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Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants
A greenhouse at Cal State Fullerton is home to thousands of hungry, exotic plants.
A killer Coldwater Canyon guest house: It's anything but square
The playful, cube-shaped structure by Aleks Istanbullu Architects pleases the eye, from the graphic green siding wrapping the exterior to the calming quarters inside.
Tweaked: 3 different looks for an IKEA bookshelf
An occasional feature in which Southern California designers create a custom look using only inexpensive, mass-market components.
In Encino, a 1958 Edward Fickett post-and-beam is reborn as a modern classic
Fifty years after it premiered as the house of The Times, this valley retreat gets a period-flavored remodel by owners Warner Walcott and Jonn Coolidge.
Rimrock Ranch, urban industrial meets desert cool
Reader favorite: Outside Pioneertown, architect Lloyd Russell constructs a giant steel canopy for something that's part home, part rental and part performance venue. His client: Jim Austin, a musician and surf wear entrepreneur who sought modern architecture infused with desert spirit.
Spanish Colonial in La Cañada Flintridge
Husband-and-wife architects Michael Burch and Diane Wilk preserve Everett Babcocks original 1925 architecture while infusing the property with their own artistry. The result blends the new with the old.
Picnic place settings and equipment with a few twists
Looking to set the picnic table with something a little more interesting than the old paper plates?
Cute houses that don't cost a fortune — in L.A.?
The Maltman Bungalows in Silver Lake represent that rare Southern California combination: small houses, good location, not-so-outrageous prices. Take a peek at this development and other attempts to achieve similar success.
A smart family home on so many levels
Please don't call it split-level. It's a split plane house. Architect Jesse Bornstein modifies a classic idea for a modern age, crafting a home that feels spacious and open yet intimate -- a private refuge graced with functional beauty.
New looks in wicker, rattan and other woven furniture
Wicker freshens up with modern silhouettes. Wovens such as abaca bark and sea grass are also being used in home furnishings.
A friendlier footprint: Green on 19 townhouses in Santa Monica
Architect Jesse Bornstein goes beyond the eco-hype at this project, designed to maximize natural light and make good use of sustainable materials. Solar panels? Of course.
Skyfarm: A Lincoln Heights' family brings country living to the city
Ilse Ackerman and Meeno Peluce bring the natural world to their children. Chicken coop, veggie garden, bee boxes -- they're all here, just outside downtown L.A.
In L.A., the house that Google SketchUp built
Janna Levensteins 1950s home was a maze of small, dark rooms. With the help of a UCLA architecture student and Googles free software, she turned the space into a bright, sleek, indoor-outdoor living space where every room opens onto nature.
Raising the roof in Westwood: A failed remodel gets a much-needed rescue
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.
A careful update of a 1960s Tarzana architectural gem
Architects Alice Fung and Michael Blatt help homeowners make the most of a 1963 Gregory Ain design. Modernist box? Try hexagon.
Rewriting a home's history in Pasadena
Rather than try to make their home look more contemporary, Andrea and Sean Moriarty have taken their Spanish Revival further back in time, lending a sense of the past that goes beyond the structures actual years. Here, Andrea Moriarty looks on as mural installer Michael Baughman, far left, and painter Dan Gallagher prepare a 300-square-foot artwork for its eventual place in the homes library.
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Barbara Bestor: A modern ode to a famous neighbor
Architect Barbara Bestor builds a cool, clever house in Los Feliz with a nod to the landmark across the street: Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House.
John Lautners Harpel house, restored in fine style
The midcentury architect's house in the Hollywood Hills had been written off by preservationists after one resident added a second story and other features ill-suited for the 1956 design. But after two years of renovation, current owner Mark Haddawy has revived Lautner's original vision.
Kimba Hills: The art of the party in Santa Monica
With Southern hospitality and an artist's eye, this gracious hosts sets the scene for an entertaining evening of good cheer, alfresco. And the house? You couldn't ask for a better setting.
