Designer Hélène Aumont’s Countryside Cali Estate Harkening to France Lists for $5.8M

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While people move and make their residences all over the world, you never forget your childhood home. For Paris-born designer Hélène Aumont, that was Corsica, an island off of the South of France. From there, her career as a model in Paris eventually led her to discover a passion for interior design. While it bloomed in Europe, it became her full-time profession upon moving to Los Angeles.

Aumont now has collections and a portfolio of luxurious projects, but it seems the designer’s own French-inspired farmhouse in Santa Ynez Valley is her masterwork. And, happily for California buyers, it just hit the market.

Aumont purchased the five-acre property in 1994. A pastoral hillside estate, its residence was originally a small saltbox. Seeing the potential, the designer extensively renovated and expanded it to become a stunning farmhouse for her family, adding a primary suite, converted attic, breakfast porch, summer veranda and porches, artist studio, manager’s office, pool, and all the bucolic landscaping.

Of course, the spaces were transformed in more ways, too. The flooring and crown moldings are original, but rooms are filled with Aumont’s delicate yet rich touches that feel positively Provencal. The entrance instantly feels warm with two Provencal doors in the foyer. The great room then boasts an 18th-century French corner cabinet and a built-in 19th-century bar with an original Italian marble counter. Magical design details continue to reveal themselves around every corner, including custom-upholstered walls in the library, Sartre Limestone fireplaces, Moroccan tiles, and more.

Dubbed Pepper Hill Farm, the land and its uses earn admiration, too. Rose gardens and an orchard sit right near the kitchen, perfect for devising creative tablescapes. There’s also an old barn with 4 stalls and an arena, where Aumont’s Friesian horses have long lounged under Sycamore trees.

A French farmhouse planted in the midst of California’s natural splendor, Patty Murphy of Sotheby’s International Realty holds the lovely listing.

This article appears in the July 2022 issue of DailyDeeds.