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On the Market: R.M. Schindler’s 1926 Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach⁠⁠⁠R.M. Schindler’s 1926 Lovell Beach House is p...
10/26/2026

On the Market: R.M. Schindler’s 1926 Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach⁠
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⁠R.M. Schindler’s 1926 Lovell Beach House is perhaps Orange County’s most iconic Modernist masterpiece. Constructed out of figure eight shaped reinforced concrete frames, Schindler embraced novel construction methods to create a trurly one of a kind beach house for the health-conscious Dr. Philip M. Lovell and his wife, Leah.⁠
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The striking three story home elevates the living quarters above the sand, creating an perfect viewpoint to see the shimmering Pacific and Catalina Island beyond. ⁠
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Philip M. Lovell (1895-1978) was an American naturopath who advocated for the use of natural foods and sunbathing to cure the body. He would first commission Schindler to design his Newport Beach home, yet the commission for his later Lovell Health House residence in Los Feliz would go to architect Richard Neutra. Some sources say Neutra edged out Schindler for the follow-up commission, while other sources state Neutra was having an affair with Lovell’s sister in law, Harriet Press Freeman, or even his own wife, Leah Press Lovell, which, if these sources are to be believed, may have influenced Lovell to swap Schindler for Neutra on his next home. ⁠
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Located at 1242 West Oceanfront, the 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 2,741 square foot home located on a 3,734 square foot lot, is listed courtesy of bouHAUS properties and Nate Cole with the listing price available upon request. ⁠
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Photographer: Sterling Reed Photography

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠⁠For Mr. and Mrs. James Oneal, architect Garrett Van Pelt, Jr.⁠ would design a sprawling home ...
10/23/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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⁠For Mr. and Mrs. James Oneal, architect Garrett Van Pelt, Jr.⁠ would design a sprawling home in what was then termed the “California Colonial” style, which, while not quite true Monterey Revival style, combined Spanish Colonial, Monterey, and Anglo Colonial Revival elements to create a decidedly Californian take on the Colonial Revival style. ⁠
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When compared to their crisp New England Colonial Revival cousins, California Colonial style home’s are imbued with a casual, rambling air that include plenty of terraces, covered porches, and balconies to increase the home’s connection to the out of doors. ⁠
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The first floor plan includes a generously sized entry and stair hall, a triple aspect living room with an attached sun porch, library, dining room, and a breakfast room with an attached dining porch overlooking the front gardens. The service spaces include a pantry, kitchen, laundry room, and a pair of staff bedrooms with a shared bath.⁠
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Upstairs, Van Pelt would include four bedrooms suites, with three boasting access to either a covered porch or outdoor deck. ⁠
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Located at 1940 Lombardy Road, the home is extant and has been well maintained.⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. James Oneal, 1929⁠
Architect: Garrett Van Pelt, Jr.⁠
Location: San Marino, California⁠
Source: California Arts & Architecture

On the Market: Architect Bob Ray Offenhauser’s Own Folly-Inspired Home in South Pasadena⁠⁠Inspired by the garden pavilio...
10/20/2026

On the Market: Architect Bob Ray Offenhauser’s Own Folly-Inspired Home in South Pasadena⁠
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Inspired by the garden pavilions and follies of the French and Italian classical traditions, architect Bob Ray Offenhauser’s personal residence melds traditional design with a contemporary outlook. Completed in 1978, the house is enlivened by a theatrical, scalloped parapet with ball finials, reflecting the rise of postmodern classicism at the close of the 1970s.⁠
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The house is located on the former grounds of the Tanner-Behr estate, better known as Villa Arno, a 1917 Italian Renaissance Revival residence designed by one of Pasadena’s favorite sons, architect Reginald Johnson. On what was the estate’s original entrance garden and driveway, Offenhauser designed not one but two separate homes, referring to the pair as his “Grand Pearls.” Together, they celebrate the classical tradition and European style by braiding together their gardens, courtyards, and architecture into true Gesamtkunstwerk.⁠
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Inside, the interiors carry Offenhauser’s original vision forward, with the house organized as a series of pavilions, each oriented toward its own garden. My favorite aspect of the design is the glazed, barrel-vaulted gallery connecting the main house to a pavilion with a distinctly Roman air. The gallery’s curved lines recall lacy Victorian conservatories, lending an even more romantic note to the composition.⁠
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445 Columbia Street, a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,837 square foot home located on a 14,832 square foot lot, is listed courtesy of Eric Lavey with VANTAGE MGMT for $4,199,000.

