Of course all of this is visible from the Great Room, a banquet hall of regal dimensions where you and your guests can dine. The granite, working fireplace and tumbled travertine floor add Old World opulence, as do the Mediterranean-style sconces, amber glass, and wrought-iron-and-gold accents. Nine arched, glass double doors lead out onto the breezeway and terrace, and the double-recessed ceilings with crown moldings house mood-setting lights. Designed with weddings and large gatherings in mind, this is a luxurious, yet flexible, space and a graceful frame for any type of event, from executive luncheon to dinner-dance gala.
The attention to detail continues throughout the villa, which is laid out like a sumptuous private home. In the Italian Renaissance-style restroom, you’ll find a custom Mona Lisa washbasin among other unique and well-chosen accoutrements. Adjacent to the Great Room, the plushly carpeted, 12-seat Executive Theater—featuring leather chairs and dark chocolate walls—is the perfect place for the groom and his men to repair to. Naturally, the bride and her attendants also have their own inviting hideaway, too: they can sequester themselves in a Bride’s Room with a sitting area, full bath and a paparazzi-proof private entrance.
If there was ever a fairytale setting, it would be Kenyon Estate, a beautiful villa on the crest of a hill with views of rivers, rooftops and three famous peaks—Mount Diablo, Mount Tamalpais, and Mount Saint Helena. The magnificent handcrafted, wrought-iron gates will open for your guests alone, and the private drive will lead them to the cobbled courtyard (you can actually land a helicopter here), where a red carpet stretches beneath the long entry trellis to the massive arched doors that open into the Mission-style mansion.
Greet your guests inside the fabulous foyer, with its 24-foot ceiling and tumbled travertine marble floor. An enormous and resplendent Spanish-style chandelier showers the vestibule in a flattering light, making it a glorious place to welcome friends and family or pile gifts high on a table designed to showcase them handsomely. Next, escort everyone outside to the columned breezeway that looks out over the grounds.
Cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres are superbly served up in and around the elegant colonnade or on the adjacent lawn and spectacular Sunset Terrace. Scatter outdoor furnishings to create a relaxing milieu surrounded by flowerbeds and hillside plantings of hibiscus, lavender, redwoods, palms, and ornamental plum trees—celebrants will be surprised by the patterned walkways, lovely fountains and commanding views of the palatial terrace. A premier outdoor entertainment or ceremony space, it’s canopied in blue sky by day and dazzlingly lit by lampposts and perimeter landscape lighting at night. On one end, a circular platform backed by a half-moon-shaped trellis perched on white Greco-Roman columns provides a heavenly spot to exchange vows. And, if sunset and starlight don’t provide enough drama, the structure can be washed in colored uplights after dark.
