Located far up in the Mandeville Canyon area of L.A. this was a remodel of a house by Edward Fickett, a well designed mid-century, single story modern house. Besides the simple open plan with post and beam construction, it also had concrete block walls painted over in grays. The client wanted a better kitchen, a bit more room, and a pool and rear yard patio. The main design idea of the remodel, besides knocking out a few unnecessary walls and adding the pool and patio, was to allow the original materials to come to life, to allow for their own natural beauty to surface. The concrete block walls were sandblasted. No more unnecessary paint. They no longer needed to be masked. And of course, the existing wood, once stripped, and the new western red cedar, needed nothing more than clear sealer. Simple terra cotta floor tiles were added throughout, following a concentric pattern established by the half round end of the new pool. A new pivoted front door made from horizontal 4x16’s spaced with 1x4’s to match alternate block courses was installed under a new trellis running through from the entry to the rear patio having the effect of tying the two together and at the same time establishing a spatial drama upon entering. The sofa was selected by the owner. After the owner’s death the property was sold and the house demolished by the new owner.
