Pro Portfolio: Traditional Burbank home gets a hip, modern makeover

Each Monday, we post a new home whose design is described in the architect's or designer's own words. This week:

Building and landscape design:  ras-a, Redondo Beach

Construction: Libiano Construction, Redondo Beach 

Landscape installation: 1 Sunny Landscape, (818) 266-5724  

Project location: Burbank

Project goal: The client contacted me asking, "Can you make this house 'my home' on an Ikea budget?" The house in question was a two-bedroom, one-bath home originally built in 1939 with a small guest house and detached garage constructed a few years later.                 

Designer's description: The cost-conscious solution was to give the modest home a modern, eco-friendly makeover without building additional square footage. The new design removes the majority of interior walls, and that creates an open living-kitchen-dining area that spills out to a large covered patio in the backyard. At the rear of the property, the guest house-turned-yoga studio, along with the detached garage, frame a courtyard with the main house. This courtyard acts as an outdoor living space, makes the modest-sized house feel a lot larger and takes advantage of the Southern California climate.

Lawn was replaced with xeriscape in the front and courtyard areas.  LED and compact-fluorescent lighting was used throughout along with Energy Star appliances and on-demand water heaters. The building envelope was retrofitted with insulation, and the windows were replaced with energy-efficient glass that meets strict California energy codes.

At right, the house as it looked before the remodel. Keep reading for more details and project photos ...

An open skylight was framed into the revised roofline, letting in daylight for a future cordyline garden to be planted off the front patio. Turf grid pavers filled with gravel replaced the old concrete driveway. This allows rainwater to percolate into the ground instead of washing driveway pollutants into the storm drains and ultimately the ocean.

In the courtyard, a gravel patio and low-water planting replaced lawn.

 

The original guest house already had some interesting architectural qualities. One of the few modifications to its exterior was to trim off the bottom ends of the "dog ear" siding, visible in the "before" photo above the window.

 

In the kitchen, a Blu Dot dining table serves double duty as an island. To achieve the look of high-end custom cabinetry, custom end panels were created for Ikea cabinets. The money saved by using Ikea cabinets allowed the client to afford more pricey fixtures and appliances as well as Caesarstone countertops.  

 

Recessed, operable skylights flood the house with diffused natural light while letting warmer air rise and escape to the outside.

 

A 12-foot-long LaCantina bi-folding door opens up the house to the outdoor living space.The pebble flooring, by Stone Creations in Ontario, is composed of small pebbles mixed with a resin and then spread over the subfloor like a giant Rice Krispies treat.

 

A bathroom was added just off of the kitchen, where a pantry and the old hot water tank were.

 

 

A built-in wardrobe cabinet replaces a typical closet in the small master bedroom.  

 

A clerestory window above the vanity allows daylight from the adjacent bedroom to flow into the master bathroom, giving it a more open feel.  

 

The remodeled house at dusk.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Roel Kuiper

CORRECTED: An earlier version of this post called ras-a an architecture firm. It is a building design studio.

MORE SMALL SPACES:

Venice cottage gets a modern addition

Another cottage update

Recycled, salvaged and repurposed with style

In the hills of Malibu, built to fend off fire

Mom, Dad and baby in 380 square feet

Neutra in 900 square feet

Comments

[matthew]

Nice!

[JSwaggart]

Great job...!

[cshargeit]

looks like the movie, "spun". the original black and white photo was, house of the holy.

[Paul Roberson]

i likey!!

[JD]

What did it cost to transform this house? Great ideas!

[John Florance]

My new favorite house of all time.

[Gavin Dossier]

Looks like a difficult place to live in. Nice for display, just like a restored classic for car shows.

[DG3]

That is quite nice.

[woodlandhills]

The whole thing is horrible. just wait until the "gravel patio" starts to grow weeds. Could this thing be more sterile? It's like living in an emergency room. Wow.

[jojo]

Sweet, great remodel. Thanks for sharing.

[JoanLonon]

There is no sense of cozy-ness, or comfort or 'home-like'.....skylights generate a lot of light year round . The furniture matches the design of the place......I would not want to sit and read the paper and have coffee in that kitchen, nor bathe in that 'open' bathroom! Nor go barefoot outdoors or in the house on those rocks! Form requires functionality.......is there a problem in being too white (or colorless)......I guess a good pair of sunglasses would be a necessary accessory when in the house. Are there lamps to read by or create atmosphere ....the spot lights in the ceiling just don't work in a home.

[Mel]

@woodlandhills I would love to live in any emergency room that looks like this.

I'm kind of in love with those pebble floors. It seems like the perfect solution if you want something hard and durable like concrete, but with more texture and warmth.

[Linda]

gorgeous! bravo. although it seems to be missing solar panels and a water cistern to maximize it's energy and water efficiency. but it's definitely an arquitectural gem.

[solid wood furniture]

This is a very modern and nice makeover! I like the so modern look of the house. The furniture are all so nice, too. Great job.

[mostfortunate]

Love it. Nicely done. This kind of design lends itself well to adding personal touches so it does feel more
home-like yet keeps the modern asthetic. Keep up the good work.

[Emily Green]

Beautiful house, terrible landscape. The Mexican feather grass is highly invasive and should not be promoted, or sold in nurseries. There are many other grasses, ryes and sedges that could have achieved the same look without infesting the entire neighborhood with a noxious weed. For better alternatives, including giant wild rye, deer grass and blue oat grass, follow this link: http://www.cal-ipc.org/landscaping/dpp/plantpage.php?region=socal&type=Ornamental%20grasses

[JP]

Beautiful landscape! So refreshing to see NO LAWN! I was surprised when I read someone's thread about Mexican feather grass being a "noxious weed". While it will reseed within it's own garden, it is not aggressive. I've had it in my own garden for years and it has not been invasive. It will not jump around to the neighbors lawns (although unfortunately). Keep up the great work!

[Mack Green]

I agree, this is good for pictures, but to actually live in would be like living in a sterile hospital. Nothing warm and inviting, very cold and sterile. And uncomfortable! I suppose a person who isn't home very much, with no children, and no visitors to welcome, would get along ok in this house.

[plaster walls]

I was pretty well impressed. You've done not just perfect modification but n excellent design that certainly attract a lot, and I was just indeed. I absolutely admire your sense of design for house remodeling. You've done such great effort.