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by TPA Architecture, Inc.
The clients had looked at a larger home in the Hollywood Hills but fell for Venice's funky style. Their children no longer live at home, and they liked the more manageable size of this house.

One-story bungalows in a range of styles make up most of this eclectic beachside neighborhood. Though the remodel has a modern design, Petersen made sure the home's scale would blend in with that of the surrounding homes. A two-story plan was considered but deemed not right for the site.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.
One of the clients creates metal sculptures and wanted to combine his love of midcentury design with elements of his sculpture work. Rusted Cor-Ten metal on the exterior was up to the task.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.
Each room embraces the site's abundance of light with large windows and doors.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.
The two bedrooms have large sliding panels. The owners keeps the door tucked in the pockets to make the house feel more open.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.  
A simple, modern living room arrangement maintains the home's open feel and midcentury modern sensibility.

Sofa, chair, table: Gus Modern; hide rug: Pure Rug; window door systems: Jeld-Wen
by TPA Architecture, Inc.  
Steel sheets with a custom patina connect the interior to the Cor-Ten steel outside. The contrast between white and warm materials continues through the whitewashed oak flooring and warm stranded bamboo cabinets in the kitchen.

Patina: custom, Sculpt Nouveau
by TPA Architecture, Inc.  
Originally this open living space had low ceilings and separate rooms for the kitchen, living room and dining room. Like many older bungalows, the living room faced the street. Petersen flipped the layout; now the living and dining rooms face the backyard and the kitchen faces the street.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.  
The beautiful kitchen has the high-end feel the clients wanted with a modest price tag. Caesarstone counters were used instead of granite or marble, and stainless steel KitchenAid appliances stand in for luxury Sub-Zero or Wolf choices.

Cabinets: chestnut-stranded bamboo, Teragren; light: Random Light, Design Within Reach
by TPA Architecture, Inc.  
Beautiful Daltile products in the bathrooms achieve a similar look to pricier alternatives. Frosted glass provides privacy and light.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.
Petersen converted the original one-car garage into a welding studio for the client's sculpture work, so he had to figure out how to fit two cars into the back alley. A custom telescoping rusted steel gate allows two cars to park parallel; a wall of bamboo shields them from the home's view.
by TPA Architecture, Inc.
The front yard now serves as an additional outdoor room, with a square fire pit and a sculpture garden.

General contractor: Ed Blanco, Blanco Construction
by TPA Architecture, Inc.

