🥡🛌 Shelter in Place
What comes up must come down. That’s true for mood and COVID cases, right?
This past week has seen a lot of highs and lows, which I don’t have to go into detail about here, and have made me crave spaces where I can nest and feel sheltered from it all.
This week I’m showcasing some of the most stunning architectural homes that give a safe, sheltered feeling and would make a great place to escape from it all while sheltering in place.
The Gehry
Location: 780 Latimer Rd, Santa Monica, CA 90402
List Price: $5,995,000
Listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/780-Latimer-Rd-Santa-Monica-CA-90402/20539421_zpid/
To me, this is the dream home. This California modern home was “re-created by Frank Gehry.” If you couldn’t tell by the house-shaped box slapped on the front. I already love a cedar shingle-covered house and California modern, so adding Frnak Gehry to the mix just wasn’t fair play. Some people hate his work, but I love it. I think the teal cube adds a touch of whimsy and is the perfect color with the shingles.
Inside the home has a warm, modern base that has loads of natural light and wood touches. I love the built-in bookcases facing out from the kitchen cabinets and the way you can look straight through the house and feel connected outside again. I would have bought this house for these touches alone.
Then comes the box and I just love it even more. Bedrooms are often the most boring, darkest places in the home. It feels like an afterthought for most architects. But this bedroom is not an afterthought. The bedroom juts out of the body of the house and it feels like you’re swimming through the trees in your own little cabin.
If there’s anything I could use right now, it’s feeling like I’m camping in my own bed disconnected from the trials of the world. But this moody, glamourous shower where you can bask in the sunlight from a skylight would be welcome too.
The Stebel House
Location: 1963 N Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049
List Price: $1,997,000
Listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1963-N-Mandeville-Canyon-Rd-Los-Angeles-CA-90049/2077222813_zpid/
I first fell in love with Harry Gesner’s work because of Selling Sunset. His double A-frame house in the first episode was love at first sight for me, and no doubt why my friends recommended the show to me. And while this house is not quite so Hollywood Hills glamorous, it still had the same striking effect.
The absolute show stopper in this house is the living room with its incredible angles and high ceiling height. It also features all of my favorite mid-century modern features: a sunken living room, a built-in sectional sofa, an indoor garden, and a ledge tracing the bottom of the hulking fireplace. This room is so striking on its own you almost forget to appreciate the lush canyon views from every angle, including the triangular windows surrounding the room on opposite sides.
I also appreciate how the angles and drama continue throughout the other rooms in the house. Even little details like the built-in bookcases throughout the upper level of the home take advantage of the angles and emphasize the geometry.
I especially love the transition from the vaulted ceiling in the bedroom to a lower ceiling height by the bed, which gives it an extra cozy, sheltered feeling.
There’s something about this house that evokes a particular nestling feeling in me. This is the first time the house has ever been on the market since it was constructed in 1961. It’s easy to see why a family would treasure it for almost 60 years.
The Greenhouse
Location: 129-139 Old Farm Rd, Chilmark, MA 02535
List Price: $3,675,000
Listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/129-139-Old-Farm-Rd-Chilmark-MA-02535/2078168863_zpid/
It’s hard to give an accurate representation of this property because it doesn’t follow the typical structure of the homes I feature here. For starters, this 12-acre property has multiple buildings which are all really cute options. So I’ll just feature a couple of my favorites and you’ll have to look at the listing to see the rest.
There’s something really dreamy about the idea of living in a rustic-chic cottage on Martha’s Vineyard to being with. And this structure really lives up to that expectation. It’s got painted wood floors with plenty of windows and nooks and wood finishes everywhere that give it that cute cottage vibe. It also has a loft which gives it a more comfortable, intimate scale that would be perfect for a bedroom.
But the real potential reason to buy this property is the 2,800 sq ft greenhouse. I like weird architectural things, obviously, but I never even imagined that someone could or would want to live in a greenhouse until now. But that’s exactly what you could do here, and that’s apparently how someone has been living. The setup currently has a living area with a tv, a dining room, and a bathroom with the rest of the space - presumably the wings- still being used as an actual greenhouse.
Especially as we are entering winter where the trees are losing their leaves and the snow is falling, it sounds so lovely to be able to live inside a warm bubble surrounded by green plants. Being close to nature is one of the only things brining me peace right now.
The Waymire Residence
Location: 4245 Don Alanis Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90008
List Price: $1,495,000
Listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4245-Don-Alanis-Pl-Los-Angeles-CA-90008/20578353_zpid/
This charming mid-century home from the iconic architect Ray Kappe has the perfect combination of soaring views and grounded nestled spaces. I particularly love the master bedroom with its redwood paneling and windows behind the bed that keep it feeling sheltered almost like it’s tucked into the base of a tree, while still enjoying plenty of light and views.
I also love how much the house is oriented around the fireplace. The angles of the house seem to follow the contours of the fireplace more than the site. Even though the house has sweeping views of downtown LA that very much could be the focal point, the house is able to draw you back in around the fireplace and keep things feeling intimate.
Even the sheltered entryway keeps the experience quite intimate. Instead of just dropping you into the vast space and expansive view, you get a human scale entryway. And I’m quite enamored with the materials they used. The concrete, wood, stone, and glass in the entry way really draw me in and make things feel modern but also earthy.
Bonus
A home with cottage vibes in SF: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/164-166-Henry-St-San-Francisco-CA-94114/2078849262_zpid/
A domed concrete house: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5415-Hollister-Hill-Rd-Marshfield-VT-05658/75463756_zpid/
Another Harry Gesner home for sale: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4946-Vanalden-Ave-Tarzana-CA-91356/19946969_zpid/