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠Completed in 1928, architect Garrett Van Pelt’s 1928 Pasadena commission for Leroy and Ellen K...
10/16/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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Completed in 1928, architect Garrett Van Pelt’s 1928 Pasadena commission for Leroy and Ellen Kellogg is one of my all time favorite Van Pelt designs. ⁠
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Period sources called it “California Colonial,” a fitting label for a house that draws on Monterey Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival detailing paired with the low, rambling plan of the early Ranch house. The result is unmistakably Southern Californian.⁠
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Instead of being oriented towards the street, the home’s front door is located down a long drive, creating a more intimate arrival experience. Crossing over the threshold, we find that the plan has been designed around a center hall plan, a carryover from earlier Anglo-Colonial precedents. The home’s principal rooms include the large triple aspect living room that boasts porch access, the dining room with its attached service spaces, in addition to two bedroom wings with a total of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two dressing rooms. ⁠
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My favorite aspect of the plan is the enormous central courtyard or patio, which creates a full size outdoor room to enjoy the temperate California climate. Two of my favorite inclusions in this floor plan are the kennels and radio room located next to the garage—truly a space for everything and everything in its place in this commission!⁠
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Located at 1745 Orlando Road, the home is extant and has been well maintained. ⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy D. Kellogg⁠, 1928⁠
Architect: Garrett Van Pelt, Jr.⁠
Location: Pasadena, California⁠
Source: ⁠California Arts & Architecture, The MLS

10/14/2026

If you love Los Angeles architecture, this is the book for you! An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles: Updated Sixth Edition is the quintessential tome for LA architectural aficionados far and wide. First published by LACMA in 1965 as a catalog of Southern California architecture, the guide has grown with each subsequent edition, and the sheer wealth of the region’s buildings has since led it to narrow its focus to Los Angeles County alone. This tighter scope pays off, offering a closer look at a county whose architecture is ever-evolving.⁠
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Head over to the Substack link in my bio for the full review, and don’t forget to subscribe! 🤓⁠
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Title: An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles: Updated Sixth Edition⁠
Author: David Gebhard, Robert Winter, and Robert Inman; foreword by Nathan Masters⁠
Publisher: Angel City Press⁠
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Thank you to Angel City Press for the review copy! As always, opinions are my own.

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠⁠For McClarty Harbison and his wife, Frances, architect Garrett Van Pelt, Jr. would design a l...
10/09/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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⁠For McClarty Harbison and his wife, Frances, architect Garrett Van Pelt, Jr. would design a large Monterey Revival style home just south of the Langham Hotel along a bucolic stretch of Old Mill Road. Completed in 1928, the home represents an early shift into the Anglo-American Colonial Revival vocabulary of the Monterey Revival vernacular, eschewing the earlier penchant for prominent Spanish Colonial Revival features, such as a terracotta tile roof, which has been replaced by wooden shakes in the Harbison⁠ home. As we’ve well documented here, the ever-evolving Monterey Revival vernacular is a perennial fascination of mine. ⁠
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The generously sized entry hall allows direct access to the rear covered porch and also doubles as the stair hall, yet my favorite space may just be the quadruple exposure living room and it’s attached sunroom—the perfect sunny spot to start the day with a cup of tea. To the right we find the cozy library complete with a corner fireplace and the dining room. The service spaces include a large pantry that may include a breakfast nook, kitchen, service porch, and a staff suite. One detail to note is the kitchen’s direct access to the rear porch, which underscores the importance of indoor/outdoor living, which needed easy access to both public, private, and service spaces. Prior to the 1920s, it was rare for service spaces to have direct outdoor access to public spaces within the house, and the only outdoor access would have been through a rear or side service door. ⁠
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Upstairs, we find four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with each bedroom provided direct access to a sleeping porch or balcony to ensure the movement of light and air throughout the home. ⁠
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McClarty Harbison⁠, a stockbroker and financial executive with the Dunk-Harbison Company, would serve as president of the Los Angeles Stock Exchange for many years during the 1930s. ⁠
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Located at⁠ 1480 Old Mill Road, the home is extant and has been well maintained. ⁠
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Project: Residence of Mr. and Mrs. ⁠McClarty Harbison⁠
Architect: Garrett Van Pelt, Jr. ⁠
Location: San Marino, California⁠
Source: Architectural Record