Comments

midmodfan I could move right in without changing anything - and that is extremely rare. Love love love this home! Thanks for sharing.
6 months ago · ·
Solena Landscape Amazing transformation...great job! The right 'architectural' plantings would really make the new theme cohesive.
6 months ago ·
Lucianna Samu - Color and Design Very striking makeover. I just kind of wonder what the neighbors think!
6 months ago · ·
lovesmesomepitbulls Stunning! So nice to see exceptional reasonably-sized and -priced remodels. The landscaping is as wonderful as the interior. Lucky owners!
6 months ago · ·
juliebl11 I love it too! is that bamboo to shield the windows from the neighbors?
6 months ago ·
Ieteke Ruypers Volpini Very impressive... simple, stylish, and practical!
6 months ago ·
olldbobbi I love the amazing amount of light they get!
6 months ago ·
poeticmoma LOve the design, but the bamboo is a disaster waiting to happen. I don't care how non-invasive the grower says it is, you will regret planting it. The roots will disturb the driveway and the patio. Removal is extremely difficult and often incomplete. Don't be tempted readers, you will regret it.
6 months ago · ·
K.O.H. Construction Corporation Great transformation. The architect, builder and home owner should all be proud. One question, I welded before and the black dust was everywhere. How do you keep is so clean?
6 months ago ·
Rebecca@MidCenturyModernRemodel Fabulous. I like this change from the usual California bungalow you see in Venice. Great little house. The kitchen is refreshing too. Enough with the Viking subzero.
6 months ago · ·
kezzakanga Truly stunning and a reminder of how rewarding it is to have good architects guide us. Thank you for sharing.
6 months ago ·
Dolores Stewart Great ideas for changing an average bungalow from old to ultra modern. Love it!
6 months ago ·
cvsharkey I'm sorry; to each his own. The only original thing about this "remodel" is that they used te orginal footprint, then added 500 sqft. It does not blend in with the neighborhood and it's not especially beautiful from the front. No curb appeal and I can not imagine that the exterior look will improve with age, just become dated. That said, looks great from the inside.
6 months ago · ·
Todd Armstrong I love everything about this house. Can you tell us the final cost of the entire project? Would be cool to know what the demo and re-build cost.
6 months ago · ·
patricia beharry I think it blends into the neighbourhood because of scale. A two story would not have blended in. Love the house....... Also love the kitchen because it feels like a normal kitchen; not one of those massive ones where you need roller skates to get from one appliance to the next......Great House.
6 months ago · ·
kimdem It's a beautiful redo, but I think it detracts from the charm of the beach cottage neighborhood.
6 months ago · ·
mtmslg Floorplans would have been helpful.
6 months ago ·
wrcovington This seems more of a re-build than a remodel.
6 months ago · ·
patovo This is a seriously cool house. Amazing make-over.
6 months ago ·
maydaysol Wow! I've lived in Venice for 20 years and I didn't think such a unique transition could occur. Did the house get stripped down to the studs and basically rebuilt from scratch? Would love to know what the cost for such a drastic remodel was. Really love the design.
6 months ago · ·
elizabethduffield I love the bathroom sinks. Where did they get them?
6 months ago ·
koido86 Very refreshing both inside , outside and seems to fit into Venice . A place I can see myself living in .Just curious about how title 24 is achieved. A floor plan to accompany the pictures would help as well . Prepare to embrace disaster once the bamboo takes root ...yes , the neighbors will suffer on windy day( unless the owner planted them in container to keep it from spreading ) . Obviously, owner,architect and builder came together . Great job !
6 months ago · ·
Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Great remodel! Simple, clean lines, without being boring. My only complaint is the cute little fireplace, forlorn and forgotten down on the floor. Love the use of steel.
6 months ago ·
jojosail2 No longer fits with the neighborhood.
6 months ago · ·
kdudow A floorplan and more photos of this home can be found here:
6 months ago · ·
2B Design "curb appeal" like "good taste" is not universal.
Judging from the comments, most believe it has great curb appeal. I would say stunning or striking. I'm quite sure the home owners didn't hire an architect, spend a year remodeling and spend half their life savings in order to "fit in" with the surrounding century old homes. TP is obviously a very skilled Architect who serves his clients well by creating solutions to living in a modern world.
Thanks to him and many other skilled architects, Venice has the highest concentration of great modern residential architecture in the world.
Congratulations to the great clients who had the desire, vision and trust to break with tired old convention. They will be rewarded with decades of warm light filled mornings and the peace that comes form living in a thoughtful uncluttered plan.
6 months ago · ·
cdmgirl Have any of you who are saying it doesn't fit with the neighborhood ever actually been to Venice? It's extremely eclectic and this isn't the first modern house by a long shot! Did you see the "before" pic? Pink stucco with a Mediterranean tile roof? Was that better? One of the refreshing things about Venice that it isn't cookie cutter and each place has it's own style, charm, and personality.
6 months ago · ·
lovesmesomepitbulls Personally, I think that meticulous attention was given to making the house "fit in" to the neighborhood. As mentioned in the article, they kept the scale of the house consistent with the other houses. If you look carefully at the second picture, which has the Before picture, there is some sort of rectangular, modern-looking building in the background nearby. (There appears to be a rectangular, flat-roofed building outside the window in the 5th pictures as well, though one can only see a sliver.) And, importantly, the exterior colors used - the white and dark brown - fit extremely well with the house next door. In the final picture, those two houses look like cousins, not because of their styles, but because of their similar colors and scale. I'm trying not to let my love of this house sway my opinion here, but I don't feel at all jolted when I see that last picture with the two neighboring houses together. I think the detractors here have perhaps been a bit hasty in their judgments, especially given that we can only see a tiny, tiny bit of the rest of the neighborhood.
6 months ago · ·
Erin Michelle Wow - this renovation is gorgeous and I love all the natural light. When I'm ready to buy/build/renovate a home here in Los Angeles I will be callingTim!!
6 months ago · ·
Harcourts Manukau Thanks for the sharing the link to extra photos. I see that it was a rebuild and not surprising given the complete change of style. Initially I was wondering what was original?
I think you have a done a wonderful job of utilizing the land area and creating spacious indoor spaces that flow, are light and airy.
It looks like a fun house to live in.
6 months ago ·
metalsculptor I am the owner and would like to thank you all for your comments below. It's gratifying to hear other people enjoy your efforts. The home is a joy to live in and feels twice its size due to the open spaces and high ceilings (the living/dining/kitchen ceiling is almost 16 ft. high). Those of you that felt the house was more a new construction than a remodel are correct. With the exception of a few studs in one exterior wall and some of the foundation and floor joists, it is essentially a new house. The remodel classification allowed us to retain more favorable setback and side boundry lines and allowed us to keep and remodel a 1 car garage. Those of you that felt the bamboo would be a problem are mistaken. The bamboo now has 3 years years of growth as compared to some of the photos used in the article. The bamboo provides great privacy on all sides and does not encroach. There are over 100 varieties of bamboo of which we used 3 types, Buddha's Belly, Punting Pole and Mexican Weeping. All are clumping, not running varieties which means new shoots are next to the existing plants, not 20 feet away. They do tend to drop a lot of leaves which is the only downside we've seen. Finally, for those of you that felt the house was out of character for the Venice area, you must not have been to Venice. It is a cauldron of archetecture with many many very modern homes mixed with spanish and craftsman cottages. Frank Gehry among others has built many houses down here. To most Venetians the effect is refreshing. This is an artistic and avant garde area, not Peyton Place............Thanks again!
6 months ago · ·
K.O.H. Construction Corporation metalsculptor, Thanks for the input on the bamboo and other specifics of the home. I primarily build Craftsman style homes. My daughter and I have been contemplating a modern style for her and husband. Your home is an inspiration for the both of us. Thanks for sharing.
6 months ago · ·
ds4u Wow how wonderful is this structure,simple light and functional.
6 months ago · ·
Aloha Aina Designs Love seeing design elements that are normally used on an opulent scale applied to a small neighborhood home! Really great job.
6 months ago · ·
Meena Like lots. Simple and private.
6 months ago ·
lc29 What is going to happen to Venice when all the cottages are torn down to construct modern boxes? I plan on making my Venice house look older than it's actual age, I like the feeling of the history of other families enjoying the space I live in. I find it depressing that so many of the old homes are disappearing.
6 months ago · ·
olldroo lc29 - I, too, think it is sad to see old homes demolished anywhere, it is history lost. Sadly, unless those homes have been meticulously maintained they can reach the point where they are impossible or financially impractical to repair and maintain. In many cases also old homes have often not been built to efficiently address the local climate adding to the running costs of the home. Modern building styles and cost cutting building methods will also mean today's homes generally will not last like the old ones' have, in fact new homes in my area are only expected to last around 50 years so we are not building any history for the future either.
6 months ago · ·
kafehausdiva Brilliant design.
6 months ago ·
cherylct what a wonderful remodel of a tired home...I see so many "ranch" style homes in the Houston area, which could do with a revamp like this one. I do hate the cookie-cutter all the same homes in the neighborhoods in Houston & Katy...so boring! This home is just lovely, tastefully done & doesn't look out of place. Well done!!
6 months ago ·
jonmaltby Really nice transformation. I love the compact bathtub, what brand is it?
6 months ago ·
izzymandias It's nice to see more modestly-sized homes here. It seems most of what we get are either super-big, or super-small. Ideas from this could actually go into my 960-sqft home.
6 months ago · ·
metalsculptor The tub is made by Americh and is a 4 ft deep soaking tub with jaccuzi and bubblers, we use it frequently. That bath also has a 4x 10 ft glassed in dual shower with large skylight in it. The living room has a 30 ft electric skylight and the master walk in closest has a large skylight also.
6 months ago ·
kdudow Metalsculptor, thank you for sharing your beautifully designed home. I would love to see more photos of the bathroom if possible.
6 months ago ·
metalsculptor I' m back east this week but I'll post more fotos next week.
6 months ago · ·
beverman I love this house. Love the placement of the bamboo and the high windows to let in light. I've beenin this house and the bath has a great huge shower that is not shown and I thinl another bath by front door. Was the cost prohibitive to raise the ceiling height and add a new roof???
6 months ago ·
middleofnowhere Poeticmama: bamboo is not as hard to control as you think. Vigilance and care, especially during the shooting season, can keep bamboo in check. As a landscape designer, I would never plant it unless the homeowner had a thorough understanding of the maintenance requirements.
6 months ago ·
Solena Landscape agreed...alot of people are scared of bamboo, but with an education (and the right maintenance) it fits this theme perfectly and can be the right buffer from the neighbor.
6 months ago ·
mimsy26 Metalsculptor, I was in your home on a Venice Home/Garden tour a couple of years ago and I don't think the great photos do it justice! Your home, clearly the highlight of the tour, fits in the eclectic Venice neighborhood beautifully. It is filled with light; the materials & fittings work beautifully. I am sure you are truly enjoying the fruits of your labors. You chose a superb architect to help realize your vision. In fact, seeing your home validated our choice to work with TPA ourselves. We're still a work in progress but I look forward to having a home as lovely as yours!
6 months ago ·
hoffmannrochelle Lovely and modern with an outdoorsy look.
5 months ago ·
RS FAUST, ARCHITECT Nice job! Would have been nicer if it is not in the ------neighborhood.
2 months ago ·
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