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The home that Japanese American artist and Los Angeles landscaper Benji Okubo built on the top of Mt. Washington in 1953 continues to reflect his vision 33 years after his death.
FOR THE RECORD:
Zen-inspired residence: The Home of the Week feature in Business on Sunday said the Mount Washington property's artist studio was 32 feet by 76 feet. The correct dimensions are 10 feet by 18 feet. —
Since buying the property four years ago from Chisato Okubo (Benji's widow, who is still living), Walter and Deanna Zivalic have invested countless hours and estimate that they have spent about $150,000 re-creating his Zen-inspired retreat.
The Zivalics remodeled portions of the small home and enhanced the landscaping, keeping Japanese design details in mind along the way. They added nearly 200 square feet to the back of the house, where the new kitchen flows easily into the great room.
Although the built-in, raised double-door stainless-steel refrigerator-freezer, gas oven and borealis granite counters would usually scream modern, the Zivalics used cherry hardwood flooring, bamboo window trims, grass-cloth wallpaper and persimmon-colored paint to make it all blend rather seamlessly. The layout helped too. You can't even detect the monster refrigerator until you walk into the kitchen and make a U-turn.
The laundry room was turned into a second bathroom, which has a waterfall view as does the master bathroom and the kitchen. Walter Zivalic, a carpenter by trade, created a moon doorway using a neighbor's pool as a form to gradually mold the clear-grain flat redwood into a circular shape. In the living room, he added a window to enhance the effect of the indoor waterfall contrasted with an outdoor one -- a total of eight surround the home. Another rarity: a 9-by-20-foot basement -- perfect for a wine cellar.
Cobblestone pathways lead to several distinctive areas, including Okubo's rockscapes, a patio built above a large waterfall overlooking a canyon, a separate guest room-office, a koi pond with a small bridge, an outdoor daybed that also looks out into the canyon and a twin-skylight, 32-by-76-foot artist studio tucked away at the side of the property.
The home is a short walk from Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters and Elyria Canyon Park on the southwest slopes of Mt. Washington.
real.estate@latimes.com
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Lauren Beale, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
FOR THE RECORD:
Zen-inspired residence: The Home of the Week feature in Business on Sunday said the Mount Washington property's artist studio was 32 feet by 76 feet. The correct dimensions are 10 feet by 18 feet. —
Since buying the property four years ago from Chisato Okubo (Benji's widow, who is still living), Walter and Deanna Zivalic have invested countless hours and estimate that they have spent about $150,000 re-creating his Zen-inspired retreat.
The Zivalics remodeled portions of the small home and enhanced the landscaping, keeping Japanese design details in mind along the way. They added nearly 200 square feet to the back of the house, where the new kitchen flows easily into the great room.
Although the built-in, raised double-door stainless-steel refrigerator-freezer, gas oven and borealis granite counters would usually scream modern, the Zivalics used cherry hardwood flooring, bamboo window trims, grass-cloth wallpaper and persimmon-colored paint to make it all blend rather seamlessly. The layout helped too. You can't even detect the monster refrigerator until you walk into the kitchen and make a U-turn.
The laundry room was turned into a second bathroom, which has a waterfall view as does the master bathroom and the kitchen. Walter Zivalic, a carpenter by trade, created a moon doorway using a neighbor's pool as a form to gradually mold the clear-grain flat redwood into a circular shape. In the living room, he added a window to enhance the effect of the indoor waterfall contrasted with an outdoor one -- a total of eight surround the home. Another rarity: a 9-by-20-foot basement -- perfect for a wine cellar.
Cobblestone pathways lead to several distinctive areas, including Okubo's rockscapes, a patio built above a large waterfall overlooking a canyon, a separate guest room-office, a koi pond with a small bridge, an outdoor daybed that also looks out into the canyon and a twin-skylight, 32-by-76-foot artist studio tucked away at the side of the property.
The home is a short walk from Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters and Elyria Canyon Park on the southwest slopes of Mt. Washington.
real.estate@latimes.com
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Lauren Beale, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
latimes.com /realestate
Home of the Week
Check out more photos of this and previous homes.
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