Indoors or out, high style reigns
Karen Hudson wasn’t even born when her grandfather, Paul R. Williams, designed this Brentwood home in 1946 for an oilman from Kansas. Hudson didn’t have an inkling until the ‘60s, when she was 10, that her grandfather had a special talent for drawing plans for houses and public buildings. It took her a few more years to realize that the gentleman who never raised his voice and always gave her silver dollars when she got A’s was one of L.A.’s premier architects, designing hundreds of the Southland’s elegant homes and landmark buildings, including the theme restaurant at LAX.
Williams, who died at 85 in 1980, designed about 3,000 buildings from the 1920s to the ‘70s. The first black member and fellow of the American Institute of Architects was in demand even in the segregated society of his early career.
Among his clients were some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Lucille Ball. They were drawn to Williams because of his ability to come up with striking home designs in a variety of styles -- Mediterranean, classical, Colonial and Modern. Williams’ talents prompted Hudson, a banking executive, to write the book “Paul R. Williams, Architect: A Legacy of Style” (1993). In the book, Hudson cites examples of Williams’ versatility, designing multicolored-tile bathrooms in some houses and using sheer white columns in others.
About the house: This is a classic Paul Williams traditional, painstakingly restored and remodeled in 2001. Public rooms open to patios and covered porches, and there is traditional detailing, such as crown molding, throughout the home, which is on a site of more than 2 acres. Zoned for horses, the property has stables, access to riding trails, rolling lawns, a pool, an outdoor dining area under an arbor, a tennis court and canyon-to-ocean views.
Asking price: $21 million
Size: There are five bedrooms and nine bathrooms in the home, which includes a 7,500-square-foot main house and a guesthouse.
Features: The home also has a master suite with his-and-hers bathrooms, five fireplaces and a separate office or gym. The grounds are secluded and dotted with mature trees.
Where: Brentwood
Listing agent: David Offer, Prudential California, John Aaroe, (310) 820-9341
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send color interior and exterior photos on a CD with caption information and a description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate section, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012; homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
