Sunday, August 12, 2012

#235: DIY Houses

The Gehry Residence

Hello stranger! I've got a good excuse for the lack of posts in the past few months -- my life has been taken over by a little baby girl! Our girl is 2 months old, and a feisty little creature. This was her first 365 L.A. adventure!

I love it when home owners take creative control over their houses and turn them into something avant garde. This weekend we went on a drive around Santa Monica and checked out two DIY houses in the area. The first is the Frank Gehry Residence which was built in the 70's. Gehry is the architect behind downtown's Disney Concert Hall. His house in Santa Monica is thought to be one of the catalysts of the Deconstructivism movement

Front of the Gehry Residence
Gehry gave the original house a makeover by keeping its exterior intact and building around it, adding chain link, plywood and metal. You can find the house on the corner of 22nd Street and Washington Ave.  It's pretty crazy looking, and supposedly some of the neighbors were not thrilled when they saw the finished product. 

The second house we visited was just a few blocks away. The Farnam Mosaic House is on the corner of 26th Street and California Ave. The owner of this house runs a mosaic business called Custom Mosaic Tile and has decorated the house's exterior, interior and back alley with beautiful mosaic. Thanks to Experiencing L.A. for letting me know about this house!








Want more DIY houses? Other notable homes in L.A. that were designed by their owners include the famous Watts Towers (#75), the Adamson Tile House (#22), and the Eames House (#86). Facebook follower Laura R. also suggested checking out the Garden of Oz in Hollywood. 

Do you know of any other unique houses in L.A.? Leave me a comment below!



6 comments:

  1. I love your site. I used to do a lot of the things you posted, but my life too was taken over by my beautiful baby girl. It would be great if you could include your baby in your trips to show that you can still do fun things as parent.

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  2. Cute! Looks like a paper mosaic. More trips soon!

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  3. i love this blog! so sad i cant subscribe through bloglovin darns

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  4. Thanks Julien! I think you can? I just googled it, and came up with this link to subscribe:

    http://www.bloglovin.com/es/blog/1374904/365-la

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  5. You guys have such a great blog - and nice pics of the mosaic house in Santa Monica. Appreciate the mention of Experiencing L.A. as well. Best - David www.ExperiencingLA.com

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