Dwell Open House 2026: Readers Tour Some of L.A.’s Most Striking Homes
From east to west, the city’s varied landscape inspired these hillside residences that reflect a character all their own.
From east to west, the city’s varied landscape inspired these hillside residences that reflect a character all their own.
Frank Gehry once wrote that Los Angeles offered "a lot of freedom for a creative person to explore ideas, make things." The homes on Dwell’s third annual Open House: Los Angeles tours on October 17 underscored the point that the city continues to serve as fertile ground for new ideas in residential architecture, whether it’s a fantastical reimagining of a home in the hills, a fresh take on Silver Lake’s midcentury legacy, or an architect’s own home for his family.
Dwell Open House: Los Angeles 2026 began at Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood, where ticket holders picked up tote bags with a limited-edition booklet and toured the Hollyhock House before visiting the other three homes.
Photo: Jason LeCras
Hollyhock House
Celebrated as a forerunner of California modernism, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House was a fitting start for the day’s tours. The focal point of the Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood, the 1921 house was designed as the private home of heiress Aline Barnsdall, and it was Wright’s first Los Angeles commission. The city’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hollyhock House continues to flourish as a creative destination with exhibitions by contemporary artists, floral designers and photographers like the late Deborah Turbeville, whose dreamlike images are on display in a former guest bedroom.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed furnishings, rugs, and art-glass windows for the Hollyhock House. Aline Barnsdall, who commissioned the design, donated the house with just under 12 acres to the City of Los Angeles in 1927.
Photo: Maggie Shannon
The flowers that gave the Hollyhock House its name were Barnsdall’s favorites, and visitors can see abstracted versions of the blooms in the home’s furniture, rugs, and windows.
Photo: Maggie Shannon
See the full story on Dwell.com: Dwell Open House 2026: Readers Tour Some of L.A.’s Most Striking Homes
Related stories:
