Pelican Point sits at the western end of Sandyland Cove, the gated beachfront enclave where Carpinteria meets the salt marsh, on just over an acre with the Pacific on one side and the protected preserve on the other. Houses on the cove tend to stay in the same families for generations, and a parcel this size, with this much frontage, almost never comes to market.

Three houses share the acre. The main residence dates to 1958 and carries 4,595 square feet under vaulted board ceilings, with warm wood on the ground floor: a living room and library around the fireplace, a kitchen open to the deck, and a dining room looking through the dunes to the water. The upstairs primary suite runs the width of the house, with window seats on three sides and a bath that looks straight out to sea. A rooftop viewing deck with its own fireplace sits above it all.

The 2,130 square foot guest house is a white-beamed beach house of its own, with a brick fireplace, a loft, and a full kitchen, and the 1,229 square foot cottage completes the compound for a household that arrives in numbers. Between the buildings are lawns, a pool and spa under the palms, and a sand volleyball court.

A boardwalk crosses the dunes to a private oceanfront deck set on the rocks, with the beach directly below and the Channel Islands on the horizon. Carpinteria's main street is a few minutes away, and Padaro Lane and Montecito's villages sit just up the coast.