DIY Modernism In Rancho Palos Verdes, $2.3M
There’s the DIY of assembling that Ikea bookcase, and then there’s the DIY of building an entire house. In both cases, it helps if you are an architect with an enthusiastic partner, both possessed of resourcefulness and skill, like Joe and Marie Michell, who built this of-the-moment Post and Beam in 1960 on a view lot in Rancho Palos Verdes. A graduate of USC’s School of Architecture, Joe created a timeless composition with the simplest stock materials, and the 5-bed, 3-bath home (which includes a 1-bed, 1-bath casita) is now on the market in excellent, almost-original condition, for the first time. And yes, there must have been more than four hands involved in building this, but it’s a perfect example of the aesthetic coming out of the contemporaneous Case Study Houses, deploying stock, readily available materials and techniques to build a new and uniquely California Modernism.Photo Credit: Sterling ReedThe aggregate entry path leads seamlessly into the front hall, without a threshold—a radical decision at the time, plus there are Chinese and Japanese inflections throughout the home.Photo Credit: Sterling ReedPhoto Credit: Sterling ReedJoe and Marie Michell at the site of their first home, built in 1950 in San Pedro shortly after their marriage. Joe’s graduation gift to Marie upon her graduation from UCLA was a cement mixer.The floating chimney is actually a culvert pipe, set over a polished terrazzo hearth inset with bits of abalone shell; ceiling heights were largely dictated by the height of the stock paneling.Photo Credit: Sterling ReedPhoto Credit: Sterling ReedPhoto Credit: Sterling ReedMore: Go to the listing for additional images and details plus a short but evocative video. The Michell Residence is an opportunity to own a superb Mid-Century home Rancho Palos Verde, represented by architecture specialists Nate Cole of Modern California House and Charlie Raine of Coastal Legacy Realty Group. The post DIY Modernism In Rancho Palos Verdes, $2.3M appeared first on California Home+Design.
Classic Modernist Luxury In Brentwood, $17M
A recently-completed collaboration between architect/developer David Maman and interior designer Leslie Close of Close Design, this home on Brentwood’s Arbutus Drive represents the best in “quiet luxury”—a term that’s overused but still evocative. Absolutely up to the moment in amenities, the property is nonetheless linked firmly to the architecture of 1920s L.A., with subtle echoes of Lloyd Wright’s 1928 Samuel-Novarro residence in a composition of elegant white forms stepping down the steep site above a deeply shaded loggia, plus a nod to his father, Frank Lloyd Wright, in the terraces overhung with trailing plants.Photo Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyPhoto Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyWhat We Love: The seamless connection to the outdoors in unparalleled.Photo Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyArranged over three sprawling levels (all conveniently served by an elevator) the home has six ensuite bedrooms, plus another two full baths and three half-baths. Unlike so many houses, the lower level (below) was not an afterthought, with high ceilings, a wine cellar, a gym and wellness suite, an office, and a luxurious home theater. Photo Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyPhoto Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyPhoto Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyPhoto Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyBelow, the primary suite’s spa bath and private terrace.Photo Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyMore: Visit the listing for additional images and details. An exceptional opportunity to own one of Brentwood’s loveliest new homes, firmly in L.A.’s Modernist tradition, represented by luxury architecture specialist John Giddins at Sotheby’s International Realty.Photo Credit: Mike Kelley for Sotheby’s International RealtyThe post Classic Modernist Luxury In Brentwood, $17M appeared first on California Home+Design.
A Lovely Robert Byrd Cottage With Views, $3.5M
With a career spanning decades from the 1930s to the 1970s, Robert Byrd built some of L.A.’s most influential homes, working in a very characteristic style that combined a farmhouse aesthetic, heavily timbered and woodsy, with carpenter interior details and extravagant brickwork. Unlike the classic storybook-style homes his work descended from, Byrd’s homes were both casual and thoroughly modern in a reassuringly American vernacular, making him a favorite architect among the Hollywood elite. They possessed none of the “foreign” connotations of international style architects like Richard Neutra—especially in the politically fraught atmosphere of the 50s. Although not an architect, Byrd (like that other defining Modernist, Cliff May) was a skilled designer, builder and developer, and his influence would go on to pervade far more ordinary tract housing for decades.Photo Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyOn a view lot on Hollywood Boulevard in an enclave of bespoke properties, Byrd developed on the same street in 1940, this charming and compact 2-bed, 2.5-bath cottage that was originally commissioned by the film noir blonde Lizabeth Scott. Now updated with a new kitchen, bathrooms and a fresh coat of white paint, it was the perfect hideaway for a successful and independent woman. Photo Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyPhoto Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyPhoto Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyUpstairs, the primary suite has breathtaking views from Downtown to Catalina.Photo Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyThese days, Byrd’s not without his fans—there’s a website dedicated to him and his son and longtime business partner, Gary Byrd, plus a Facebook page. Below, the new kitchen and butler’s pantry with soapstone countertops.Photo Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyMore: Go to the listing for additional images and details. A unique opportunity to own a pedigreed property, steeped in both Hollywood history and the design heritage of Los Angeles, represented by Elisa Ritt at Compass and Adara Salim at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.There’s an Open House on Sunday, June 9 from 2pm-5pmPhoto Credit: Gavin Cater/Cater PhotographyThe post A Lovely Robert Byrd Cottage With Views, $3.5M appeared first on California Home+Design.
Categories
Recent Posts
