Marin Home / backstory
“It was a classic story of should we stay or should we go,” says kate brooks, a senior vice president at he public relations agency ogilvy worldwide, when asked about the
purchase of her new Peacock Gap home.
as it turned out, a serendipitous meeting at
a supermarket made the choice easy.
“we were living in Glenwood, the neigh-
borhood adjacent to Peacock Gap, and loved
the community,” she recalls. “It was brim-
ming with families in similar situations and
with young children, but our house was a little
cramped and it was missing two things — a
family room and a swimming pool.”
as brits — both she and her husband,
andrew, in sales at Google, relocated here from
England in 2001 with son ben, 7, daughter beau,
5, and a chocolate Labrador named Harvey
— having a home with a pool represented the
fulfillment of the california dream.
so this fall, the couple kept one eye on the
real estate market for a new home and also
went ahead with plans to add a family room
to their existing one and break ground for a
swimming pool in the spring.
“It was a crazy time to look for a house,”
brooks says now with a laugh. Her husband
had started a new job, her t wo children were
just starting school, her parents were visiting
from England, and she herself was scheduled
for major surgery.
still, she couldn’t resist checking out a
house that a friend mentioned when they
bumped into each other at nearby andy’s
Market. the home was a three-bedroom,
three-bathroom split-level in Peacock Gap
with a family room and a swimming pool.
that’s when “it got rapidly crazier,” she says.
when brooks and her husband visited
the home, it only took 10 minutes for them to
make an offer on it, she says. “It instantly felt
like home with its easy flow, high ceilings and
its 320-degree views of Mount tam, the bay
and the Peacock golf course.”
they asked their neighbor and realtor,
caroline Nelson, to represent them and, on the
day brooks headed to the hospital, her husband
and Nelson prepared the paper work, including
a heartfelt letter to the owners outlining the
many reasons their family loved the home.
once their offer was accepted, Nelson
listed the couple’s Glenwood home. It sold
within days and the brookses signed papers
for both homes on the same day.
with its great floor plan and indoor/out-
door style, says brooks, the house lends itself
to entertaining. since moving in, the family
has already hosted a holiday party for about
70 friends and neighbors and looks forward to
holding more.
