A traditional home on the hill...

Today we're popping back over to PVE... where unlike the normal Spanish fare we see, I'm blogging about a Cape Cod home.  The Underberger Residence.

 (Source: NJC)

(Source: Don Thursby)


Built in 2009 and designed by Don Thursby, the 4,112sf home replaces a 2,661sf 1.5 story 1937 home.  The home sits on a cozy 9,600sf hilltop lot.  The owners bought the original home in 2001 for $1.725M.

 (Source: Bing Maps)

(Source: Google Maps)


The home itself, while quite nice aesthetically, does feel a little out of place.  For one thing, its surrounded by a host of red tile Mediterranean homes - in fact, it could very well be the only home in the neighborhood without a red tiled roof.

(Source: Google Maps)


Putting context aside for the moment, the home is quite nice.

 (Source: NJC)

(Source: NJC)

Great roof lines.  Wonderful garage doors.  White trimmed windows (and appropriately scaled!).  Once again showing that Mr. Thursby is a solid architect.  A very good example of the American/Cape Cod style.

But a home should fit in with its neighborhood - part of the fabric.   This  home, while itself very nice - does not fit into the Montemalaga neighborhood - it really belongs in Rolling Hills Estates or maybe the Valmonte neighborhood of PVE!

KEY STATS

Location: Montemalaga, PVE
Style: Cape Cod
Year built:  2009
Architect: Don Thursby
Square footage: 4,112
Lot size: 9,600sf (140'x70')

Something new

So I started my first actual home blog post with something old - something timeless and classic.  Now I'm switching gears and talking about something (relatively) new and one of my personal favorites.  The Contratto Residence, located in the sylvan landscape of the Valmonte neighborhood of Palos Verdes Estates, is one of the best examples of new construction in the Spanish style.

(Source: NJC)

Designed by Don Thursby and built in 2006 by Baldwin Construction, I nearly fell off my chair when I realized it wasn't technically a new build but rather a remodel of a single-story ranch style home.  The current owners bought the property in 1988 for $895,000 and lived with the previous one story home for nearly 20 years before deciding to remodel.  The original modest home is shown below, as flagged during the PVE neighborhood compatibility process before the final design was approved for construction.

(Source: Don Thursby)

As you can see from the photo above, the previous home was a very modest single story structure on a very nice, flat, wooded lot.  The lot itself totals 12,614 square feet (0.3 acres) and spans two legal parcels, measuring an estate-sized 105x119.  What I love about this house are the proportions - very rare to get a double-wide lot especially in a tony neighborhood a stone's throw away from the coast.  When you look at the nearby beach towns of Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, for example, the name of the game is maximum interior square footage and "zero-lot line" builds - a perversion of nature that results in a crowded streetscape, full of cars, an absence of trees, and houses so close together you can touch your neighbor's window.  Another side effect of the densification of these once comfortable areas is that you also lose stylistic variety - there is only so many ways to design a home for a 50-foot wide lot, especially when you factor in two 5-to 8-foot side yard setbacks and a 16-foot wide garage door.  With this home, there's ample lot width to really let the architect design something special and authentic, something unique.  Similarly, the home itself is set back from the street, probably about 30-35 feet or 2 car lengths, while in most of the South Bay, homes are set back between 15-20 feet from the street.

(Source: NJC)

The house has a classic, timeless feel.  Charming.  Appropriate.  Comfortable.  A house that makes you feel warm and that sits well within its natural landscape.  Harmonious.  A house that you can see a family playing in the yard, or having a holiday meal.   This one is on my short list of 'dream homes' of PV.  The arches, the window placements, even the placement of the garage doors are all well thought out and retain a strong fidelity to the historic Spanish style.

(Source: NJC)

If we turn to our trusty Bing Maps for further insight into the home, we see a rear paved patio with what appears to be a central fountain.  A perfect place to entertain family and friends, or just relax and enjoy the Southern California sun.

 (Source: Bing Maps)

(Source: Bing Maps)

This house is definitely in my top 10 homes of PV.  Thursby did an absolutely fantastic job capturing the essence of the warm, familiar and comfortable Spanish style in stucco and tile.  When I see homes like this, it makes me want to jump into real estate development and start adjoining parcels to create the right sized lot to accommodate truly spectacular home designs.  If only I had the money.  Any financial supporters out there?

