pool, and classical terraces
- Agents: Mitch Morehart, Beverly Palmer, Paige Marshall, Susan Pate | Compass
Provenance and point of view
Known for New York penthouses, Tuscan villas, and landmark California estates, Saladino treated this Montecito address as a personal canvas. The scale is intimate — 2 beds, 3 baths — but the experience lands larger thanks to proportion, light, and garden choreography.
A designer’s calming escape
According to listing agent Susan Pate, “This was John Saladino’s West Coast estate. He loved everything about this property, the inside to outside flow brings so much light and ease of movement throughout the estate.
“John enjoyed having his family and close friends over for chef prepared meals by candlelight. Many times they would take dinner in the formal library.”
Design that stages the landscape
The interior plan privileges sightlines: French doors frame clipped greens and layered hedges; rooms angle toward axial views; and the pool terrace reads like an outdoor salon, its classical columns setting a measured rhythm from day to dusk.
Interiors with quiet luxury
Expect minimalist, elegant finishes rather than flash: tailored millwork, stone underfoot, and a formal library ready for long dinners or late-night conversation. As Saladino often demonstrated, restraint is its own kind of richness.
With warm, slightly maximalist spaces, for balance
Complementing the clean look are vibrant living spaces with curated finishes, intriguing patterns, and pops of color.
And a library that brings the drama
Despite the home’s overall aesthetic appeal, it’s the library that’s bound to stick to everyone’s memory, long after they’ve visited. Clad in light, warm wood, the towering space is distinctly elegant, without feeling overwhelming. Other standout design elements include a 16-light chandelier, floor-to-ceiling windows, built-ins, and a fireplace.
Cozy bedrooms that don’t sacrifice on style
Warm wood also adds a note of coziness to the elegant bedrooms.
Golf course-adjecent, minutes from everything
Inside the gates you get park-like calm and golf-course adjacency; beyond them, quick reach to Montecito’s village staples, beaches, and trailheads. The house sits east of the 18th fairway with the Valley Club nearby — classic Montecito geography.
Photographer: Lucero Lovelle, Helkey Media LLC. | christopher@helkeymedia.com
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