Charles Arnoldi's Malibu beach house, the ultimate artist's canvas
Spare and simple is the rule in the oceanfront home of Arnoldi and his wife, Katie, a novelist. He designed the house as well as most of its furniture. When they wanted to remake the backyard, no worries: Just drive that bulldozer through the living room.
Sycamore House: eco-friendly and fire-resistant
In a fire-prone canyon of the Angeles National Forest, architect Russell K. Johnson creates a house that he says will last for generations.
Storybook escape in Mount Washington
Drawn by the 2-acre landscape, Katrina Rivers bought the nondescript house and made it into an offbeat, bohemian, only-in-L.A. retreat.
Farmhouse modern in Studio City
When Vanessa Choy and Andrew Wong closed their architecture practice in Hong Kong and moved to Los Angeles, they bought a Studio City lot and made plans for a traditional house with a progressive spin. The result is a pleasing mix of country and city, rustic and industrial, casual and refined.
A Moroccan-flavored remodel in Silver Lake
Designers Karen and Guy Vidal turned a dreary Spanish-style four-plex into a color-splashed bachelor's pad.
Palm Springs classic revived for a new generation
William Krisel, 83, never won as much acclaim as Richard Neutra, Albert Frey or others who defined mid-century modernism in Palm Springs. But it was Krisel who helped to bring a modern sensibility to the middle class. Now, decades later, his plans are being built once again.
A 21st century ranch house in Ventura County
Though some may see Steven Sharpe's house as urban in nature, architect Zoltan Pali says the structure fundamentally is a country house responding to its setting. Rural has always been associated with simplicity, sparseness and function, Pali says. That is this house."
Citizens of Humanity's Santa Monica home base
Jerome Dahan, founder of Citizens of Humanity, shares a 1927 Santa Monica house with Lela Tillem, Citizens head of sales. The Paris-born Dahan and Tillem have infused the home with vintage French style mixed with kicked-back Californian charm.
Cool cabin, dude. A snowboarder's modern design near Mammoth
Architect Dan Gallagher's design for his brother, Tim, stands like a series of stacked boxes sheathed in glass, cement board and corrugated metal. It's an homage to the craggy peaks of Mammoth and a departure from the traditional wood cabins in these mountains.
Channeling Kelly Wearstler in Eagle Rock
Who says Regency is over? Morgan Lawley lays out her vision of Hollywood glamor in the most unlikely place: a Craftsman-esque fixer in northeast L.A.
Jerrold E. Lomax landmark in Glendale
The home of Aida and Vahe Yeghiazarian looks like a concrete fortress from the front: blank, angular and windowless. But the design by Jerrold E. Lomax opens up dramatically in back, with banks of glass looking out to amazing views.
In his sphere
Peter Shire designed and installed the patterned linoleum tile floor of the kitchen of his Echo Park home using only squares. Cutting curves is a suckers game, he says. A table of his design is flanked by two versions of his Oh My Cats chair made of enameled steel.
Venice house gets bigger but stays bohemian
The architectural team of Ali Jeevanjee, Steffen Leisner and Phillip Trigas added living space to a 970-foot bungalow while respecting the scale of other buildings in the neighborhood. The modern, minimalist design works with the homeowners love of the unconventional. Case in point: that bathtub on...
Bryan Fuller: At home with the creator of 'Pushing Daisies'
With the help of designer Betsy Burnham, Bryan Fuller reins in his love of horror-flick kitsch while re-imagining his Silver Lake house. Sci-fi toys are joined by beautiful fabrics, interesting furniture and more grown-up accessories.
A Hollywood Hills salon reborn
A 2003 Home article followed art gallery owner Laurie Frank as she hosted one of her renowned dinner parties at her Whitley Heights home. Sixteen months later, an electrical fire nearly destroyed the house. Take a peek into the rebuilt residence, filled with handcrafted artistry.
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