Tudor Cottage Has a Colorful Past

This 1928 Tudor-style cottage was used by actress Joan Blondell as a personal dressing room, according to local lore. It is even more fanciful since Los Angeles architectural designer Mark Dodge and his partner, Howard Baker, turned it into their L.A. home five years ago. Baker won three Emmy Awards as director of “Rugrats.”

The home, in a hillside neighborhood of Silver Lake, is on a cul-de-sac with several other cottages constructed by early Hollywood set builders and artisans. The house stands out partly because of Dodge’s whimsical use of color but also because of his addition of a garden with three exterior “rooms.” The Country English city garden has a brick courtyard, a gravel garden includes a reflecting pond and a grassy lawn is bordered by a low masonry wall.

About this home: Dodge also turned the upstairs of the house, formerly the attic, into a salon with views of the garden and hillside. The salon has a raised sleeping platform, a dressing room and a full bath with a laundry.

Asking price: $629,000

Size: The 1,812-square-foot house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms plus a studio with a separate entrance and a full bathroom. The lot size is 4,340 square feet.

Features: The home has hardwood floors, period tile, an Old World-style library, French doors that open to the hillside and garden, and a turret.

Where: Silver Lake

Contact: Ken Molina, Prudential California, John Aaroe Division, Pacific Design Center, (310) 967-0594.