When most of us think of California, images of white sand beaches, sun-dappled vineyards and movie stars come quickest to mind. Perhaps the Golden Gate Bridge or even the historic art deco Los Angeles City Hall building. Since the inflating then bursting of the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s though, Silicon Valley has also been one of the state’s quintessential identifiers, albeit one that less readily calls a specific image to mind. Today, boasting the largest concentration of homes valued at over US$1 million in the US, and with the third-highest GDP per capita in the world, the clutch of towns along the Santa Clara Valley, anchored by San Jose and including Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Cupertino, are poised to set some notable real estate records. Located on the San Francisco peninsula, Woodside is an affluent town just north of Silicon Valley, known as a small but vibrant hub for venture capitalists . If Silicon Valley produces the end product, Woodside funds its development. How rich is Lady Gaga really? Inside her gigantic net worth With an average home price of around US$5 million, the town of 5,000 or so is one of the country’s wealthiest. Among its local residents past and present are actress Michelle Pfeiffer, Softbank’s Masayoshi Son, rock star Neil Young and some guy named Steve Jobs. Certainly, whoever purchases Woodside’s newest estate at 890 Mountain Home Road will be in good company: Oracle’s Larry Ellison lives just across the street. Depending on your source, the property is listed at somewhere between US$84 million and US$110 million, making it the most expensive home ever listed in the Bay Area, demolishing the previous high of US$43.5 million set by a home in Pacific Heights last year. The sprawling Italianate compound welcomes with a suitably hi-tech front gate, leading to a six-car garage. But guests and residents alike are snapped back to a more elemental mindset with a calming fire and water fountain at the entrance to the main house, offset by the soft, sandy hues of the natural stone exterior. The design delivers modern amenities with a Renaissance architectural vocabulary, expressed in its vaulted ceilings, marble surfaces, arches, stonework, crystal chandeliers and hand-plastered walls. The luxury lives of Kourtney Kardashian’s children The two-storey main house includes five bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom, with its 18,800 sq ft (1,750 sq m) sitting on 1.34 hectares of elegantly landscaped grounds. Dozens of olive trees and rose bushes are encircled by further greenery for extra privacy to go along with the Silicon Valley-worthy automated systems that demonstrate the very best in smart home technology. The primary kitchen – there are several – is outfitted with state-of-the-art appliances by Wolf and Sub-Zero, all accented by the white French oak herring bone floors that run throughout the house. Limestone features are also woven inside and out at floor level to bring the spaces together. Panelled ceilings further bind the interiors together, as do the massive windows with wrought iron trim, and retractable glass walls that let California sunshine stream into the four buildings. The main level master bedroom suite is capped by a DaVinci fireplace (there are several of those too), an enviable couture dressing room, cathedral beam ceiling and underfloor heating in the bathroom – where a marble bathtub beneath an arched stone ceiling lies ready for lengthy luxuriating. A two-bedroom guest house with full kitchen completes the living space. No California estate would be complete without ample outdoor living and entertaining space, of course, and Mountain Home Road is dotted with trellises, terraces, gardens and hidden corners. A 20-metre swimming pool and jacuzzi is the centre of attention, while other highlights include an outdoor kitchen with a cavelike stone ceiling, a barbecue, fire pit, multiple sitting areas and enough room for a private hiking trail. Inside Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s rags-to-riches family life The estate is built with Covid-19 in mind too. The grounds include a dedicated office building with a conference centre for heightened work from home comfort, and a spa complete with a fitness centre, hair salon and massage room for sloughing off stress. Golf enthusiasts will appreciate the golf simulator lounge, and film buffs will bask in the 14.4 Atmos Dolby screening room. The house unsurprisingly has a robust server room to support its smart tech, so streaming HBO Max and Netflix direct to the theatre won’t be an issue, while the jewel in the crown is a 6,000-bottle wine salon and function space so expansive that social distancing rules will be unnecessary for all but the most packed of gatherings. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .