san marcos Archives - Luxury Home Digest

The Luxury of Gnarly Head Zinfandel

Roberta Murphy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:54:25 +0000

by Eve Sieminski

I am convinced California wines are a no-brainer.

Recently, another wine blogger recommended we try a fantastic $8 French wine. This was in response to an earlier article where I recommended TBD Zinfandel, available at

Gnarly Head Zinfandel

Trader Joe’s.

My thoughts about this recommended French red?
Pee pee water! I wouldn’t cook with it, let alone serve it to guests. In fact, the experience only reaffirms my belief in California wines.

A recent discovery of mine is Gnarly Head Zinfandel. This is an old-vine California Zinfandel lives up to the dark and lush description on the bottle–is absolutely fantastic! It delivers all the punch
you want from a Zinfandel, without the punch of a price over $20.

This luscious Zin can be found for as little as $7.99. After giving it a try, I rushed back to Major Market and bought several more bottles for our wine cellar. Gnarly Head Zinfandel is also available at other market for around $10 to $12 per bottle–and is well worth the price.

Truthfully, I was a little put off when I first saw the name. Gnarly doesn’t exactly describe my favorite wines,
but this old vine Zin has become one of my hands down and glass-up favorites–at least for the price.

Remember, my search focuses on outstanding wines under $20 per bottle–and Gnarly Head comes in well under that mark.

An important note about Zinfandels: Make sure your Zin is an Old Vine–and remember that any Zin under 14%
alcohol is not worth the price. Most outstanding Zins start at 14% and go up from there.

You may also wish to read:

Luxury on a Gold Plated Shoestring

The post The Luxury of Gnarly Head Zinfandel appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

A Novel Green Mansion

Roberta Murphy — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:23:41 +0000

by Roberta Murphy

Redneck Mansion

Any verbiage I add to this photo would probably be superfluous, since this chatty picture already exceeds the expected thousand words.

Hats off to someones clever recycling of mobile homes.

Not sure if the intent was green construction, but the designer certainly managed to minimize the footprint of this little mobile home park.

I also wonder about the relation of people who live here. And what about plumbing? Or high winds?

Finally, hope this upwardly mobile community isnt anywhere near the path of tornadoes.

Thank you Ronnie Sellers, fellow ANTS investor and bonsai guru in North Carolina, for the photo. He is especially fond of the red shipping container with the attached solarium.

Embarrassing Note: Just discovered this photo is from a movie set. The onlookers are cropped out of the photo. Still a clever arrangement!

San Diego Real Estate Exchange

Roberta Murphy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:24:39 +0000

by Roberta Murphy

Bob Dyson is a real estate legend who recently launched Sothebys real estate offices in the San Diego, Palm Springs and Las Vegas markets. He has kindly agreed to share some exciting news with us about a new real estate exchange program that is set to rock the San Diego real estate market mid-January.

This program will do much to liberate locked-up equities in homes throughout Southern California.

But Ill not steal his thunder.

by Bob Dyson

How I See It: Lets Liberate Home Equities

With all the alarming issues facing us in Real Estate ownership and all the turmoil in Real Estate lending, I have been searching endlessly for fresh solutions to these problems. What if we could create a new and faster way to buy and sell homes in todays challenging market? What if real estate buyers and sellers could focus on the deal instead of getting lost in the details of granite surfaces, designer amenities and upgrades?

We believe our home exchange program will help stabilize our troubled real estate market and could be a program easily implemented in other cities outside of Southern California.

Quick Facts:

There are more than 25,000 homes for sale in San Diego County. We believe there are also more than 19,000 qualifed buyers who wish to purchase a home in San Diego RIGHT NOW.

So where are the buyers and who are they?

They are home owners living right here in San Diego.

They are home owners with œFrozen Equity – people who want to relocate right now but must sell their home first.

The Media:

Granted, there have real problems with the real estate lending industry . And the media has done an excellent job paralyzing the home buying public, scaring them away from purchasing.

Recent statistics provided by First American Title Company show that in San Diego County, the Palm Desert/Palm Springs areas and Las Vegas, foreclosure activity is centered in small pockets of those communities.

Areas like Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Indian Wells and Summerlin have experienced very little impact from local foreclosures; however, those communities have been brought down by media hype and generalities.

It seems that nobody at the media level, or especially the government level, is paying attention to details. Our congressmen who are holding hearings on these issue dont even know what questions to ask – much less are able to present viable solutions.

