L.A. breakthroughs - new house and remodeling ideas

To open up the part of the house facing the reduced deck, the architects removed a section of a wall between the kitchen and what had been used as the dining room, turning that space into a breakfast area. With the new family room complete, the square room between kitchen and deck--before used as a family room--now serves as a full-fledged dining room.

Design was by architects Wade Killefer and Janet Spinks of Carde/Killefer, Santa Monica.

Daylight, privacy, touch of drama

Neighbors crowd three sides of this 32- by 90-foot house in Manhattan Beach, putting privacy at a premium and offering little hope for views on the corridor-like lot. But Susan and Brian Hoose wanted their new house to have light, privacy, and a touch of drama.

Redondo Beach architect Dan Mello sculpted the structure to answer all three wants. Where it faces its neighbors (two-story houses surround three sides), the house presents a fairly blank facade. But Mello sliced away at the high corners, fitting them with sinuous ribbons and grids of glass. These corner windows flood the interior with light and skirt straight-on views of the neighbors; only a passing hang glider could see inside.

Banks of glass block are another way of introducing light while maintaining privacy. In the stairwell (shown above right), all three glazing elements come together just inside the front entry; here the textural blocks become the art on the walls.

Mello put the master bedroom, kitchen, and living and dining rooms upstairs. Other bedrooms and a large tV and entertainment area are below. Upstairs from the living room, a glass door opens to an elevated deck, protected by the house on three sides. Off the entertainment room, a shady patio nestles in near secrecy.

A red-and-black color scheme for window frames, stair and deck railings, and other trim unifies the house.

Pink stucco box, three stories tall, 44 feet square

It was the kind of lot where, beyond the "For Sale" sign, you could see only thin air, a lot where "unbuildable" equaled "affordable." Los Angeles architect Stephen Slan, of VIA, became involved even before photographer Karen Filter made her down payment. She had to know if she was buying a home site--or what famous San Francisco architect Bernard Maybeck once termed a "goat lot," better left to wild goats.

A tight budget, seasonal fire danger, and the owner's need for a large studio were other constraints. On a grid of nine pilings, linked with concrete grade beams, Slan designed a pulled-together pink stucco box, 44 feet square, three stories tall. Its monolithic look (page 95) comes from fire-code requirements to enclose foundations from grade to floor level.

At street level, Slan recessed a central entry between the garage and an angled wall enclosing master bedroom and bath. The entry hall bisects the top level, leading to stairs (far right) that drop to the two-story-tall living room. This room is open to a deck on one side, to the kitchen-dining area on the other; a third side overlooks the studio below. A bedroom and bath complete the middle level.