Raising the roof in Westwood: A failed remodel gets a much-needed rescue
Victoria Gilbert wanted to transform her 1930s Westwood house — a series of cramped, claustrophobic rooms — into a space with a more contemporary look and flow. For help, she turned to Apurva Pande and Chinmaya Misra of the Los Angeles design firm CHA:COL.
One of their biggest suggestions: Peel back the low ceilings and maximize the volume of several rooms. Now, the living room is defined by A-shaped trusses built from vertical-grain Douglas fir. Powder-coated bolts and sheer plates connect the 2-by-10-inch chords and 2-by-4-inch struts.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
Victoria Gilbert wanted to transform her cramped, claustrophobic rooms into a home with a more contemporary look and flow. For help, she turned to Apurva Pande and Chinmaya Misra of the Los Angeles design firm Chacol. Their strategy: Peel back the low ceiling.
By opening up the interior, Gilbert can now walk through the front door and see all the way to her verdant backyard. The heights and widths of the custom bookcases were purposely varied, and the shelves merge with the ceiling trusses.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
Pande and Misra also sought to strengthen the connection to the outside. Here, Pande opens doors that connect the backyard to a patio off the kitchen.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
Pande, left, and Misra sit on a stone bench they created whose horizontal line carries from inside to the outside.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
Advertisement
The house now capitalizes on its connections to three patios. Here, new concrete pads have been poured in rectangular bands to give the private breakfast patio an interesting geometry.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
Gilbert stands in her remodeled den, which opens onto her bedroom and its dramatic exposed beams. The house and its sizable yard give Jasper, her standard poodle, ample space for exploring and relaxing.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
The 1930s bungalow has a distinctly contemporary appearance from the street. The porch overhang has been removed and a bay window has been replaced with rectangular expanses of glass. The front lawn is gone, replaced with smooth, black river rock punctuated by ornamental grasses, sedges, horsetail and ferns.
More...
•
Also in Home & Garden:
•
•
•
•
•
