Pasadena and its environs possess an extraordinary trove of architecture. Originally fueled by the immense prosperity of the early 20th Century and the snowbird clients arriving by rail who commissioned architects like Greene and Greene to build their warm weather homes in California redwood, the Ar

With no end of effortless chic, Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn, the couple behind House of Rolison have been reinvigorating exceptional properties all over the Los Angeles area, and their latest to come to market is a classic 4-bed, 5-bath 1940s stucco home on Bluebird Avenue, remade in the warm mater

These days, it’s rare to see a property on the market that hasn’t been staged for sale. And in the case of this lovely house, the staging has been done by noted interior designer Francesca Grace, creating an ambiance that’s up to the moment but respecting its original Spanish Revival aesthetic. Curr

Skillfully brought into the first quarter of the 21st Century by the husband-and-wife team Shawn and Christina Taylor of Dacotah Studio, this 2-bed, 2-bath 1913 Craftsman bungalow has been transformed (along with a newly-built 1-bed, 1-bath ADU and garage) into a series of flexible living and work s

Designed in 1914 by the Irish-born emigre architect Louis DuPaget Millar for a Scottish lumber baron’s estate—at a time when enterprising immigrants were flocking to Southern California from their chilly birthplaces—this exceptional property has been transformed by its owners into a walled compound

Since the Dot-Com Boom of the late 90—its later implosion—the 2008 financial crash, and the subsequent recovery of the economy, San Francisco’s charming Noe Valley and its surrounding hillsides have remained one of the town’s most valued and resilient neighborhoods. Thanks to strict development and

Recently—and very briefly on the market—Eric Lloyd Wright’s c.1957 Ruth Ross House is likely the young architect’s first independent project, an elegant but compact expansion of a c.1927 casita with spectacular views over the Reservoir. Eric may have been the grandson of the celebrated Frank Lloyd W

Born in Britain, architect Richard Holme [1922-2010] emigrated to L.A. in 1956—no doubt drawn inexorably like so many of his fellow countrymen—to warm weather, palm trees and opportunity. Trained in Britain (he was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects) Holme was, early in his career

Born in Britain, architect Richard Holme [1922-2010] emigrated to L.A. in 1956—no doubt drawn inexorably like so many of his fellow countrymen—to warm weather, palm trees and opportunity. Trained in Britain (he was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects) Holme was, early in his career

It’s easy to forget now, but San Francisco’s historic South Park neighborhood was—post World War II—home to many small-scale industrial businesses, especially printing companies. Ironically, in the early 90s, it would become a hub of the nascent Digital Revolution, the epoch-changing movement withou

Hovering above its site in Santa Monica, Pierre Koenig’s 1994 Schwartz House was the architect’s last built commission—after decades as an influential teacher and mentor—in a career that had begun with a jolt with his Case Study House #22, AKA The Stahl House, that tour-de-force in steel and glass c

Welcome to Casa Mallorca, the latest project of Mark Alexander and Rob Diaz of the eminent L.A.-based design/build firm Studio Rob Diaz in Studio City. Like the lovely but popular Mediterranean island paradise it evokes, Casa Mallorca is a luminous, luxuriously simple home with impeccable details—ju

Rebuilt over the course of four years by a father (engineer) and son (carpenter) team, this floating Modernist gem—dubbed the Thomas Jefferson—berthed in Santa Barbara Harbor Marina is one of just four houseboats permitted to remain in the marina after municipal codes were changed. While the marina

Set in a 6.5-acre gated community overlooking the Virginia Country Club golf course, this c.1969 Modernist ranch exemplifies the booming economy and optimistic suburban style of mid-century Long Beach, where, adjacent to Los Angeles, the intertwined defense and aerospace industries, along with oil a

The year was 1949—the U.S. was well on its way to economic recovery after WWII, but there was still a chronic housing shortage. The now-famous Case Study House program began in response to the need for economical and efficient building solutions in the LA area, but there were other innovative effort

Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kutner of the home design and development studio Ome Dezin recently brought this 1970s classic Brentwood home into the 21st Century by transforming its good (but tired), original bones into an exceptionally calm and serene haven. Set on a generous lot high above the Valley,

For more than two decades, the San Francisco firm Aidlin Darling Design has been producing extraordinary buildings, crafted with an intuitive, deeply responsive aesthetic. Completed In 2005, this equally extraordinary compound of structures—placed around courtyards and reflecting pools—is a sanctuar

Completed this year and fresh to the market is the C House by Andrew Liang and his firm LAB+Architects—a new and sophisticated architectural statement in a city that is full of them. Immaculately crafted and visually imposing above the street, it offers a fresh look at the concept of the Passive Hou

Perched at the top of Beachwood Canyon with views of Lake Hollywood and (on a clear day) to Catalina Island, the c.1924 Norman Revival castle built by real estate developer and art director Milton Wolf is on the market for the first time in a decade. Occupying a four acre lot, the 8-bed, 5.5-bath, w

Originally designed by the architecture firm of Matlin and Dvoretsky—a pair of USC School of Architecture graduates whose work neatly fits in somewhere between L.A. Brutalism and Post Modernism—this 5-bed, 4-bath, 2-half bath property has been skillfully brought into the early 21st century by the cu