Photos and text by Caitlin Donohue
The Pomo indians, original inhabitants of the land where the Sea Ranch community now stands, burned down their huts when they fell into states of disarray. No carpet shampoo. No broom. I could get into that. Make the bed? Nah, let’s just burn it down and build a new one!
Their devil-may-care attitude to home design, however, does not extend to the current residents of the coastal Sonoma County community. ‘Sea Ranch style’ was developed here, appropriately enough; natural wood architectural beauts with emphases on windows and decks. No overhanging eaves allowed. No fences. Indigenous plant landscaping only.
The 1,211 homes in the planned community are usually empty. 65% of them are vacation homes, sporadically occupied. They perch along the Ranch’s ten miles of sea bluff and sweeping Northern California tundra, which was totally deforested in the late 1800s and early 20th century by waves of European immigration, the Gold Rush and a freakin’ sawmill.
I’ve been going to Sea Ranch since I was a small thing and always loved its other-worldliness. My family went here, above all, to sit in hot tubs, play board games and gawk at deer packs. City folk, go figure.