Carmel-by-the-Sea is a timeless beacon of European sensibility in a shifting world. The choice to acquire property here is an indication that you understand quality and artistry of the rarest varieties: chiseled by the hands of Mother Nature herself, unfaltering in intelligence of design, yet never without a playful dash of whimsy. Updated throughout with the finest materials, this jewel is 1.5 walking blocks from town and a block from the Forest Theater. Yet, standing on Santa Rita, you would never know it was there. Stone paths wind through dazzling gardens down to a hidden home in beautiful harmony with surrounding oaks, their branches winding up to the sky, greeting those in both the mid-level primary suite and a second primary suite that feels like a canopy retreat. A calming glow radiates through skylights on vaulted wood ceilings and, in the living room, through a stained-glass window that washes the entire space in subtle hues of peach and green. There is an enthralling organic quality to this turnkey home, evident in each facet from the Jerusalem limestone flooring and the Brazilian hardwood deck to the curve of a Juliet balcony and lines that draw the eye precisely where you never knew you wanted it to go. Such is the wonder of Carmel. You come to expect the unexpected.