Published August 11, 2005

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care two weeks ago during a Christmas-themed Pottery Barn shoot at Chuck Post’s Sonoma farmhouse.
“It was roaring hot and my neighbors probably thought I was crazy,” Post said.
His home was one of many chosen by Pottery Barn for its artistic touches such as built-ins and natural light.

The home, tucked behind an industrial section of Eighth Street East is sprawling low as you approach from an olive tree-lined gravel driveway.
The home’s T shape makes for intimate courtyards tucked away on many sides.
The location is unique—there is no traffic, few neighbors, and hidden away from civilization. Post said people tend to love that, or hate it. He said some find it too industrial.

The property and buildings once belonged to the See’s family, of See’s candy. The original 80-acre plot has since been split up into numerous parcels including this 5-and-a-half acre lot.

For a year, it’s been a live-in project home for Post, who restores homes. He’s on his sixth one right now.

The property features a barn, cottage, pool house and the main home with four bedrooms.
Part of the home was built in the 1930s, with an addition in the 1970s. Post said he finds this challenging, and aims to restore the home’s original charm.

“Over time people add on to houses, frequently they get into this mish-mash of style, Post said. “They bring their own influence. I try to strip that away and bring homes back their essence.”

Post said he was challenged by this one. He bought the property from a Vietnamese man who was an herbalist and a Chinese medicine healer. He had installed a couple of statues on the property that Post kept, along with a meditative stone labyrinth.
Inside, the home has somewhat of an open, airy beachy-bungalow feel, but with New England touches.

The entrance is a shallow light purple hallway with skylights directly in the middle of the house. To the left opens out to the living room and kitchen, and to the right the master bedroom.

The living area has old single-pane windows, open beam ceilings and fir floors with board and baton walls. The cottage out back has a modern interior, with a view of the creek.
Post lives in the home with his daughter, Lily, 15 and his dog, Abby, a yellow lab who really digs the dirt and the Arroyo Seco that runs along the back side of the property. Post, who works as a real estate broker for Frank Howard Allen Realtors, said the home is great for gatherings.

It features an in-ground pool, a spa, trampoline and spacious courtyards.
The rickety white barn out back has a roof that lets streams of light through, Post wants to restore it but said he isn’t quite sure how he wants to go about that project.
“If anyone knows how to restore an old barn let me know,” Post said.

He estimates that it will take him about a year to finish, then he’ll be ready to move on. Though it’s charming and unique, he said there is probably no danger of him falling in love with a place and staying.

“This [work] gives you a chance to live in some very cool places,” Post said. “I don’t think I am ever going to live in a place for too long. I am destined to be a vagabond.”