Photo: A Cut Above: This Skyline Forest home offers serenity and spaciousness above the bay.

When entering the Monterey community of Skyline Forest, the sense of graciousness starts at the stone-lined entrance off Highway 68. Winding down Mar Vista Road from the top of Skyline Drive, clear views of the bay pop out through the tall pines. The homes are larger than average here, with a diversity of styles, yet a traditional feeling of elegance unifies the neighborhood.

Turning onto Dry Creek Road, there''s a sense of coming home. The Rosers'' 3,600-square-foot home sits slightly above the street near the end of the road. Trees and plantings line the cobblestone-patterned driveway, which leads to an oversized three-car garage.

A trellis covered with mature vines provides shelter over the front door entrance. Inside, enormous two-story windows let light stream into the entryway and living room.

"When you first walk in, the windows are so dramatic," says Realtor Pat Bini. "Its such a nice house to show because it has a lot of personality. The warmth of the owners really comes through in the house."

A few steps above the living room is a traditional dining room, which the Rosers use for buffets when hosting foreign dignitaries. Both the living and dining areas have French doors that lead to a large deck in the rear garden.

Like all the living areas of the house, the deck offers flexibility due to its spaciousness--with multiple areas to sit on or have a bite to eat. The ability to spread out yet retain intimacy in the living areas was key to the Rosers'' decision to purchase the house in its unfinished state 14 years ago.

"It was a spec home that we found when looking in the neighborhood," Roser recalls. "There was just a mud hole in front and no trees, but we walked in and could see there was a grand entrance framed up. It wasn''t even on the market yet and only halfway done, but the builder really liked us and accepted our offer."

"I spent 28 years in the Marine Corps and moved all over the world," Roser says. "We fell in love with Monterey and bought the house even before I got a job here."

The favorite room of the house, the family room, is off the living room and sports its own fireplace, wet bar, fridge and custom built entertainment system.

"We liked that the family room was apart from the kitchen," Roser says. "Some people like them together but we enjoyed the fact that they were two separate environments."

Behind the family room is tucked a full bathroom and a large guest room or additional den area.

And although the kitchen and separate laundry room are oversized by most people''s standards, the Rosers wanted more space. They enclosed a patio area off the kitchen and created a sunroom with hand-stenciled walls and built-in office furniture. They also added a mudroom for leaving wet shoes and coats after venturing into the diversely planted garden.

Upstairs, a private area features two large bedrooms with a shared bath, and an oversized master suite complete with it''s own enormous bathroom and Jacuzzi tub.

Apart from the draw of all the spaciousness of the rooms and the generous storage areas throughout the home, there''s that ineffable feeling of peace and quiet that comes from living in an area where the primary noise comes from the birds gathering in the garden which surrounds the home.

"It''s been a wonderful house and a dream family home," Roser says. "We had a lot of privacy yet when we wanted to be together we could all gather in one room."

Price: $1,355,000. 400 Dry Creek Road, Monterey. Contact Jeff Davi at A.G. Davi Real Estate at 373-2222.