10/04/2026

Book Review: Bungalow Bonanza
California Bungalows of the Twenties

⁠”Is there anything more romantic than a low-slung California bungalow surrounded by bunches of grapes, poinsettia and poppies in bloom, drooping pepper tree boughs, and voluptuous oranges beside their redolent white blossoms? I think not! In the popular imagination, the bungalow is as Californian as Valencia oranges, mission bells along El Camino Real, and the Hollywood sign, connecting it with a long history that’s influenced the way Californians live today.
To better understand the romance of the Craftsman bungalow and its importance in the development of not only a distinctly Southern Californian design language, but also our interconnected indoor/outdoor Californian lifestyle, it helps to go back to the primary sources. One important title to consider for any architectural researcher is California Bungalows of the Twenties by Henry L. Wilson.”

Head over to the Substack link in my bio for the full review and don’t forget to subscribe! 🤓

Title: California Bungalows of the Twenties, 1993⁠
Author: Henry L. Wilson⁠
Publisher: Dover Publications

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠⁠⁠As we all know, I love a home with a courtyard! Today’s plan comes from California Bungalows ...
10/02/2026

Happy Floor Plan Friday!⁠
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⁠As we all know, I love a home with a courtyard! Today’s plan comes from California Bungalows of the Twenties by Henry L. Wilson. Originally published as A Short Sketch of the Evolution of the Bungalow: From its Primitive Crudeness to its present state of Artistic Beauty and Cozy Convenience, the title was re-issued by Dover Publications in 1993.⁠
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California Bungalows of the Twenties contains a wide range of bungalow floor plans, yet my favorite may just be this Mission Revival example, complete with a courtyard, tower, and expansive front porch. The floor plan contains a separate reception hall, open living and dining rooms, kitchen, breakfast room, three bedrooms, a rear service porch, all in addition to a plethora of period details, such as built in window seats, book cases, buffets, and kitchen cupboards.

The central courtyard, or patio, even includes a large fountain, lending even more Spanish-inspired romance to the composition.⁠ Also, love how it’s suggested that the tower room could be a den, smoking, or billiards room—I’d use it as my private study! How about you?
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Stay tuned for a full review of California Bungalows of the Twenties by Henry L. Wilson and even more plans this Sunday!⁠
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Project: A Mission Revival Style Bungalow⁠
Architect: Henry L. Wilson⁠
Source: California Bungalows of the Twenties by Henry L. Wilson, 1993. Dover Publications

On the Market:⁠ 1930 Garret Van Pelt, Jr.-designed Monterey Revival style home in Pasadena.⁠⁠⁠As we’ve reviewed, the Mon...
10/01/2026

On the Market:⁠ 1930 Garret Van Pelt, Jr.-designed Monterey Revival style home in Pasadena.⁠
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⁠As we’ve reviewed, the Monterey Revival style is one of the most versatile of California’s eclectic revival styles, taking inspiration from indigenous, Spanish, and Anglo-American in ever-evolving measures, creating a plethora of inventive combinations.⁠
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Completed in 1930, today’s home is a classic Monterey Revival style home designed by architect Garret Van Pelt, Jr. near the Huntington Library. This home represents a classic Monterey Revival design, incorporating a cantilevered, full length second floor balcony, a low pitched roofline, shutters, and a wrought iron railing to create a true Southern California design.⁠
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The home includes all of our favorite spaces, including a living room, paneled library, dining room, an original butlers pantry, and many other original details. Upstairs are 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, with almost every room having access to a terrace or a balcony, underscoring the importance of indoor/outdoor connections for a true California lifestyle.⁠
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760 Holladay Road, a 6 bedroom, 5.5 bath, 5,601 square foot home located on a 33,479 square foot lot, is listed courtesy of Joanne Capitano with Seven Gables Real Estate for $5,600,000.

09/30/2026

This week on Perspectives with Daniel J. Kiser: the role of nostalgia in architecture.

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