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Cummings Estate

The oldest estate in east Los Angeles was crumbling– a Grey Gardens mansion that wreaked of granny and disrepair. Relevance was achieved by painstakingly lightening yellowed paneling, restamping plaster moldings to reveal new openings, restoring the original window configuration to the front of house, and intervening dramatically with additions that test the limits of materials science to the back of house. The four story stair is an aria, and the diva a floating, muraled coiling case that reveals a reinvented sky level studio which floods all stories with sunlight from a dramatic picture dormer.

The result: an estate that intimidates and tickles at the same time.

location

Los Angeles, CA

type

Residential

chet team
  • interior design
    Ghislaine Vinas
  • landscape designer
    Elysian Landscapes
  • general contractor
    Mark Drexler + Assoc.
  • structural engineer
    TY Engineering
  • photography
    Minh Tran, Garrett Rowland, Trevor Tondro
work