A tribute to Joseph Eichler

Brad Laner grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, back when his neighborhood was called Sepulveda, not North Hills. The musician, formerly leader of the shoegaze band Medicine and now a solo artist, stayed true to his roots and in 2004 moved to Granada Hills with his wife and son, now 5. Legendary developer Joseph Eichler built their six-bedroom home here in 1964; after Laner’s restoration, it stands as a tribute to Eichler’s Modernist vision.

Laner embarked on mostly cosmetic renovations with the aim of re-creating the original look of the house, designed by Claude Oakland, a star in Eichler’s stable of architects. Laner ripped out the carpeting, refinished wood paneling and repainted according to Eichler’s color philosophy.

“I’m not one for nostalgia and I don’t like kitsch,” Laner says, “but I just think certain things look good in a certain way.”