Custom Home Builder — Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Marilynn & Co. is a custom home builder serving Rancho Santa Fe — estate homes and luxury new construction in one of the most prestigious communities in San Diego County. 32 years of experience. Built to the standard this address requires.
32+
Years Experience
500+
Homes Built
6
Counties Served
5.0
Client Rating
Rancho Santa Fe Custom Homes
Marilynn & Co. is a custom home builder serving Rancho Santa Fe and the surrounding communities of Fairbanks Ranch, Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Olivenhain — with 32 years of experience building estate homes on large parcels in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the United States.
Rancho Santa Fe operates under a set of building conditions that most contractors outside of San Diego County have never dealt with. The Covenant — the governing body that oversees architectural standards within the RSF Covenant area — reviews proposed new construction before any permits are pulled. That review has specific expectations about architecture, massing, materials, and how a home relates to the landscape on a large parcel. Getting it right the first time matters. A revision cycle through the Covenant adds months to a project that was already going to take two or three years.
Parcels in Rancho Santa Fe are generous — two to ten acres in many cases — and building on them well requires thinking about how the home sits on the land, how the outbuildings and guest structures relate to the main residence, how the landscape and the architecture work together over time. These are not tract home decisions. They are estate decisions, and they require a builder who has made them before.
The fire exposure in the inland San Diego communities east of the coast is also real. The terrain and the wind conditions that produced the 2003 Cedar Fire and the 2007 Witch Creek Fire run through this region. Every home we build in Rancho Santa Fe is specified with that environment in mind.
We serve clients throughout Rancho Santa Fe including the Covenant, Fairbanks Ranch, The Bridges, Cielo, Del Rayo, and the surrounding communities of Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Olivenhain, and Encinitas.
What We Build
Full design-build services for luxury estate homes in Rancho Santa Fe. Design, engineering, Covenant review submissions, county permits, and construction managed by one team from first site visit through final walkthrough.
The inland San Diego terrain surrounding Rancho Santa Fe has produced some of California's most destructive wildfires. Every home we build here incorporates fire-resistant construction methods developed from 25+ years of Southern California firefighting experience.
Large Rancho Santa Fe parcels often warrant a guest house, caretaker cottage, or pool house alongside the main residence. Our team builds accessory structures to the same standard as the primary home.
Our Founder
Anthony Ferro spent 25 years as a Southern California firefighter before founding Marilynn & Co. The inland San Diego terrain — the canyons and ridgelines that run through and around Rancho Santa Fe — produced two of the most destructive fires in California history within four years of each other. Anthony worked in that environment. He knows the terrain, he knows how fire moves through it, and he built this company to build homes that account for those conditions rather than ignoring them.
In a community where estate homes are measured in thousands of square feet on multi-acre parcels, the stakes of getting fire-resistant construction right are proportionally higher. Class A roofing, ember-resistant venting, non-combustible exterior materials in the highest-exposure locations, and landscape planning that creates defensible space without compromising the estate character of the property — these details are built into every Rancho Santa Fe project we take on.
The rest of what Anthony brings to this market is simpler: a builder who tells clients what their project will actually cost, manages the Covenant review process without drama, and delivers a finished home that looks the way the design said it would.
32+
Years Building
25+
Years Firefighting
6
Counties Served
Our Work
A selection of custom estate homes built by Marilynn & Co. in Rancho Santa Fe and San Diego County.
How It Works
01
We start with the site and the vision. Rancho Santa Fe parcels are large and the range of what is possible on them is wide. We walk the land, talk through the program — main residence, guest house, outbuildings, landscape — and give you a realistic picture of timeline and cost before you make any commitments.
02
We work with your architect or ours to develop plans that work with the land and satisfy the Covenant's architectural standards. Getting Covenant review right the first time saves months. We know what the review board looks for and prepare submissions that address it upfront.
03
We manage the full process — Covenant architectural review, San Diego County building permits, and any additional requirements that apply to the specific parcel. Large-parcel projects in the RSF Covenant area have a pre-construction process that takes time. We manage it completely.
04
Our crews build estate homes with the same care we bring to the design and planning phases. We communicate throughout, surface problems before they become expensive, and deliver a finished property that holds its value in one of the most discerning real estate markets in California.
Where We Build
Marilynn & Co. builds custom estate homes throughout Rancho Santa Fe and the surrounding north San Diego County communities. Our team is based in the San Gabriel Valley and works throughout the region on every project.
Communities we serve near Rancho Santa Fe include Fairbanks Ranch, The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Cielo, Del Rayo Estates, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Olivenhain, Encinitas, and the broader north San Diego County coastal and inland communities.
Building elsewhere in San Diego County or Southern California? We serve clients throughout San Diego County and across all six Southern California counties.
Common Questions
Custom estate construction in Rancho Santa Fe typically runs between $600 and $1,200+ per square foot for the main residence. Large-parcel projects with guest houses, pool structures, equestrian facilities, or significant landscape programs add substantially to the total project cost. The Covenant review process and San Diego County permitting add pre-construction time that affects overall project timeline. We provide a detailed estimate during the consultation based on your specific parcel and program.
The Covenant is the governing association that oversees architectural standards within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant area. Any new construction or significant renovation requires Covenant architectural review and approval before county permits are pulled. The review evaluates architecture, massing, materials, and how the proposed home relates to the landscape and the character of the community. Marilynn & Co. manages the Covenant submission process as part of our pre-construction services.
From Covenant submission through construction completion, most estate home projects in Rancho Santa Fe take between 24 and 36 months. Covenant review, San Diego County permitting, and construction on a large parcel all take more time than a standard residential project. We communicate the full expected timeline at the start and track it throughout.
Yes. The inland San Diego terrain surrounding Rancho Santa Fe has produced some of California's most destructive wildfires. Fire-resistant construction is our standard for every home we build in this community — Class A roofing, ember-resistant venting, non-combustible exterior materials in high-exposure locations, and site planning that incorporates defensible space from the start.
Yes. Large Rancho Santa Fe parcels frequently include guest houses, caretaker cottages, equestrian facilities, pool houses, or garages as part of the overall estate program. We build all of it to the same standard as the main residence.
Yes. Marilynn & Co. is fully licensed and insured in California with 32+ years of residential construction experience throughout Southern California including San Diego County and Rancho Santa Fe.
Hear from homeowners who've transformed their properties with Marilynn & Co.
"Marilynn & Co. handled everything from permits to final inspection. The attention to detail was incredible, and the finished home exceeded what we imagined when we first broke ground."
Sarah M.
Manhattan Beach
"After getting quotes from five contractors, Marilynn & Co. came back with the most thorough plan and the most transparent pricing. The project finished on time and on budget. That does not happen often in LA."
Michael R.
Orange County
"The construction quality is unlike anything we have seen. Professional, responsive, and they delivered exactly what they said they would. We would build with them again without hesitation."
Jennifer L.
Los Angeles
Get Started
Whether you are ready to break ground or still working through the early planning stages, we would like to hear about your project. Consultations are free and there is no obligation.
Phone
(909) 599-0033
Address
5135 N Valley Center Ave
Covina, CA 91724
