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Nick Churton of Village Properties Realtors’ London office gets all dreamy-eyed at an A-list house on the ocean-view slopes above Montecito, California.

The Property: 818 Hot Springs Road, Montecito, California

The Broker: Village Properties Realtors

The Agent: Patricia Griffin

I half expected Cary Grant or Grace Kelly to meet me at the door of 818 Hot Springs Road, Montecito. In my mind, I was easily transported to the set of To Catch a Thief or any number of rich, Technicolor 1960s movies set in the South of France. By the time I reached the ocean-view rear terrace, I was a little disappointed that David Niven wasn’t lounging elegantly in a deep-cushioned recliner, sipping a Martini.

But the house did not disappoint me – far from it. Here is a French-inspired home designed in the 1930s by celebrated local architect, Lutah Maria Riggs. It oozes style and class. But, better still, it has received the sort of attention in the last year a buyer could only dream of.

Seemingly, without compromising the integrity of Riggs’ original design, the layout has been reimagined for a different age. This new, modern interior answers all the requirements of a modern family while retaining the effortless style of the original home.

Outside is a masterpiece of garden design. If it hasn’t featured in the pages of House & Garden, then it should have done. The French influence continues with the striking boxwood parterre and beautifully tended rose beds. The terrace and pool area could not be more Cote d’Azure if it tried. Except this is not the Mediterranean. It is the Pacific, and it is Montecito, and this home is all the better for it.

This is a grand house of mature design and serious specification. But it is also light of touch with delightful moments of levity. I particularly enjoyed the octagonal anteroom that has become a black and white marble bar area. Here my imagination intruded once again as I fancied I saw CoCo Chanel mixing cocktails.

Reverie aside, this house is a dream.

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Nick Churton of Village Properties Realtors’ London office gets a taste for a great Montecito vintage property.

The Property: La Manzanita, 705 Riven Rock Road, Montecito, CA

The Broker: Village Properties Realtors

The Team: Riskin Partners Estate Group

The label says Spanish. But I picked up base notes of the Western Cape in South Africa when I had my first taste of the La Manzanita Estate in Montecito.

Houses are like wines. They pick up influences from their surroundings but also from their makers. Here, even the name of the house sounds like a grand vineyard.

The Cape Dutch style is no more evident to me than in the sensational lancet-vaulted great room and the soft-cornered architectural detail surrounding the windows and doors. Parts of the house could have been plucked straight from Franschhoek or Stellenbosch.

Like any great estate house, there should be a partnership between the interior and the exterior. I think the two get on famously at La Manzanita.

The outside is a triumph of planting and landscape design. By the main door, a mostly-still lily pond – only ruffled now and then by carp breaking its surface – acts as a delightful introduction to the house. At the rear, terraces, pool area, and more wonderful planting ease the eye to the sensational ocean view. It is no accident that houses built over 100 years ago in Montecito have the best views – their original owners bagged all the best sites!

Not that this house shows its age. But it does show its pedigree. It could have been built yesterday; such is the quality of the recent renovation, layout and specification.

Like most great wines, this home has improved with age. But also, like wines, there is a perfect time to savour them. I would say that at La Manzanita that time is now.

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Nick Churton of Village Properties Realtors’ London office searches for the true meaning of Californian luxury and is sure he has found it in Montecito.

The Property: 691 Picacho Lane, Montecito, CA

The Broker: Village Properties Realtors

The Team: Riskin Partners Estate Group

What is a Californian luxury style when it comes to great houses? Is it the Spanish look or the Mediterranean influenced home? Is it the pool? Or is it the way of life that such a home engenders? I would say the answer is not specifically any of those things. The closest I can get to explaining it would be Gloria – one of, if not the most outstanding and elite estate homes within the celebrated Golden Quadrangle of historic Montecito near Santa Barbara.

Another way of putting it is that to be a really great Californian luxury home, it should feel better than having the Beverly Hills Hotel to yourself. Gloria is better even than that.

Set in five acres of lush palm-studded gardens, with a pool and umbrella-shaded terrace to rival anyone’s, Gloria is a remarkable property with a four-bedroom main house and three-bedroom guesthouse.

The accommodation offers a haven of calm and luxury. It is spectacular – show biz spectacular. And it is cool – cool, sophisticated and white. If I had met a smiling Diane Keaton in the kitchen, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised – pleased, but not surprised. Now that is Californian luxury style.

Of course, the great Californian home should overlook the ocean. Gloria does. And ideally, it should have a sensational mountain backdrop for added drama. It has this too.

If you were shopping for the ultimate Californian luxury super-home slightly away from the hustle and bustle of LA, then I would put Gloria right at the top of your A-list.

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Nick Churton of Village Properties Realtors, London Office, feels relaxed and lucky after visiting a contemporary home just seconds away from the beach at Montecito.

The Property: 1147 Hill Road, Montecito, California

The Broker: Village Properties Realtors

The Agents: Natalie Grubb Cambell, Brian Cambell and Easton Konn

There is something about wind chimes. Their melodies and broken chords reflect calm. In Feng Shui they are used to bring good luck. So wind chimes are the perfect accompaniment to living at 1147 Hill Road in Montecito, as they must remind the owner of the good fortune he or she has to live there.

There is a distinct Asian feel to the home. All is simple, straightforward and serene. Yet it’s only 30 seconds from the beach. The accommodation has been reversed so that the living room is upstairs and opens to a generous ocean view deck. This is open plan living at its very best with a fabulously fitted kitchen, breakfast bar and dining area.

Downstairs the accommodation borders, on two sides, an outdoor pool with beautiful hardwood deck and fire pit. Here the bedrooms are decorated in whites, creams and other natural colours. The bathrooms are marble, tile and pebble. This is a barefoot home where one is in touch with the elements.

As a gentle sea breeze flows easily through the house and stirs the chimes to music, the air is filled with ozone and the smell of the sea. A feeling of tranquillity prevails. There is a sense of inner peace that can’t be found everywhere.

So take off your shoes and listen to the chimes. They are telling you what enormous luck has brought you to this unique home in one of the most wonderful of locations.