Today's post focuses on the newest and youngest of the three. Designed by Culver City-based EnviroTechno in 2009, the home was completed only a few weeks ago. This home sits on a flat 1/2 acre lot (105x212) and replaces a 2,993 square foot ranch style home built in 1963. The current homeowners bought the property in late 2008 for $2.4M and began construction of the new home in late 2009. The home was completed in December 2010.
(Source: NJC)
(Source: NJC)
The front of property features beautiful mature palm trees and a sprawling lawn. The homes on this street are set back quite a way from the curb. In fact, while this lot is quite long (212-225 feet), it also has city parkland as its front yard - i.e. approximately 30 feet of its front yard is actually owned by the city of Palos Verdes Estates. I would suspect that the home sits about 60 feet from the curb.
I think EnviroTechno did a great job with the facade. With 105 feet of lot width to work with, the scale of the windows, arches, columns and doors all make sense. The arcaded front porch with tasteful arches, the modest landscaping as well as an attractively simple yet elegant semi-circular driveway all contribute to a sense of appropriateness of the home with its surroundings (plus no front facing garage!!!). My only knock against the front facade is the scale of the central tower, which in my view, may be a tad too wide. That said, I think this is a facade one could grow to love. (As an aside, I've seen a great many examples of a front facial layout similar to this in the flats of Beverly Hills between Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards. In several cases, the architects took a great many liberties in oversizing arches, medallions, columns and other facial features that result in a caricature of a house (the un-PC Persian Palace effect). What's more - the lots are not as generous as this one, with very tight front and side setbacks.) Anyhow, back to this home.
One other feature I find attractive is the scaling of the first and second floors. You'll notice that the second story is tucked away under the roof, and I would suspect is a good 1-2 feet shorter than the first floor. This helps reduce the mass - which, unlike what you see in McMansions - illustrates restraint on the part of the homeowners and architects that favors good design over maximizing size (no one needs 12 foot ceilings throughout the whole house!)
One other feature I find attractive is the scaling of the first and second floors. You'll notice that the second story is tucked away under the roof, and I would suspect is a good 1-2 feet shorter than the first floor. This helps reduce the mass - which, unlike what you see in McMansions - illustrates restraint on the part of the homeowners and architects that favors good design over maximizing size (no one needs 12 foot ceilings throughout the whole house!)
(Source: NJC)
The original 1963 ranch style home which sat on this lot was owned by the original owners for over 45 years and only sold in 2008. It occupied a good portion of the lot and had a single lane driveway that led to the garage and a tennis court at the rear of the property.
(Source: Google Maps)
(Source: Bing Maps)
The rear yard had a number of mature trees which have since been cleared, along with the tennis court to make room for a paved courtyard and pool.
(Source: Google Maps)
(Source: NJC)
Given the young age of the home, public records are still missing some fun facts (like square footage) but I will add those as they become available in the future. Based on the other two 'sisters,' I suspect this home is approximately 7,000 square feet and would have a market value today of approximately $5-6M.
KEY STATS
Location: Lunada, PVE
Style: Italian
Year built: 2010
Architect: EnviroTechno
Square footage: n/a, but approx. 7,000sf
Lot size: 21,600 (105x212)
Style: Italian
Year built: 2010
Architect: EnviroTechno
Square footage: n/a, but approx. 7,000sf
Lot size: 21,600 (105x212)
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