Architecture Wednesday: California Paradise

This Modernist French Norman Style home sits on a serene forested 1.6-acre site at the end of a small lane in Glendale, California's much desired Chevy Chase Canyon.

The original 1940 French Normandy-style residence was the starting point for a complete renovation and multiple additions that accentuated and celebrated both the existing and new. The home is a composition of planes and volumes, with the monochromatic leafy green facade of the original structure receding into the scenery, while the white stucco and glass of the modern mass provides a seamless connection to the lush landscape.

From the entry courtyard the house opens up to a grand living room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, blending into the sun-drenched canyons behind the home. The dining area, with its lowered ceilings and the heated concrete floors throughout, offers an intimate setting within the large space.

From there the house unfolds from public to private. The high-ceilinged kitchen and family area features a pantry and bar, and breakfast area. Cork floors warm the space and complement the woodwork and cabinetry.

A hall powder room and den lead to the private wing where you find a sitting room and library, as well as two bedrooms and a shared bath. Stairs descend to the lower primary level suite, consisting of a walk-through closet and sitting area, and bathroom with a soaking tub, and then to the main suite with views to the gardens.

The gardens are lush and surround the 4,553 square-foot house, as does hundreds of acres of dedicated open space. There are multiple terraces and decks, a citrus and vegetable garden, and the newly renovated plunge pool on the lower level; a permitted ADU was added in 2019.

It’s clean and quiet and green and peaceful; could you ask for more? Well, maybe $4M … because that’s what this home costs.

Dwell