Our coverage of the three-day design conference that is CA Boom wraps up with the prefab vendor section of the conference floor, and while the usual suspects aka Steve Glenn's LivingHomeswere present, where was prefab stalwart Marmol Radziner? One interesting new entrants was the the itty-bitty Modern Shed and its quaint homemade sale sign in the window: "$15,000 with deck. Free Local Delivery." The web site for the Seattle-based company notes prices range from $7,740 for a 48-square-foot shed to $18,200 for a 10 by 12 studio. Prefab marvel or glorified spider hole? You be the judge.
· Modern Shed [Official site]
· CA Boom: Prefab Zone [CA Boom]
· CA Boom House Tours: Santa Monica's House of Sand[Curbed LA]
Another day, another house on the CA Boom tour. This two-bedroom house at 2606 Highland in Santa Monica, currently on the market for $3 million, was designed by lee + mundwiler architects. It's a difficult site -- on top of a hill on Ocean Park but next to a busy intersection. The architects were aiming to hone "material honesty & structural integrity" and "transform the urban disarray and noise into a serene dwelling environment." While the layout can be disconcerting at times, the house does feel removed from the traffic on Ocean Park. Our favorite feature (and future maintenance nightmare) is the view of the bottom of the pool from the garage. Yes, the garage. Other highlights include the levered skylights, casting shadow stripes across the hallway, and the floating stairs. Oh, and the view of the ocean from the roof deck isn't bad either.
· CA Boom House Tours: House of Sand [CA Boom]
Stop 2 on yesterday's CA Boom home tour of West LA was the Red Barn prefab house located at 3710 Grand View. The designer of the home was on site, and gave a brief introductory speech before we started exploring and snapping pictures. The home was built using re-engineered steel, concrete floors (natch) and eco-timber flooring (it's been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council!). The home took nine months to build and actually has a twin next door, although that one appeared to be more of a red barn than the Grand View home. The homes were built for $225-$250 per square foot, excluding the cost of the land. Concrete flooring was used on the ground floor and finished basement area, while teak was used upstairs. Sadly, the home failed to sell (listed for $2.195 million) and has been leased instead. Highlights included the big roll-up window in the living room -- seen it before, but it's still kind of cool -- the chandelier in the large upstairs master-bath (lots of chandeliers seen on the tour) and the downstairs rumpus room, or whatever it is. 3BD/3BA, and a 4-car garage. Huzzah! Very spacious.
· Official Site [3710 Grand View]
· CA Boom House Tours: Alan-Voo House [CA Boom]
Day two of the CA Boom show, and day two of the house tours. Today, the tour bus hit West LA (Mar Vista and Palms). Stop number 4 was the Neil M. Denari designed Alan-Voo House. The muchbloggedabout home took a modest one-story tract home and added a modern two-level rear addition, providing a new master bedroom and downstairs family space. The addition is sparsely furnished--a shared trait among all the homes on today's tour. Sad! We were looking forward to the odd wall art and tacky furniture that makes a home feel alive. Instead, most of the homes felt a little barren and cold. The integration of the addition to the original home appeared fairly seamless and the kitchen was a highlight. The counters, cabinets and appliances blended seamlessly and everything was very, very clean. Small skylights punched through the roof in the kitchen, and large clerestory windows-- located where the addition met the original home--provided amazingly bright light that lit up most of the house. The home was definitely the highlight of the tour.
· CA Boom House Tours: Felderman Keatinge Residence in Pacific Palisades [Curbed LA]
· Alan-Voo House: From Pastel Madness to Tamed Reality [Curbed LA]
The third stop on our home tour of West LA was a modern-rancho mash-up. As we approached we were worried as we found ourselves on a cul-de-sac with a Tuscan mcmansion and a New England cottage monster with impossible angles lining the path. However, the home by Richard Seltzer Architects was one of our favorites. Lots of natural light from the ceiling and all directions, tasteful use of marble countertops, stainless steel appliances, floating shelves, and a pack of wild dogs roaming the house.
The home is for sale, as we were treated to the presence of the BizzyBlondes sales team. Oy!
Name: Sheller Borunda Architect: Richard Seltzer Architects and Orange Street Studio
We did what we weren't supposed too and took the self-guided house tour. It worked well for our headache and Marissa's hang over. We hit the Marcasel Residence first which was pretty cool. Due to the long lot, the architect had to get creative with the space, and does so very well. The garage is a massive artists studio, and the home uses natural light throughout.The Brady Bunch back yard with the faux grass and doggy obstacle course was a highlight.
Name: Marcasel Residence, West LA Architect: Frank Fitzgibbons Residence
In general, the prefab area was pretty much the same as last year. The Marmol Radziner booth people were cool and talked to us for awhile. WeeHouse gave us a rub-on tatoo. V2 had some LEGOs, but we didn't take any. Steve Glenn of LivingHomes displayed his LEED plaque (pictured above) despite initial fears it might be stolen by an eco-terrorist. And then there was the KitHaus (pictured below), which had it's first installation outside of a Van Nuys parking lot. The unit was a popular attraction, as we found ourselves wedged between prefab enthusiasts while we made our way through the box.
Last year our favorite booth was from the Dutch Consulate, where they had the orange Senseo which had us mesmerized. This year, our favorite booth was from the interior design company byDutch. Besides having the funky strawberry tree, they also had some sweet messenger bags (above) and some erotic bronze statues (below) which had us oohing and ahhing. We know we've mocked the Dutch and their wooden shoes in the past, but we admit they know how to design and do it well.
NOTE: We lost the info on how to order the messenger bags on-line so if anyone has the details and can send it to us, we would appreciate it.
Color & Life from San Diego was typical of the offerings in the Modern Parenting area of the exhibit floor. Bright colors, clean lines, modern aesthetic. Apparently, the kids love it or at least the parents do.
The notNeutral area was also a cool attraction, if only because of the map plates. So unneccessary, but so f'ing cool. We're glad we don't have to waste our money on kids when there's impulse buys like this available.
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From the studio lots to the downtown lofts. From the beachfront bungalows to the canyon views. From the south bay to the valley, from the westside to the eastside—Curbed LA covers our sense of place, and the neighborhoods we call home. Read more about Curbed LA...
