Villa Portofino Adds New Italian Villas to Palm Desert Oasis

Great rooms accentuate open space, seamless movement around house

Lawrence Karol Real Estate

 

Villa Portofino may not be a brand new development — the 55-plus active adult community originally opened in 2005 and 120 houses were built — but there’s a lot of new activity going on at this 50-acre Palm Desert oasis.

Forty-eight new Italian-inspired villas, ranging in size from 1,183 square feet to 1,494 square feet, have just been completed. And more buildings with the same floor plans are starting construction soon, with delivery time anticipated for early next summer.

So now is the perfect opportunity for choosy people to customize their homes by choosing their own granite, flooring, cabinets, turning a tub area into a marble shower, plus countless other options depending on your personal preferences.

Following in step with today’s lifestyle, where most buyers crave open spaces, all three of the new Villa Portofino floor plans are centered around a great room.

“It’s not like the old days where it was the galley-style kitchen that was separate,” says Sales Manager, David Winbourn. “Now everyone wants to be involved in the cooking process, sitting at the bar, and helping out.”

“I think snowbirds come to town to have a good time and invite their friends in,” adds Julie Miller, general manager of the Villa Portofino Clubhouse. “They want to be outside all day, go to the clubhouse, come back, and have people stay over. What I see in [the layout] of these units is they don’t tell you where to put things—you can designate the rooms how you want them to be.”

The three floor plans are known as Vista Fiore: 1,183 square feet with one bedroom, one-and-one half baths, plus a den; Vista Montagna: 1,278 square feet with two bedrooms, two baths; and Vista Cielo: 1,494 square feet with two bedrooms, two baths, plus a den.

The master bedroom in all three floor plans has patio access. “You always want that,” says Winbourn. “If you want to go out there and have your morning coffee, you have direct access. If you do have guests, you don’t have to go out through the living room, and in the Vista Montagna plan guests have that option also.”

Villa Portofino also has a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse with formal and private dining rooms, a gym, a yoga and pilates room, a library, and a 100-seat movie theatre, among other amenities.

 

Vista Fiore: Den/Dining

“Just because this is a one bedroom doesn’t mean it’s small,” says Winbourn. “You have the den or office over here, or a lot of people say they might use it as more of a formal dining room.” Miller adds that, “Some people come in and they want a one bedroom, but they also want a little guest room when their grandkids come, or they want an office for their business. So [the staging] just plants the seed of an idea.”

Credits: Interior design for all of the Villa Portofino models was done by the Costa Mesa firm, CDC Designs.

 

Vista Fiore: Great Room/Kitchen

The kitchen opens to the patio, so it’s easy to serve al fresco meals. The patio access also makes the space feel very open and larger than the square footage might suggest.

 

Vista Montagna: Great Room/Kitchen

“The kitchens are amazing here and that’s the No. 1 thing that sells a house,” says Winbourn. The downstairs units of all three floor plans also have direct access into a two-car garage.

 

Vista Montagna: Great Room

All of the units have 10-foot ceilings and 8-foot doors, so you get a sense of very high volume. The two bedrooms and two full baths in the Vista Montagna — the model’s great room is shown here — are located on opposite sides of the main living area.

 

Villa Portofino, 4001 Via Portofino, Palm Desert, 760-340-5433, www.villaportofino.com

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