SubscribeSign In
Project posted by Hsu McCullough

Venice Residence

View 11 Photos
Location
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Year
2022
Structure
House (Single Residence)
Style
Midcentury
Backyard patio with large pear tree. This single story family home in Venice features dramatic ceilings with generous clerestory windows. The design offers dynamic natural lighting throughout while opening to a rear yard patio.
Backyard patio with large pear tree. This single story family home in Venice features dramatic ceilings with generous clerestory windows. The design offers dynamic natural lighting throughout while opening to a rear yard patio.
Kitchen with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls, knobs and countertop at island complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris
Kitchen with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls, knobs and countertop at island complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris
Vaulted ceiling with built-in bookshelves creating a window seat reading nook overlooking the backyard under the pear tree beyond. Smoked oak floor by Shengaris. A single Noguchi pendant with mismatched family heirloom bedside reading lamps offer a simple balance to the natural light from the yards. The cabinetry is highlighted by glass hardware knobs - an understated design highlight for us.
Vaulted ceiling with built-in bookshelves creating a window seat reading nook overlooking the backyard under the pear tree beyond. Smoked oak floor by Shengaris. A single Noguchi pendant with mismatched family heirloom bedside reading lamps offer a simple balance to the natural light from the yards. The cabinetry is highlighted by glass hardware knobs - an understated design highlight for us.
Bathroom with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls with tile from Mission Tile West. Tiered levels of tiled horizontal surfaces in the shower form the soap/shampoo shelf along with a small corner bench. A denim-colored hexagon tile extends from the wet area through to the vanity. As per the rest of the house, windows open to the garden beyond.
Bathroom with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls with tile from Mission Tile West. Tiered levels of tiled horizontal surfaces in the shower form the soap/shampoo shelf along with a small corner bench. A denim-colored hexagon tile extends from the wet area through to the vanity. As per the rest of the house, windows open to the garden beyond.
Front yard curb appeal. The house was pushed to the front setback in order to allow maximum rear yard size and privacy. Punctuated by a painted front door in pale green to match the olive tree leaves in the side yard. The clerestory windows of the living room beyond peek above the gable roofline.
Front yard curb appeal. The house was pushed to the front setback in order to allow maximum rear yard size and privacy. Punctuated by a painted front door in pale green to match the olive tree leaves in the side yard. The clerestory windows of the living room beyond peek above the gable roofline.
Concrete porch and hardscape as well as aluminum siding clad exterior walls were selected for their maintenance-free appeal. The eaves were painted black to match the window frames. Punctuated by a painted front door in pale green to match the olive tree leaves in the side yard.
Concrete porch and hardscape as well as aluminum siding clad exterior walls were selected for their maintenance-free appeal. The eaves were painted black to match the window frames. Punctuated by a painted front door in pale green to match the olive tree leaves in the side yard.
Family room is a comprised of the living room, dining room, kitchen and home bar. The kitchen with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls, knobs and countertop at island complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris. The backsplash is a light green fan/fish scale pattern from Mission Tile West over a Caesarstone countertop with a full Thermador appliance suite. The clerestory window at the ridge brings in southern natural light throughout the day.
Family room is a comprised of the living room, dining room, kitchen and home bar. The kitchen with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet pulls, knobs and countertop at island complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris. The backsplash is a light green fan/fish scale pattern from Mission Tile West over a Caesarstone countertop with a full Thermador appliance suite. The clerestory window at the ridge brings in southern natural light throughout the day.
Home bar nook within the family room is fitted with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet knobs and countertop complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris. The backsplash uses a green fan/pill shaped tiles from Mission Tile West with glass shelves
Home bar nook within the family room is fitted with American black walnut cabinetry including walnut cabinet knobs and countertop complimented with smoked oak floors by Shengaris. The backsplash uses a green fan/pill shaped tiles from Mission Tile West with glass shelves
Like the front, the rear yard concrete porch steps as well as aluminum siding clad exterior walls were selected for their maintenance-free appeal. The eaves were painted black to match the window frames. A strong connection to the existing pear tree from the inside family living space was prioritized with a large clerestory window and sliding doors framing the yard.
Like the front, the rear yard concrete porch steps as well as aluminum siding clad exterior walls were selected for their maintenance-free appeal. The eaves were painted black to match the window frames. A strong connection to the existing pear tree from the inside family living space was prioritized with a large clerestory window and sliding doors framing the yard.
The punched openings of this family home act as a lantern at dusk to the backyard with legacy pear tree. In Venice, Los Angeles this single story house features dramatic ceilings with generous clerestory windows. The family room and primary bedroom open to the rear yard. Gorgeous black walnut cabinetry with artisan tile walls as well as fumed oak flooring bring a classic California modern feel to this abode.
The punched openings of this family home act as a lantern at dusk to the backyard with legacy pear tree. In Venice, Los Angeles this single story house features dramatic ceilings with generous clerestory windows. The family room and primary bedroom open to the rear yard. Gorgeous black walnut cabinetry with artisan tile walls as well as fumed oak flooring bring a classic California modern feel to this abode.

