A Midcentury Home Renovation Celebrates its Striking, Open-Truss Ceiling
Designed by a little-known architect in 1949, the now streamlined home honors its original bones.
Designed by a little-known architect in 1949, the now streamlined home honors its original bones.
When it comes to midcentury houses in Southern California, there’s not much that Valerie Levitt Halsey and Brett Halsey haven’t seen. The pair, who run a Los Angeles–based design firm (Levitt Halsey is also a real estate agent), were confident that they knew most of the notable examples. So they were intrigued when John Bhasme and Reshma Shamasunder, who’d come to an open house for a post-and-beam the two had helped remodel in suburban L.A., mentioned that they owned a similar home nearby.
Designers Valerie Levitt Halsey and Brett Halsey brought cohesion to a 1949 house in suburban Los Angeles that had been expanded in the early 1960s by its original designer, Donald E. Pedersen. The slanted windows at the front "provide the first hint that there’s something interesting inside," says Halsey. The banded outdoor sconces are by Sonneman.
Photo by Brad Torchia
The designers removed extraneous elements added by others in the ’70s so that Pedersen’s striking exposed trusses could once again take center stage. They also relocated a vintage Aztec fireplace by Majestic from the den to the step-down family room and fitted it with chimney extensions from Malm Fireplaces. The Tribeca pendant lights are also by Sonneman, while the vintage credenza is from Sunset Bazaar and the television by Samsung.
Photo by Brad Torchia
John and Reshma invited the designers to visit the house, which sits on a quiet residential street. Even today, it doesn’t call attention to itself, save for the sharply angled windows on the front facade. But as Halsey and Levitt Halsey stepped into the low-ceilinged entry and around a corner, their jaws dropped. The rear of the home is supported by a soaring open-web truss structure with 13-foot walls of glass that frame views of the Verdugo Mountains. "Valerie and I kept saying, ‘This is by someone,’ " says Halsey. But unearthing that someone’s identity took a bit of legwork.
Homeowner Reshma Shamasunder sits in the remodeled family room with her daughter. A vintage Victor Wilkins coffee table joins a sofa from Article and a rug purchased in Delhi by Shamasunder’s parents.
Photo by Brad Torchia
See the full story on Dwell.com: A Midcentury Home Renovation Celebrates Its Striking, Open-Truss Ceiling
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