apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What is it about the 2000's that drives people to remove every inch of character from 1920's homes, paint anything that is wood white and turn them into look alike boxes.

You've got to admit, peachpie, that there was no character present in the old exterior. A whole lotta ugly. But no, no character. The 70's were not known for inspired architecture!

I agree with the statement that this was a "community service project".

The Twiggy lamp! I love that lamp.

Um actually i think there was a lot of character in the original home. i find the new one boring, yet another modern building that looks too much like so many others...

I'm not getting a Japanese vibe off it this. Maybe it's the photos.

The house was pretty unattractive before, so the exterior alteration is a great improvement. I have a practical question, though. In dry and smoggy southern California, how do they keep the areas between the slats and the house, and the slats themselves, clean? There is no regular rain to wash the home. Spider webs, diesel dust, and general grit would build up quickly. How do they wash the windows?

The rest of the home looks a little like a style shoot for Dwell. Too perfect, and cold. It screams "money". The one bit of softness and whimsey I can see is the fuzzy beanbag in the living room. Without that, that room could be in a hotel.

And the waterfall is a huge waste of water in what is ecologically a desert.

I predict that this trend toward exterior cladding with slats or other pierced material will look as dated in 20 years as the 1970's shingling looks today.

... and having striped light come in all of the time would make me crazy after a while!

Very cool home. I like the giant fury bean bag chair, obviously for your daughter. And the red rug made up of smaller red squares. Oh and the two paintings at the foot of the stairs. Character is in the eye of the beholder.

Love the interior architecture. The decorating seems a little rote and incomplete. Just because you have high ceilings, white walls, and big windows does not mean you are required to decorate your home like a Poliform showroom. A space this angular and clean really requires that you reach a bit beyond the cliche of filling the place with pricey european contemporary. The space is already so graphic and strong as is, the real decorating job is to find ways to soften and humanize while still respecting the clean lines of that beautiful space. Personally, I would limit use of leather, glass, plastic, and metal and opt for more wood in simple angular shapes. Henry Becq comes to mind.

Now, about that exterior: someone mentioned that this couple must be loaded, but I would disagree. That cladding is clearly a money saver. Someone involved in the process was definitely concerned with the bottom line. While saving money is a prudent thing to do, this particular solution doesn't work. I am alternately reminded of a batting cage, construction scaffolding, or termite tenting. It's not that the idea of cladding is bad. The execution seems a bit shapeless and uncreative. I think cladding on the lower floor and a finished building emerging on the upper floor probably would have looked great. Barring that, the cladding should have added a shape of its own rather than slavishly following the boxy lines of the home.

I like the interiors.

I'd love to (re)furnish it.

And re(art) it.

The old house sure could do with some improvements but then I'd sooner go for a paint job and some colour added, as it was it had character. The new version looks like a box, no character at all.

I would like to see that kid take a big piece of blue chalk and go to town.

Maybe it's just me but this Times article smacks of, "We bought this here. We bought this there. Look how rich we are!"

The living room is a bit stark, but that detached guest room and waterfall in the back? *swoon*

I agree, LoriSF.

peachpie, I 1,000% agree with you, I think the house has lost all of it's initial character and warmth and once again, you're left with "a minimalistic/modern/Japanese-inspired" sterile cube. I am so sick of seeing these. And it looks like a penitentiary on the outside, not a fan at all.

But what I find even most annoying is the fact they try to pass this project off as environmentally-friendly but "a third level was added to the 2,800 square feet of the original house" - what for 3, sometimes 4 people! FYI, that is not eco-conscious there folks.

Having seen the pictures, I love many elements of this house. I do love the big open spaces so full of white, but one I see wrong here is that the artwork has barely any color to it and all the color is at floor level.

I do love that waterfall and I doubt it's left on other than when people are using the pool or when there is a party but otherwise, I bet it's left off and if it recirculates, it acts more like a water feature/fountain/pool than anything else and thus is much less wasteful than if it were fresh water streaming into the pool from the main water line. What I DO love about this is the bold use of strong lines and over scaling of the pool for it's niche and that in and of itself is a form of character, just a modern interpretation of it.

I think the slat idea is good, in that it I think was intended to help overcome the overly bright sun but I think they over did it, that I agree with. If it were me, I'd have created them for the windows only but made them so they could be swung out for cleaning of both them and the windows, unless the windows tilt in for cleaning.

I have always found the Japanese esthetic to be soothing, but it can be too much of a good thing IMO if not done right.

I like this house for having inspired RichardinLA's post at 7:10 pm.

"Before" was horrible. After is a little sterile for my taste, but so, so much better. And that waterfall...it makes me drool.