Grand Sacramento River estate shaped by brick, stained glass, loving care

The Sacramento River along Garden Highway has provided a beautiful backdrop to the Schuering family’s treasured memories over the past 54 years.

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The water bends through an S-curve beyond the property, boats pass in the distance and the setting sun settles over a landscape designed not as one expansive lawn but as a collection of intimate outdoor spaces. A pool gives way to winding paths that lead to a gazebo, garden house and fountain. Near the river, a private dock and enclosed boathouse wait for the next owners to launch a boat or gather beneath the trees.

Inside, the grand home’s details turn more intricate. Repurposed brick frames the house and its patios, while extensive custom stained-glass windows adorn nearly every room throughout the residence, including pieces created by Sacramento artist Mickey Abbey.

The gated riverfront estate, which has been in the same family for more than a half-century, has just hit the market for $2.9 million.

The three-acre property at 4475 Garden Highway — just outside Sacramento city limits — includes a 5,553-square-foot house built in 1964, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. It also has a three-car garage, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, private office, fitness studio, downstairs entertainment lounge and basketball court.

Prominent Sacramento attorney Leo H. “Butch” Schuering Jr. bought the property more than five decades ago. The sellers are his children Jake, Luke and Ashley Schuering.

Schuering, who died in May, was a Sacramento native and nationally recognized civil defense attorney who built a career representing physicians and health care providers. He helped establish one of the region’s best-known civil defense firms.

His professional life was demanding, but the Garden Highway property became a long-term family project and a gathering place. His children grew up with room to play sports, explore the grounds and spend time on the river. Their father continued improving the property after they moved away.

“Dad used to say that’s all I’m doing — ‘making it better for the next guy,’” Jake said.

Luke recalled something his mother told him after an English garden tour: “Nobody ever really owns a piece of property,” he said. “You’re just a custodian. So what we’re looking for is a custodian.”

Listing agent Lisa Rayman of Coldwell Banker has seen her share of riverfront properties along Garden Highway, but she says this one stands alone.

“I haven’t seen anything currently on the market that even compares to this,” Rayman said. “Every piece of the property has a story behind it. It’s been developed over the years and has so much history and character. The architecture is so unique to this property — I honestly don’t think it can be recreated anymore.”

The river, however, was the main reason Butch bought the property. The S‑curve is prized by boaters and water-skiers for its smooth conditions. Jake said their father even designed their large dock so that skiers could launch directly from it.

“Dad was a big time water skier,” Jake said. “So the dock is angled in such a way where you can pull up to it, hand off the rope and do a dry start … We’re at the apex of the turn. So if you’re heading out there, you’ve actually got six, 700 yards to go before you even need to turn the wheel.”

The dock’s boathouse is enclosed, with a lift and roll‑down door to protect the boat and gear. From the house, the river feels both immediate and private.

Leo Schuering’s custodial approach of continually improving the lot is evident in the estate’s layers of construction and design. The original house was built before Schuering purchased it, but the family added extensively over the years, including the walls and patios covered in extensive used brick.

The brothers said their father once traded a Rolls-Royce for tens of thousands of bricks, which were incorporated into the property as it evolved.

“Used brick costs twice as much, but he wanted that look,” Jake said.

The family estimates that more than 100,000 used bricks now appear across the property. Some of the masonry includes tight curves and elaborate patterns. A mason was given artistic license on major portions of the project, the Schuerings said. At one point, he inlaid a granite compass rose into a patio along the pathway.

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The brickwork near the pool also carries a bit of the property’s earlier history. The previous owner was a wigmaker, and the pool’s shape and benches form the suggestion of a woman’s face, with the brickwork representing her hair, the brothers said.

But the most visually distinctive feature inside the house may be the stained-glass. The custom artwork appears throughout the residence, in bathrooms, living spaces and lower-level rooms. The pieces were created by Mickey Abbey, a local artist and family friend whose work was featured in a Sacramento Bee article in the 1970s.

Some of the stained-glass windows and panels are bold and colorful, while others reflect a more restrained or experimental style.

Downstairs, a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a long, wood bar open to a game and media lounge. A window opens toward the spa and outdoor kitchen area, allowing people to move between indoor and outdoor gatherings.

“Downstairs is basically the hangout,” Jake said.

The home was designed for both everyday living and large gatherings. The kitchen has two sinks, two dishwashers, two warming drawers, a built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator, Viking cooktop, double ovens and generous counter space. A hidden television keeps attention directed toward the fireplace and conversation area rather than the screen.

“Even when the TV’s on, you’re facing back toward the kitchen,” Rayman noted. “Whoever’s cooking is still part of the conversation.”

Holidays were legendary at 4775 Garden Highway. Thanksgiving was a major annual event for the family, and the brothers said their parents often welcomed guests who otherwise had nowhere to go.

“We were the ‘Island of Lost Toys,’” Jake said.

“It was a Thanksgiving not just family, but a lot of random people,” Luke said. “People who didn’t have a place to go on Thanksgiving could come here, so frequently 30 people or so. Mom loved to cook and entertain.”

The primary suite occupies a separate wing near the kitchen, with a private, wood-framed sun room overlooking the river, multiple closets, its own laundry area and a spiral staircase leading to the fitness area below.

The estate’s grounds are arranged as a series of distinct spaces. Their mother approached the sprawling three-plus acres as a series of outdoor “rooms,” the brothers said, breaking up the landscape into intimate seating areas.

The yard’s design earned the 1981 achievement award from the Sacramento chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association.

“Mom was very big on vignettes, her phrase that she loves,” Luke said. She wanted to “compartmentalize instead of have just one massive yard.” Therefore, the property is broken into “all these sections,” which “makes it even seem more grand and longer.”

The brothers said the home has been a venue for a dozen weddings and countless family events.

As the backyard unfolds, there’s a resort-style pool, a riverside part of the lawn that has hosted weddings — including the parents’ 500‑person reception — and a storybook garden house inspired by that memorable English garden tour. A full-size gazebo was modeled after a small wooden structure Schuering brought home from a trip to Thailand or Vietnam.

“For us as kids, it was the yard,” Jake recalled. “We were boys, so they just put us outside — they didn’t want to have to deal with us. We had room to roam, play sports, and be on the river.”

The brothers are preparing to sell the family home and move on. The decision to sell is tied to the changing needs of the family.

“The house is lovely, and the spot is what really has our heart, but it’s time to let another family come in and be the next steward of the place,” Jake said.

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This story was originally published September 12, 2026 at 7:00 AM.