Details

Square Feet
1600
Lot Size
7,400
Bedrooms
3
Full Baths
2

Credits

Posted by
Architect
Interior Design
Landscape Design
Builder
Gramajo's Custom Homes
Photographer

From Hsu McCullough

Marcel Breuer - famed modernist architect and furniture designer - once referred the relationship of one of his home’s design to the site as having an “atavistic instinct”:
The legacy landscape around the new home remains completely undisturbed. In other words, the home is carefully planned and fitted to enjoy the existing context.
Hsu McCullough approached the design of this Venice Residence in this way organizing the hierarchy of volume, openings for natural light, structure and complementary outdoor spaces to embrace the conservation of a large pear tree.
The idea conceptually was to always build a house that made itself part of what was already there. The house and trees were thought of as inseparable entities
This tree's close proximity to this house provides shade and through the adjacent large expanses of glass - a living gallery:
The hum of bees drawn to an enormous pollinator - the existing 40-foot tall tree twice the height of the home’s silhouette - posited securely in the pure center of the site.

Of his new one-story home situated on a quiet lot (nearly a quarter acre) in east Venice, our client notes he likes the backyard and it’s union with the overall design: “Gardening is one of my hobbies”.
Along with his wife - a designer and owner of clothing/jewelry brand - have two children and they enjoy their new modest California bungalow with plenty of natural light.
They bought the original ‘50s house in 2012 and lived there for awhile to understand what they loved and what was missing before undertaking the new house completed in 2022.
From the house you can truly walk to great restaurants and stores while being close to the ocean. In fact the day of the photo shoot, our client biked to the beach to surf while we were breaking for lunch! Coastal living!

The large flowering ornamental pear tree in the backyard creates a picturesque scene. The kitchen, dining, living room and primary bedroom all open onto the pleasure garden.
Access to the garden is marked by a long, narrow strip of concrete patio at two levels: One matching the interior floor walkout through the Living Room sliding doors as well as one at the garden adjacent outdoor dining patio.
The area behind the table in the backyard is where the family grow tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and other vegetables. They often enjoy a barbecue in the garden as well.

Visitors first see a house of modest frontage sans two-car garage: virtually unpredictable of what lies beyond the front door. A mystery where the public face does not always illustrate the private form away from the street.
Close to the beach and of compact scale (1600 square feet home and a detached two car garage), the home fits congruently in this Venice neighborhood originally developed in the 1950s.
Of course, the existing rooflines of neighborhood houses were studied with particular attention to their heights.
With this firmly in mind, Hsu McCullough designed the backyard facing rooms to embrace the maximized interior volume of the underside of the roof lines - no attics.
The great room (living room/bar/kitchen/dining room) at it’s peak a 15-foot ceiling have south and west facing clerestory windows to maximize the ever-changing daylight within.
The gracious space that responds appropriately to the context with instinctive panache of course framing the pear tree and gardens beyond.

An intriguing and not common aspect of this property is it is bordered on two different street but is NOT a corner lot.
Specifically this allows for the detached garage to be located at the back / side-yard of the property with everyday access through the backyard garden when you arrive home. You walk through a garden when you arrive home.
Through the backyard from the garage, one can see the dining room through a large window.
The homeowner wanted to create a place where the family could spend time together with a private connection to nature.
A marvelous compound of withdrawal, solitude, safe play and contemplation: Lifestyle centered around wellness and the outdoors.

Hsu McCullough focused on the visceral qualities to create a simple modern, solar-enriched family home with careful attention to scale and materiality with an understated luxury.
Relatively spare yet emphatically comfortable, casual and finely composed, each providing an ideal setting for the ordinary and precious events of daily life.
Bespoke cabinetry of American black walnut throughout complimented with fumed oak floors by Shengaris throughout. Exterior clad in vertical aluminum siding in French gray. Simplicity devoid of decoration.

Personal touches throughout the home include Isamu Noguchi pendants, family heirloom vintage Bose V90 series speakers, tile throughout by Mission Tile West, Thermador appliance suite and a fiddle leaf fig in the dining room.
Both dining tables - indoors and outdoors - are of Teak by Crate & Barrel. Vintage leather sofa, vinyl record collection and Teak coffee table round out family treasure collected throughout the years.