Extraordinary estate artfully unites history, function, and tranquil beauty. Sisterdale Farms is a highly productive 310± acre low-fenced, live water ranch located in Kendall County. It is perfectly situated between Boerne and Fredericksburg on Sisterdale Road, just under an hour from the San Antonio International Airport. This showplace of a ranch, set within the rare and beautiful riparian valley of the cypress-lined Guadalupe River, is bursting with the history and culture of days past. Baron Ottmar Von Behr settled here in 1847 and gave Sisterdale, Texas, her name. Von Behr hosted several distinguished visitors, including Frederick Law Olmstead, an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. Olmstead was recognized as one of the designers of Central Park in New York City. He actually wrote about this Sisterdale Ranch, or Texas Latin Settlement as he called it, in his book, "A Journey Through Texas." The original homestead was brought back to life as it was intended, except with a twist, the owners added a full gourmet kitchen, laundry room, and two full baths in keeping with the tradition of form, fit, and style to go with the rest of the home. Using skilled craftsmen, the house was taken down to the original paints, varnishes, stains, and flooring dating back to the late 1840s, including the barns surrounding the home. The main residence, both designed and built by Don McDonald in 2015, is perched atop a bluff, nestled into the landscape overlooking a picturesque Coastal field, a stocked pond, the twisting cypress line of the Guadalupe River and the original farmstead. McDonald, an AIA architect based in San Antonio, designs estates that utilize the region's culture, history, and traditional building materials. Designers such as McDonald, extract real pleasure from both design and construction. The result is a structure rooted in the land upon which it is built, yet playful and idiosyncratic to the unique needs of each individual. The composition and organization of the house are visually ambiguous, thus allowing for seemingly unintentional romanticism, rendered in a natural and picturesque manner. This home was designed to resemble an old German settlement consisting of three buildings formed into one design. The exterior, consisting of articulated rock work with taunt seams, supports a field of coarse stone known as Sisterdale Limestone. Hardwood hand split shingles weathered to a silver-grey echo the region's 19th-century cypress shingles and sheath roofs. The indoor and outdoor spaces are harmoniously linked, providing for open, modern living and entertaining while allowing for scale, intimacy, and personality contrasts. From the motor court, guests descend to the beautiful front doors that open to one of two long bay loggias looking into and through the exquisite dining room with long-range hill country views. The leftwing loggia leads you to the chef's kitchen open to the family room with walls of windows, an underground wine cellar, home office, utility room and two additional guest suites. The rightwing loggia leads you to the beautiful formal living room, library, master retreat, and upstairs children's wing. There are hand-crafted light fixtures, mechanical grilles and hardware throughout the home designed by Dwaine Simpson and Roy Bellows. The hand-carved fireplaces and pizza oven constructed by Russ Thayer adorn the most used spaces of the home, including the master bedroom and bath, dining room, formal living room, and kitchen. This one-of-a-kind home also boasts a separate guest house and office with 360-degree views. This stunning ranch is sure to meet the needs of the most discriminating buyer.
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