ESCAPE TO MARFARM

If you need a break from the hustle and bustle that comes with city life, you’ll want to take a peek at the picturesque Edna Valley region. While perhaps not as familiar as Paso Robles, this beautiful area, known for its award-winning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, is filled with rolling hills and vineyards and is situated half-way between Southern and Northern California. Edna Valley espouses more than 27 tasting rooms, offering unpretentious and warm hospitality at each stop. After enjoying a little wine tasting, you can escape to one of the State’s prettiest beach towns – Pismo Beach, located a short 10 minutes away. And the eclectic college town of San Luis Obispo (SLO), filled with unique boutiques and eateries to please every palate, is nestled in the same region.

Enjoying the Edna Valley has as much to do with your lodging selection as it does your wine-tastings. MarFarm, a 3,000-sqare-foot home located on 57 acres of land is an ideal three-bedroom, four bath property suitable for a family, event or a romantic getaway for two. Owned by Jill and Hamish Marshall who moved to the Central Coast in 1996, MarFarm is conveniently hidden away from the main roads. Saving the historic elements of the original barn, the Marshalls built MarFarm to accommodate family and friends who want to get away and enjoy the tranquility the region offers.

Jill, who is both an artist and designer, was the creative force behind MarFarm’s interiors. She careful decorated each of MarFarm’s three bedrooms with items curated from around the world. Two of the three bedrooms offer queen size beds while the master has a king as well as a large soaking tub to relax in after your day of hiking or horseback riding. Each bedroom has its own fireplace, ensuite bathroom with a walk-in shower and smart HDTV. Jill’s design aesthetic continues in each bathroom where she and good friend Cherisse Sweeney (owner of Basalt Interiors in SLO) outsourced Moroccan tiles that look like Sweadish quilts. Guests can explore the barn and acreage, interact with the animals or simply sit on the animal observation deck to take in feeding time.

Since opening its doors for business in February 2019, MarFarm has hosted a wide range of guests and parties, corporate events, college graduations and birthdays. The entire house is equipped with Sonos technology so you can put on your favorite music while preparing a gourmet meal. With a 17’ marble island that easily seats nine, you can prepare your meals on the Wolf stove while enjoying complimentary SLO Brew beers. Jill’s custom horseshoe dining table seats an additional eight people, so be sure to invite the whole clan. The entire kitchen is equipped with top-of-the line equipment, including a sub-zero refrigerator, wine refrigerator, and Nespresso machine.

The impressive lighting installations throughout the house provide inspiring design elements. The lighting above the kitchen island was hand-made by Columbian artisans, combining PET plastic bottles with natural fibers that are shaped into hat-like forms. The glass lanterns in the living room are custom-made from artisans in San Miguel de Allende.

Perhaps the most impressive of the several light installations are the nine hand-carved wooden cows’ skulls that are situated along the kitchen wall. Jill partnered with their electrician to design LED tape lighting that can create 1200 different color and pulsing scenarios.

If you want to take the party outside, meander around the 1,500 square foot lawn area where you can play bocce ball, grill, or relax on your Adirondack chair in front of the oversized fire pit. If you’re thirsty, there is a Kegerator with two-spouts to pour SLO Brew from. While dinner is grilling, why not wander around to the front of the house for built-in hop-scotch fun.

The 3,000 square foot barn space with outdoor café lighting rivals any outdoor entertaining space. From bridal showers to family reunions, the property can accommodate it all. As a away to give back to the community, The Marshall’s also host a free Barn Yoga class every Thursday. Many locals board their horses on the property and the Marshalls have many of their own pets, including horses, two alpacas, a pot belly pig, two donkeys, rock hens and more.

MarFarm guests can bring their own horses to the property where sleeping stalls and food are available. For those who don’t own a horse and want to ride, MarFarm has a partnership with Central Coast Trailrides. Owners Brian and Crystal Hallett opened their mobile horseback riding company in 2015 and they create customized rides for locals and visitors alike. The horses are brought to MarFarm (or other locations in the area) and they lead riders on an hour-long ride throughout MarFarm’s property. Many of the rides stop mid-way for a picnic near the streams on the property.

If you want to head off-site and venture in to downtown SLO, there is plenty of shopping and restaurants to take in. One of the newer restaurants in the area is The Carrisa (formerly SLO Brew) which offers California fusion cuisine with plenty of outdoor patio seating. Just outside of downtown is one of Hamish Marshall and partner Rodney Cegelski’s properties – The Rock. The 35,000 square-foot structure rests on a 3-acre campus. It encompasses SLOBrew’s 30-barrel brewery; a tasting room; restaurant; state-of-the art music and event venue. Adjacent is their new venture, Rod & Hammer, a SLO stills whiskey establishment.

The newly renovated airport is making travel easier into this Central Coast region. Non-stop flights are now available from Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas and Austin, speaking to the growth of the region. Whatever mode of transportation gets you to Edna Valley and the entire Central Coast region, make MarFarm the place to hang up your coat – you won’t be sorry.