Cape Dutch-style home with executive pedigree asks $18.5 million in Montecito

A Montecito estate owned by “Legally Blonde” author Amanda Brown and husband Justin Chang, principal of Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm Colony Capital, is on the market for $18.5 million.

Brown and Chang bought the property four years ago from the estate of another pillar of industry, Jack McGinley, a former vice president of Baxter Healthcare, for $16.8 million. William LaWarre, a Cincinnati ad man turned rancher, is another former owner.

Designed by architect Ambrose Cramer and built in 1931, the Cape Dutch-style estate sits on more than three acres with a backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains and panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. Elaborately rounded gables, sets of double-hung windows and a whitewashed facade are characteristic of the style popularized in the Western Cape of South Africa during the early 17th century.

Within the 9,771 square feet of living space are a living room topped with a fireplace, a formal dining room, a media/game room, six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Curved and beamed cathedral ceilings lend a light and airy feel to the kitchen and adjoining breakfast room.

Outdoors, manicured grounds originally designed by Lockwood de Forest are filled with rolling lawns, formal landscaping and a large reflecting pool. Elsewhere is a five-car garage.

Riskin Partners of Village Properties and Jeffrey Hyland and Ladd Jackson of Hilton & Hyland, an affiliate of Christie’s International Realty, are the co-listing agents.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @NJLeitereg

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