See tech investor’s makeover of faded NorCal villa into ‘art de vivre’ estate
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- Jeff and Bernadette Clavier restored a NorCal villa into a French‑inspired estate.
- The 3.2‑acre Woodside compound lists for $14.9 million with a cottage and guest house.
- The property features a 7,155‑sq‑ft stone villa, a 3,000‑bottle cellar and a red.
The road to 600 Moore Road doesn’t advertise itself. It slips off a quiet Woodside lane and disappears into trees, the kind of approach that makes Silicon Valley feel suddenly far away.
Then the estate emerges on its 3.2 acres: a European-inspired stone villa with a cottage and guest house arranged like a small private hamlet — a resort masquerading as a home.
For Jeff and Bernadette Clavier, the place wasn’t just a purchase. It became a four-year mission to recreate a French country estate on a California hillside, built around food, wine and good living — a lifestyle known as art de vivre.
Now, after buying a winery in Washington state, they’re selling the Woodside compound, quietly introduced to the market, for $14.9 million, a Compass representatives said.
“Our first encounter with the property was whimsical: The place surfaced memories of our childhood vacation grounds in Provence,” Bernadette said in an email. “Like the ancient mountain villages I visited every summer, the property possessed a magnificent soul but was in need of a restoration … we decided to pour our hearts into bringing this estate back to life.”
The couple — he a venture capitalist, she a public-interest health advocate with ties to Stanford University — leaned into that sense of rediscovery.
“Over four years we traveled back to key European cities in search of inspiration,” Bernadette said, describing a process that mixed travel, research and relentless attention to detail. “We infused the home with old world refinement … We incorporated the best of 21st century Silicon Valley technology.”
The compound totals seven bedrooms, seven full baths and two half-baths across a 7,155-square-foot main stone villa (with four bedroom suites and an office), plus a detached two-bedroom family cottage and a one-bedroom guest house.
Inside, the listing description highlights beamed ceilings, artisan tile work, custom ironwork, hand-painted murals and statement stone elements. The goal was to create a home with the charm of an old-world retreat while upgrading it for modern expectations, including redundant internet access, a backup generator and advanced surveillance.
Outside, the property leans hard into leisure: a resort-style pool and spa with a waterfall grotto, a bocce court, a pitch-and-putt practice green and curated gardens meant to feel like a sanctuary. The head-turner is a red clay tennis court, a surface rarely found in residential settings — and a nod to the Claviers’ French origins. The red clay courts at Roland-Garros Stadium in Paris are world famous.
A detached fitness center pushes the “private resort” idea further, with a sauna and a Tonal strength-training system. The estate’s amenities are meant to support both big gatherings and everyday living, Compass said — a place where wellness isn’t an afterthought but part of the architecture.
Hosting was central to the Claviers’ vision.
“We love to host people… our joy has been welcoming friends for heartfelt conversations around good food and exceptional wines,” Jeff Clavier said. Guests, he added, often told them it felt like “a magical, impromptu vacation in Tuscany.”
Wine culture is built into the hillside, too.
“We expanded it and transformed it into a spectacular 3,000-bottle temperature controlled cellar like the ones you find in France or Italy,” Jeff said, describing the descent into the cellar as a favorite moment for visitors.
Compass agent Erika Demma called the makeover “a profound labor of love.”
“This is not simply another luxury listing — it is a fully formed legacy compound that would be extraordinarily difficult to recreate today,” she said.
Demma said the property’s location — on a private lane near Woodside’s town center — helps explain its appeal: privacy and acreage without feeling cut off from Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 12:46 PM with the headline "See tech investor’s makeover of faded NorCal villa into ‘art de vivre’ estate."
