To accommodate a young family leaving New York City, design firm Stewart-Schafer revamped the kitchen and living areas of an outdated upstate home in just three months.
Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.
With its emphasis on the outdoors, the petite shelter in Normandy offers room to roam.
Photo by Aldo Lanzi
The architects specified an aluminum roof that “ghosts” the structure—it’s a material that recalls the typical use of corrugated metal on agricultural buildings, yet it subtly contrasts with the historic form. “It’s not quite what you’d use on a normal barn,” says Powell.
“During summer there is so much greenery, and it grows and changes every day. It’s very different in the autumn and winter—even the acoustics are different,