Architecture Wednesday: Japanese-Inspired Midcentury

This home was built in the 1950s and then remodeled and expanded in 1964 by the owner and, Hal Theiderman, into a Japanese-inspired, Midcentury modern style with floor-to-ceiling windows and indoor/outdoor flow to beautiful gardens that surround the home.

The two-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,240 square foot home is infused with a sense of artistry and calm and an appreciation of space and beauty mostly due to its lot at the end of peaceful Lake Drive overlooking Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Park.

You enter the home across a series of spherical stone pavers evoking the crossing of a river on lily pad; a Japanese maple grows up through the roof. As you enter through the gold painted door, you will notice many lovely details such as the jewel box kitchen, sliding wall panels, and the vintage clay lanterns that hang at the entry.

A balcony opens from the living room overlooking the lower garden, filled with rhododendrons, camelias, and ferns, and the canyon below. There is a tranquil reading room which opens to the front garden, and a formal dining room with built-in China cabinets and sliding doors out to a large roof deck.
The living room features wood paneled walls, a raised ceiling, a modernist brick fireplace, built-in bookshelves and clerestory windows above the main seating area. There was originally an observatory tower for gazing at the night sky and although the dome is no longer there and the tower is roofed, you can still climb the spiral stairs hidden behind a door from the dining room up to the viewing space.

Down the main spiral staircase you’ll find the marvelous principal bedroom with its own fireplace, a wall of windows opening to the garden, and a serene wood-paneled bathroom with theater-style vanity lights. At the opposite end of the room there is a large office space with a built-in desk; the office is separated by sliding wall panels. The secondary bedroom, with its own bath and built-in bookshelves also opens into the rear garden and courtyard.

Quibbles? Of course; the bathrooms are dated, as are some of the finishes, and the kitchen is too small and closed off. Plus, I’d open up that observation spot again and spend my evenings up there sipping a nice Pinto, but other than that it is all sorts or tranquil, both inside and out.

 Dwell