The bones of this Italianate villa in Bel-Air remain exactly as Wallace Neff, one of the masters of Mediterranean Revival architecture in Southern California in the first half of the 20th century, created them in 1931. Neff had taken Vignola’s Villa Giulia in Rome as his inspiration for the steep, bowl-shaped site, and used its natural contours to design a semicircular structure whose outermost concave façade faced out over the gardens and views of the Bel-Air Country Club. The scope of our work included adding new windows to lighten the rotunda entrance hall, enlarging the south loggia, enclosing the west loggia to function more like a conservatory, creating a direct garage entry and elevator, redesigning the entire master suite, restoring the exterior and gardens, installing new art lighting and updating the systems.
A remodel of a beautiful 1930s Bel-Air house that bridges the past and the present. Originally built in 1934 for Floyd R. Bekins—an heir to the moving company fortune—this gracious residence was designed by Oakland-based Claude B. Barton in an eclectic style blending Georgian and Colonial Revival motifs with the formal simplicity and tall roofs embodied by the French Norman style. The character of the additions will continue the elegant simplicity of the original exterior features while interior spaces will update and streamline their original classic inspirations and adapt this unique period house to the modern age.
The great Colonial Revival homes built around Atlanta in the early 20th century by Neel Reid and James Means inspired this residence for a young family. Staying true to this style, we incorporated white brick walls, a pedimented entry, stone trimwork and bold cornices. Traditional elements were adapted to California’s climate—French doors replaced windows at terraces and loggias. Typical of Colonial homes, the main hall acts as a focal point and provides access to the public and private rooms flanking either side.
Our clients had always wanted a great Georgian residence based on early-18th-century English houses and their American interpretations. This brick and limestone home has a commanding presence on its sloping site. The façade has handmade brick with carved limestone moldings, elaborate chimneys, a gold quartzite tile roof, double-hung windows and classical details inspired by the work of Sir William Chambers.
The central oval hall has a traditional checkerboard marble floor. The three-story rear elevation includes an entire lower level ideal for entertaining—formal gardens for galas, a ballroom and wine cellar, a spa and exercise suite and private guest quarters. In keeping with the early Georgian theme, the formal rooms have painted paneling, parquet floors and Ionic columns. Furnishings are mainly English and American Federal, and the clients´collection of California Impressionist art ties the house to its setting.
Originally designed in 1928 by leading Los Angeles architects Wallace Neff and John Byers, El Mirasol is an elegant Spanish Colonial Revival house with a storied history of Hollywood ownership, from Orson Welles to Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Brooks to Diane Keaton (her design iteration was published in Architectural Digest in April 2005). Our extensive remodel and expansion of the main house includes a reworked motorcourt and entry garden, new landscaping and fountains, and revised interiors that bridge the historical with the contemporary. Also planned is a new poolhouse with a rooftop terrace inspired by Moroccan pavilions.
Located in the Los Angeles foothills, this house evokes the great French Riviera tradition of uniting the heritage of Parisian maisons with their formal massing and classical details, and the warm character of Provence, to create a modern Mediterranean villa for a young family. Walls of straw-colored plaster, golden French limestone trim, shuttered opening accents, and the classic Genoise eave and tile roof combine to bring the romance of Southern France to California.