Been There, Done That:

In January 1993 – in a similarly challenging Real Estate Market – several of us in the industry began calling our listing clients and we asked them one question: œWhen you sell your home, are you moving up in price, down in price or out of the area?

From that calling session forward, our little group began selling homes at an incredible pace. In January of that year alone, we sold 48 properties.

How We Did It:

We took our clients who had good equity, good jobs and good credit and matched their wants and desires to move up with other clients selling their homes who desired to move down.

We simply exchanged properties. It was actually as simple as œIll buy yours and youll buy mine.

Two purchase agreements were drawn up, each contingient upon the concurrent close of the other. Both clients got new loans and became a buyer in one escrow and a seller in the other.

The process and the response exceeded our wildest expectations. We provided all parties with work sheets, we moved sales prices and new loan amounts around with our lenders and, in most cases, satisfied the needs of both clients.

Exchanging Properties in Todays Real Estate Market:

Today, we are taking our exchange idea of the 90s, dusting it off and are updating it with todays technologies.

What is evolving is an industry-supported effort to help buyers and sellers with good credit, good jobs and solid equity move NOW.

To best understand this new program please click on the following link to visit www.HomeExchangeProgram.com. The site is still under construction, but you can get a feel for how exchanges work.

Real Estate agents and sellers alike can participate in this program. The more of us who participate, the faster this Real Estate market will right itself and and help œAll Ships to Rise.

If you would like to discuss the Home Exchange Program, please give me a call at 858.481.2020 or email me.

And thats œHow I See It.

Bob Dyson

Bob Dyson is the Broker of Dyson & Dyson Sothebys International Realty in Palm Desert/Palm Springs, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nevada and Villa Sothebys International Realty in Del Mar, Calif. With nearly 40 years experience in the Real Estate Industry, Bob has become an industry innovation leader. In addition to his many years in the brokerage industry, Bob is also involved in real estate mapping and development and currently has several thousand acres in various stages of mapping and development in Southern Nevada and Southern California.

About the Company
Dyson & Dyson Sothebys International Realty and Villa Sothebys International Realty were founded in Southern California in 1988 under the name Dyson & Dyson Real Estate Associates. Offering a variety of unparalleled real estate services, the brokerage operates offices in Las Vegas, the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area, and Garner Valley under the name Dyson & Dyson Sothebys International Realty and in the San Diego County area under the name Villa Sothebys International Realty.

Each office is independently owned and operated.

The Venetian Plaster Master

Roberta Murphy — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 02:26:31 +0000

by Roberta Murphy

Venetian Plaster by Greg Sieminski

When I first entered this newer San Diego luxury home, I was amazed by its wall and ceiling finishes. Walking slowly from room to room, I ran my fingers over the cool burnished walls and the gray stone door arches. Even the ceilings and dome gave the impression that we had indeed been transported to a Venetian villa.

Had I not known the responsible artisan for this masterpiece, I would never have guessed an underlying truth: These walls were nothing more than standard drywall that had been transformed by a clever Polish artist who specializes in exquisite surface finishes.

Greg Sieminski explains that European artisans have been creating beautiful walls for centuries utilizing limestone plasters softly colored with natural elements. He studied these walls in Mediterranean countries, and wondered how the rich, aged patina could be duplicated in fine San Diego homes. It took several years, but Greg was able to perfect his replications of fine Venetian plaster to the delight and amazement of his clients.

How is Venetian plaster made? Greg explains that the 1300 year-old process starts with the selection of special limestone from Italian quarries and rivers. The limestone is then fired in a large and very hot kiln, which causes chemical changes within the limestone itself. The result? The super-heated stones turn to putty when placed in water. The painter goes on to describe how this putty is wet-seasoned for up to a year before being processed as a finishing plaster.

The end result, says Greg, is a finely milled limestone putty that is even finer than face powder. This cultivated material can be further embellished with finely-ground marble, which yields an ancient building material that can be burnished to a low sheen or rubbed to a high polish. Additionally, he will occasionally add granular material so that he can recreate stone finishes.

Venetian plaster, he explains, is not faux painting, as hobbyists commonly refer to this style of painting. œThe product is not paint. It is an old finishing technique that works well in contemporary homes. He adds that Venetian plaster can be used outdoors as well, with few limitations.

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