KEY STATS

Location: Valmonte, PVE
Style: Spanish
Year built: unknown / 2006
Architect: Don Thursby
Square footage: 4,901
Lot size: 12,614 (105x119)

A word about architects

I recognize that many of those that are (or will be) reading this blog are architecture-philes and also may be interested in learning more about some of the recent new construction being built and designed in the area.  I've spent a fair amount of time learning about many of the contemporary local architects designing the lion's share of new housing stock on the Peninsula, so thought I'd share some of my thoughts here. While many examples of their work are very well done, part of me still thinks that none are on track to create the timeless works of art designed by the greats, like George Washington Smith, Myron Hunt, & Addison Mizner. Although a few examples of their work come close!

Tier 1: The majors & the prolific
Ashai Design (http://www.ashai.com/)- Based in Torrance, with offices in Beverly Hills and Dubai, Ashai Design is headed by Tony Ashai, a Kashmir-born PVE resident. Ashai's designs are almost exclusively Mediterranean in style and as a general matter, the firm focuses on large-scale estates, residential communities and commercial projects.  Over the years, Ashai has designed many of PVE's largest and most opulent residences, though in recent years, Ashai has shied away from custom homes and focused instead on large residential and commercial developments in Dubai.  You'll see a number of their designs featured in future posts.

Doug Leach Architecture  (no website) - Doug Leach is one of the two best known South Bay architects (the other being Tomaro).  Doug designs mid to high end homes in the Beach Cities (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and parts of Redondo Beach) and on the Peninsula.  His style includes Cape Cod as well as many Spanish and Tuscan-inspired blends.  At the peaak of the housing boom, Doug was designing 40+ homes per year - an amazing feat given he was the only architect at his Redondo Beach-based firm.  In a more normalized market, Doug pens approximately 20-25 homes per year.  He does architecture the old fashioned way, i.e. with pen and paper rather than a fancy 3D CAD model (although he refers people to 3D designers, if they want to see his designs in 3D).  Another interesting fact - Doug is a member of the PVE Art Jury.

Tomaro Design Group (http://www.tomaro.com/) - Tomaro Design Group is a Manhattan Beach-based firm headed by Louie Tomaro that dominates the Beach Cities market and does some work on the Peninsula.  Tomaro's styles range from Modern to Cape Code to Mediterranean.  Like Doug Leach, Tomaro is also one of the more prolific architects in the South Bay/Peninsula area.  Tomaro has a whole staff of people and utilizes the latest in tech for his clients - 3D renderings are standard, and he also has LEED-certified staff for those wanting some "green" building input.  In addition to design work, Louie's brother also runs Tomaro Design's construction business.  I find Tomaro gives up authenticity for his own take on "pure" styles like Spanish Revival, Italian, etc.  If you want Euro-authentic designs, look elsewhere.  If you want something different (some will love it, others will hate it), Tomaro might be a good fit.

Edward Carson Beall & Associates (http://www.ecbarchitects.com/) - Ed Beall is somewhat of a staple in the South Bay/Peninsula design world, having been around for nearly 40 years.  Many of the architects listed here have spent some time at Beall & Associates (as have many local architects not named in this post).  Beall now only does very high end projects and I've heard his minimum fee for design work is substantially above other Tier 1 guys.  I also understand he does a very small number of homes per year.  His styles are varied, ranging from Spanish Colonial to American Colonial and everything in between.  He also tends to do a large number of restoration remodel projects as you'll see featured on this site.

Tier 2: New guys and the occasionals
Russ Barto (no website) - Barto is a PVE-based architect that designs a number of homes on the Peninsula.  His style is varied and in my view, a bit on the plain side.  From what I gather, Barto is very good for clients that  have a very specific design idea in mind.  As a general matter, I'm not a fan of most of his work.

Don Thursby (no website) - Thursby is a Peninsula-based architect that does a small number of original and remodel designs.  I've only seen a few examples of his work but one home in particular is among my favorite homes in all of the Peninsula (stay tuned!)

Powell Dudley Frith (http://www.pdfarchitects.com/) - PDF Architects, namely Brad Dudley, also does a fair number of homes on the Peninsula (and southern Orange County and LA's Westside - Brentwood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills).  The Laguna Beach-based firm specializes in larger, high end custom homes.  Their design styles are varied, consistent with some of the larger, higher end firms mentioned in this post.

Obelisk Architects (http://www.obeliskarchitects.com/) - Less familiar with this firm, although I know they have designed a few homes in PVE and the South Bay.  They are based in Torrance.

Pritzkat and Johnson (http://www.pritzkatjohnson.com/) Not familiar with this firm, but they have done several remodels and new construction designs in the area.

EnviroTechno (http://www.envirotechno.com/) - Culver City-based firm that has designed a few homes in the South Bay and on the Peninsula.  The homes they've designed that I am aware of are Mediterranean in style.

Over the course several blogs, you'll become very familiar with the names above, as these firms dominate the Peninsula new build market.