The Home Page | From the Misty Mesa to Gilded Glam

Credit: James Bulebush/Getty Images

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on February 8, 2026. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletter

Fantasyland? Fairytale? The castle above is an actual home: The Biltmore Estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. A recent Architectural Digest newsletter lured me towards this palatial estate, and I was hooked. The details dovetail perfectly with my current passion for Julian Fellowes’ HBO series The Gilded Age. (Are you watching season 3? Every ending’s a heart-stopper!) The 175,000 square foot chateau was built by the Vanderbilt family in 1889 by architect Richard Morris Hunt. To this day, the Biltmore Estate remains the largest residential structure in the country. It’s open for tours year-round. Just don’t get lost!

This Week’s Cover Home:

The views! The pool! The home featured on our cover this week had our staff ooh-ing and aah-ing as we put together this week’s issue. It wasn’t only the heatwave that made us long to sit in the shade poolside. This home is a gem. A private sanctuary named “Modern Zen”, this stunning contemporary is nestled in the exclusive, gated community of La Romana Estates. Surrounded by miles of hiking trails above the fray of the city, but close to everything, 1367 Via Veneto is a one-of-a-kind property offering a lifestyle of peace and privacy, plus sweeping views of the Santa Ynez Mountains and the sparkling ocean. Represented by Chase Enright and offered at $6,500,000. Chase tells me that although it’s not open today, it’s easy to show. Such a beauty!

Today’s Featured Open House:

Another stunner is “Casa del Sol,” set in the tranquil beauty of Sycamore Canyon. Elegance, comfort, and versatility define this home with over 4,000 square feet of living space in the main home, plus there’s a charming detached guest casita. 1378 Sycamore Canyon Road has been beautifully upgraded with designer finishes and all new systems. An attached but separate entranced one-bedroom, one-bath suite provides options for three distinct living spaces, making this home perfect for multigenerational living, as a showcase property with space and privacy for hosting guests, and/or as a Class A income-producing rental property. Offered by Annette Vait, and open today from 1-3p.m.

There are so many incredible open houses on tour today that I couldn’t choose just one! Here’s another enticing home available for you to visit today. If the recent warm weather has you dreaming of lovely misty Mesa mornings, this is your dream come true! This beautifully updated home is located in the sought-after Vista De La Playa Estates on the Upper Mesa. Get ready to enjoy sweeping ocean, island, and coastline views from 421 Vista de la Playa — a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath home blending comfort, style, and versatility; designed for seamless indoor-outdoor living. Soaring ceilings, large windows, and natural light throughout. The remodeled kitchen and baths boast elegance and quality craftsmanship; brand-new hardwood floors and a new roof offer fresh, move-in-ready appeal. Open today from 2-4 p.m. and shown by Kevin Schmidtchen.

This Week’s Issue:

This week’s issue offers a plethora of content both front and back. Our front cover highlights just one of the stories in our annual look at “Active Aging” and our real estate section is chock-full of homes, plus an historic look at happenings from a century ago. Take us with you on your open house tour, or while you’re beating the heat in your backyard. However you spend your Sunday, enjoy!