6 Tofflemire Drive

Life at the Pinnacle of Lafayette

Ascend a private driveway through a mature forest, enter through a security gate, and leave behind the hustle and bustle of Lafayette. 

This magnificent custom home rests on a 1.1 (+/-) acre hilltop lot.  It offers commanding views to the east of Mt. Diablo and the Diablo Valley, both from outdoor entertainment deck (with fireplace) and the interior rooms, especially from the formal dining room.  To the west, the home has approximately 350 feet of frontage on Lafayette Reservoir open space, and access via a 100-foot path to the Lafayette Reservoir Rim Trail. 

The lot, fully fenced, is impeccably landscaped throughout, and a wandering path circumnavigates the home through the landscaping.  The canopy of trees consists of oak, maple, laurel, eucalyptus, apple, citrus, plum, and apricot.  Meticulous landscaping – including roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, lilies, and agapanthus – complement the trees above.  A vineyard of 86 cabernet sauvignon vines completes the landscaping to the rear of the home.  Nearby is an oversize Jacuzzi, shielded by foliage to afford exceptional privacy.

The principal residence (6,920 square feet, with four bedrooms and three full and two half bathrooms), has custom finishes at every turn.  Most rooms offer vaulted ceilings, some nearly 20 feet high, with cedar ceilings and Douglas fir beams with custom corbels.  Floor-to-ceiling windows capture stunning views.  Select-grain white oak hardwood floors are used throughout. 

Upstairs, the principal suite has every amenity, including a dry sauna, steam shower, exercise room, walk-in closet (so large that it more accurately could be described as a live-in closet), and an adjacent laundry room.  A balcony off the principal suite overlooks the winery (described more fully below).  From the principal suite, a hallway and separate bath (featuring Donghia Murano glass vanity lights) lead to two other bedrooms (one now reconfigured as a library, featuring Thomas Pheasant custom light sconces), that offer garden views and complete the upstairs area. 

The downstairs area, with a private entrance just steps from the winery building, features guest or in-law quarters, with a bedroom and bath, full kitchen, and living room, as well as access to each of the two attached two-car garages. A temperature-controlled wine cellar, holding approximately 1,700 bottles, is nearby. 

Throughout the house, three separate offices (one now configured as an art studio) offer ample work and study space.  Five fireplaces offer comfort and warmth against any winter chill.

The principal kitchen and living areas are found on the main level.  That kitchen, which features multiple islands, extensive 2-1/4” slab granite counters, custom cabinets, doors and millwork, two dishwashers, three sinks (each with a disposal), and a Rotisol rotisserie, is adjacent to a spacious breakfast nook.  Outside is the porcelain-tile entertainment deck and fireplace, surveying Mt. Diablo in the distance.  An enclosed dumbwaiter carries groceries up to the kitchen from the garage.  (In all, the grounds can accommodate the parking of 12-15 cars.)  The kitchen flows gracefully in two directions, one to a great room with fireplace (featuring a 20-foot ledge stone fireplace, with mantle and hearth) and custom bookcases, the other to the formal dining room (featuring a hand-blown glass chandelier) and living room (with its own fireplace, featuring a Jerusalem marble single-slab fascia).  Low-rise stairs, with custom patinaed handrails, link the bedroom floors to the main level.

The home produces electricity (saving about $2,000 per month) using solar voltaic panels, unobtrusively placed to the rear of the roof.  A 200-amp generator provides backup power.  A fire and intruder alarm system covers both the interior and exterior of the home, and the main house has fire sprinklers throughout.  Security cameras survey the home’s exterior.  The home is hard-wired for sound, inside and out.

Three separate buildings complete the grounds.  To one side, the 875-square foot winery building features a tasting area and event room with a black-granite bar (all under a spectacular cedar ceiling, supported by beams of Douglas fir), adjoining a separate, fully equipped winery.  The winery has produced over 1,000 cases in 20 years.  Wines made here have earned many awards in preeminent home-winemaking competitions, including multiple double-gold awards. As an alternative, the winery has been plumbed and constructed for conversion to an in-law or guest cottage.

At the other side, a 285-square foot building (with a full bathroom), now configured as a yoga studio (but readily reconfigured as a tea house, guest room, gym or reading room), offers a serene retreat.  It features bamboo floors throughout, and NanaWall doors that open for seamless access to the adjoining garden.  At the top of the hill, a custom-built, 211 square-foot greenhouse would tempt any gardener.  The raised beds are fully irrigated and now feature lavender, strawberries, mint, rosemary and sage.

Top-rated Lafayette and Moraga schools are a short distance away in either direction via nearby Moraga Road.

This estate, though just a few minutes from Lafayette’s restaurants and other amenities, is an incomparable idyllic retreat.