Most viewed home galleries of 2011
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L.A. at Home’s list of the most viewed home photo galleries of 2011 is an interesting mix: a 495-square-foot house in Echo Park and a 670-square-foot condo in Montecito. The Venice retreat of former Telemundo President Nely Galán, the new Santa Monica digs for TV journalist Lisa Ling and the Carpinteria beach house remodel of TV and film veterans Amy Lippman and Rodman Flender. Designs by icons Frank Lloyd Wright, Ray Kappe, Rudolph Schindler and Charles and Ray Eames.
We usually profile at least one Southern California home or garden every week, and by year’s end the numbers inevitably provide some surprises. Because our profiles draw readers for months, often years, we’ve organized the list by season, so homes that have been collecting clicks since the beginning of the year don’t have an unfair advantage over those featured at the end. All of our most recent home and garden galleries are archived on our home tours page or in our Landmark Houses series.
Without further ado, our year-end list of most viewed home photo galleries ...
FOR JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH
1. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House.When Wright completed the Ennis House in 1924, he immediately considered it his favorite. The last and largest of the four concrete-block houses that the architect built in the Los Angeles area remains arguably the best residential example of Mayan Revival in the country. Photo gallery.
2. Ray Kappe’s Rustic Canyon residence.Of more than 100 houses that Ray Kappe has designed over his long and distinguished career, the one he designed for himself and his family in Los Angeles’ Rustic Canyon is the most important. ‘Maybe the greatest house in Southern California,’ said Stephen Kanner, former president of American Institute of Architects’ Los Angeles chapter. Photo gallery and 360-degree interactive panoramas.
3. DIY Craftsman. For Don and Natalie Kick of Granada Hills, the challenge wasn’t just to construct their own 2,800-square-foot home. It was to build the house while home-schooling their two daughters, expecting daughter No. 3 and running a business from home. Photo gallery.
FOR APRIL / MAY / JUNE
1. Randy Franks’ small wonder. It’s elegant living in 670 square feet. Franks called on his experience restoring a clipper ship for financier E.F. Hutton. ‘Living in a tiny space is a lot like living on a yacht: Every square inch is important.’ Photo gallery.
2. Nely Galán’s splash on the Venice canals.It’s a fitting house for Galán, former president of entertainment for Telemundo and executive producer of the Fox reality show ‘The Swan,’ which gave women extreme makeovers. Her house’s makeover called for eight coats of paint to achieve its radiance. Photo gallery.
3. Cubist flight in steel.In the Santa Monica house that Victoria Casasco designed for cinematographer Giorgio Scali, the biggest design move is the master bedroom suite, which hovers 13.5 feet above an outdoor living room. Perched on cantilevered steel beams, the bedroom seems to float in the air. Photo gallery.
FOR JULY / AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER
1. Modern beach house remodel.Working with Los Angeles architect Rachel Allen, homeowners Amy Lippman and Rodman Flender remodeled a Carpinteria beach house in two phases over four years. The result: A Hollywood couple’s escape from L.A. Photo gallery.
2. Kristan Cunningham Los Feliz house. The TV design personality offers a lesson in how contemporary tastes can live within period architecture -- and how mix-and-match design can look more luxurious than it actually costs. Photo gallery and follow-up blog post.
3. Eames House.Charles and Ray Eames’ historic residence in Pacific Palisades stands as an epitome of Midcentury California design, an expression of modernity and optimism that many still emulate today. Photo gallery, article on preservation efforts and time-lapse video of living room being moved for exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
FOR OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER
1. Modern living in 495 square feet. Designer Louis Molina of Good Idea Studio calls it ‘the smallest new house in Echo Park,’ an L.A. house that uses its small footprint for maximum effect. Photo gallery.
2. Side-by-side Schindlers.On a quiet street in Inglewood, twin 1940 homes by midcentury legend Rudolph M. Schindler have been renovated by owners intent on respecting the historic architecture while updating the spaces for modern times. Photo gallery.
3. Lisa Ling’s modern roots.When television journalist Lisa Ling and radiation oncologist Paul Song settled in Santa Monica, they turned to Marco DiMaccio of Punchouse Ecodesign Group for help creating a home that expresses their passion for modern architecture and serves as a prism for their Chinese and Korean roots. Photo gallery.
ALSO:
Landmark Houses: The Times series
Home tours: California design in pictures
Pro Portfolio: New projects, in designers’ own words
-- Compiled by Craig Nakano
Photo at top of post: Cinematographer Giorgio Scali stands in front his house, designed by Victoria Casasco. Credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times