Urban Home

The home was originally built by California architect Walter Thomas Brooks in 1962. The owners, Janet and Mark Hall, fell in love with its midcentury design and connection to the property's surrounding blue oak trees.

A ProChef stainless sink and Dornbracht Tara Ultra-Pull Down Faucet fit in with the equally minimal open shelving. The ceramics are made by Richard Carter, Heath, and Miro Made This.

The adjoining bath is painted in Farrow & Ball’s "Green Smoke."

When Pablo Pérez Palacios’ Mexico City–based architecture firm PPAA was tasked with building an apartment tower to meet La Colonia Roma's need for additional housing, he faced a problem familiar to developers in historic neighborhoods everywhere. The site was occupied by a dilapidated home that dates to 1925, and local laws required that the facade and part of the structure be maintained. PPAA’s innovative approach was to cut the original three-story home in half, preserving enough of the building to front the street and hold two apartments replete with classic Victorian details like high ceilings and restored millwork. In the back of the lot, they designed a sleek eight-story apartment tower that would hold an additional nine apartments, for a total of 11 units. Not bad for a site that was previously an uninhabited single-family house.

The lounge deck at the rear yard of Sunset Hills Residence features a swimming pool surrounded by lush gardens. Architect Hsu McCullough's design beautifully merges minimalism with an abundance of nature.

A cozy, enclosed office is located right next to the library.

A custom dining table made by the owner is surrounded with vintage Eames chairs and topped with a vintage Louis Poulsen PH Snowball pendant by Poul Henningsen. The metal sideboard is from Muji, and the paneling is original.

Custom shelving now flanks the fireplace, now composed of encaustic tile from the Cement Tile Shop and a marble hearth. A floating cabinet on one side balances an uncovered radiator on the other, and Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace unifies the scheme. Throughout the first floor, Bona Traffic white oak floors with a matte finish is laid in a herringbone pattern.

The mirror was replaced with a long window. The buffet moved with the owner from her childhood home. Black Eames chairs surround a generous wood table sourced by Annie Wise.

The family loves books. This wall of bookshelves was custom-designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and fabricated by Tomlinson Woodworks. A bespoke reading nook is on the right.

The kitchen units in Elm Street House by Gardiner Architects are composed of blackbutt veneer and have a matte finish. The counters are Caesarstone.

The informal side entrance leads right into the open living space, which hosts a family room, dining room, and kitchen.

A peek into the studio and stairs going up into the living areas.

The soothing bedroom juts out slightly from the rest of the house, creating a courtyard outside.

During the top-down overhaul, the team created a floor-to-ceiling, modular, and adjustable birch-ply storage wall—perfect for displaying books, photos, and memorabilia.

The space's pared-down bedroom brings southern comfort to new heights.

"For example, if you are building an entry vestibule with a turn, you may want to plan your renovation so that large furniture is brought in before the vestibule is built out,” she says. “Otherwise, you may not get it around the turn.”

The master bathroom features a coved tile ceiling, a custom walnut vanity, and a large soaking tub.

The swimming pool anchors the home to the rocky slope and enables its wood-framed platform to hover high above the terrain.