apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I always wondered what this place looked like on the inside (it looks like a giant prison on the exterior.) I was really sad when Dixon remodeled his place. His first home here was done by Brian Murphy and was truly a study in minimalist zen. It was a fantastic place and a true Oakwood section of Venice gem.

http://www.bamcdi.com/pages/Dixon.html

I would love to drink a glass of wine in the garden beisde that stunning blue water pool.

I have always felt extremely conflicted about this palce.

On the one hand, it's absolutely amazing. The garden, the decor, the style, the minimalism. It's a sight to behold, and it feels very surreal to be there.

On the other hand, it's the complete antithesis of comfort and coziness. Concrete everywhere, massive, draft-addled rooms. It's more evocative of an abandoned building or a warehouse than a home.

I guess it boils down to this: I'd love to visit the place on a nice summer's day or night, but I could never ever live there.

Kudos to you on getting him to let you do a house tour, by the way.

overall a total wow.

I agree, beautiful but not sure I could live there.

amazing that it really is so cal because I would have guessed it was overseas.

Sublime.

much bigger than my place.....

Unbelievable. I think this is the coolest home I have ever seen in the U.S.

I'd live there any day, any time, & I make a reliable housesitter.

It's very cool and very evocative, but I think there's just a touch of creepiness in making an extremely expensive bespoke house look like a spartan Third World home.

Or maybe that's just the First World white guilt talking...

I think this place is terrific. I'm pretty sure "minimalist Moroccan style" is oxymoron (having found Morocco anything but minimalist), but I'm only quibbling with the description, not the place. I haven't been inside this house like some of you have, but it looks pretty serene and pleasing to me.

There's something that would drive me around the twist, though--the placement of the rocks at the pool. The two partially submerged ones nearest to the house go for a natural effect but miss by a mile. At the rock booths in Japan's open markets, people will stare at one rock for half an hour, trying to sense if it will look truly natural in their gardens. The gardens themselves look like virgin forests the hand of man has never been near. These two rocks look artificially placed, as if someone were going for that effect and missed. Let us not even speak of the boulder embedded in the wall. . . .

Aulaire - The submerged rocks actually serve as stepping stones to go from the... living room? to the kitchen / dining area.

Never mind the fact that there is a hallway that does exactly the same, I actually prefer to walk over the water. It's so much more exciting!

Gorgeous! I couldn't live in a place without all my clutter, but I'd love to stay in a hotel like this.

Oh my.

Oh.... my.

My first reaction was that this isn't a house, it's a sculptural installation. A defined, coherent work of art.

Though I think I lost it when I realized that even the blue/copper stains in the sink are placed there for the look of the thing, and emphasised by mosaic. It's so self-consciously constructed to look as if it's been lived in for two hundred years.... It is so fantastically beautiful. And I actually think it looks very livable, as long as you are in the proper climate (and don't have small children-- that house screams to me death trap for toddlers).

I want that water channel to end up in a swimming pool somewhere, preferably somewhere shaded with a hardy tree or two of similar desert origin. And I want some baskets of flowers to contrast with the starkness of the place. And if there isn't a swimming pool, then give me some fish and plants and rocks-- something that gives some life to this landscape.

Finally, is there some German word that combines the feeling of deep aesthetic pleasure with the simultaneous awareness of not wanting to possess something?

WOW ... stunning!

I can certainly live like this if given a chance... what a gorgeous place!

Venice can use a boutique hotel that looks like this...!

I love this house... It's DRAMATIC and AMAZING!
The minimalism and authentic antiquity pieces make a BOLD statement and take you away to another place.
I am an interior Designer in the Los Angeles area and I know of a great source to get this look. The have oversized reclaimed antique jars like the one in the photo by the pool. They have several antiquity pieces reclaimed from ancient ruins and their prices are by far the best. They also reclaim the Biblical Limestone flooring that has been reclaimed from the Biblical days and it looks great in contemporary as well as traditional architecture. They have an enormous number of reclaimed Limestone fireplaces (these are AMAZING)
Check them out at http://www.phoenicianstone.com/
They have ALOT more than what you see on their website so it is highly recommended that you go into one of their two showrooms. They have one in LA at Santa Monica and La Cienega (see website for exact location) and another showroom in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach area) on Pacific Coast highway.

Breathtaking.

The subtle division of inside and outside space is what impresses me. Also, the fact that the house itself provides much of the functionality that is normally needed from expensive cabinetry, shelving, sinks, etc.

This is like going back to the basic ideas of shelter and incorporating modern amenities like electricity, plumbing and appliances.

Too bad I couldn't do this in the Midwest! I'd have to build a mound instead.

I have been to Philip's house in a variaty of ocasions, even tough, the pictures are great, it's really hard for you to have the "feeling" of his house on pictures.....it's a full variaty of details put together along the years!
His house has peaceful feeling, a true believe that you are somewhere else instead of Venice, it doesn't have the Marrocan looks only (except for the furniture), but, a mix of African / Native Mexican influences!!! Underneath of the "guess house" (picture 29), it has an amazing "dinner room" w/ seat's shaped of concrete and a massive dinning table, it gives a feel that you are having a dinner inside of a cave, it's truly unreal.....it's one of the best views of the house and yard!
Since the first time, I went there, I never seen any house like it anyhwere, especially due to the size of the lot, which makes it incredibily well plan....it might have an over all "cold feeling" for some people, but, completely matches their life style! Also, not many pictures of their 2 "walk in fireplaces" and few more private areas of the house, so, the house actually has the "comfy" feeling as well, it's just private!!!

*PS: This is not an Interior Design or Architectural project, he actually designed himself the detail concept of the house and he has been adding new "pieces of his world" in this house for the last 15 years, from new buildings to plants!

Well done Philip!!!

Wow, just wow...

Ok, who knows where to find the stone? drain boards in the kitchen on the counter?

Love this place. I'd live there in a minute.

Organic, essential beauty.

Love that the water and the sky (especially) are broad color elements in your home and become such an integrated part of the architectural structure and volume.

Who needs religion or yoga, when you could sit quietly and watch the subtle shifts in color as light and shadow move through space.

Thanks for the visual meditation and sharing your space.

Fabulous. Love the Indian (?) paintings.

Love this raw, primitive yet modern architecture. It has a strong sense of purity, serenity, tranquility... a perfect execution and definition of an OASIS.

If anyone doubted him/herself to live in there, my guess is psychologically you are too attached to the material and technology world.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/07/pricechopper_venice_gray_box_slammed_again.php

i knew that looked familiar...

I appreciate the imagination of the designer. This is a place I would love to visit and analyze, but could not live within its walls.

I know its been on the market for a while and just about fell over when I first heard it was going for $13M . . . in Venice. Now, I love Venice and lived there for many years and the city has tried to clean up the crime, but $13M is a bit much for the area (in any market, good or bad). From Naia's link it looks like it has been reduced a few times. I really wonder what it will end up going for. . .

Such a beautiful work of art - but it's rare to see a place where it wouldn't be safe for a child to even COME OVER (cactus, drownings and concussions oh my). I know bringing this up makes me seem like such a party pooer but I couldnt help imagining it. This falls squarely into museum living. It is something that seems to be more common in California where everyone likes things really really "done"
But man - those sinks really got me. What a fabulous idea.

um pooper, not pooer. Although I guess the sentiment is the same.