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Mid-century modern beauty
Feb 16, 2023
Mid-century modern beauty San Francisco
By   Internet
  • City News
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Abstract: A 1950s home in Santa Monica, California, has been restored to a rich vintage look - all within a five-minute stroll to the beach.

Designed by Southern California mid-century modern architect Thornton M. Abell, the house is tucked away in a highly desirable neighbourhood in Santa Monica Canyon, says broker Frank Langen of Deasy Penner & Partners.

 

The property is listed at $10,500,000.

 

This beautiful residence, built for the Hines family, is featured in photographer Julius Schulman's 2013 book, Rediscovered Modern.

 

The original owner, Richard Haines, was head of the painting department at Otis College of Art and Design from 1954 to 1974.

 

Due to financial constraints, the house was built in two phases.

 

The concrete, glass and timber building has 4,800 square feet of living space, including four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. It is arranged in three separate structures connected by hardscape and a lift.

 

Art & Architecture's case study residential project commissioned a series of homes built between 1945 and 1966 by leading architects, including Abel.

 

The spaces were designed to showcase the cheap, efficient homes of the post-World War II housing boom.

 

This house is not one of the designs in the case study, but its indoor and outdoor living spaces, glass walls and natural elements make it similar to those houses.

 

The seller, an architect, bought the place in 2017 and began a five-year restoration.

 

"It's like a whole new house, but it follows the blueprints," Langan said. The seller "basically rebuilt everything and extrapolated on it."

 

Concrete floors, solar panels, an organic roof garden and foundations are all new, and home automation has been added. The kitchen and bathrooms have also been updated.

 

A removable wall in the main house separates the two bedrooms for added privacy.

 

An art studio is in a separate structure with easy street access and can also be used as a gym or office. There is also a guesthouse above the garage.

 

Details include built-in oak cabinetry, interior and exterior concrete walls, and radiant heated floors.

 

The property has mature gardens, a sky deck, and a two-car garage.

 

The history of the home's three owners is rare, but not unusual for Santa Monica Canyon.

 

"Typically," says Langen, "there aren't a lot of transactions for properties like this, or in this area." The area is always attractive to successful artists, creative people, Hollywood people, lots of engineers, professors and academics. All the neighbours know each other."

 

Who will move into the home next?

 

According to Langen, it has the potential to be a range of buyers - single people, empty nesters, young families.

"The quality of this building is very good," he says.

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