Playful and modern residence in Santa Monica

The King Residence is a single family property that defies every notion of the modern contemporary home, located in the Sunset Park section of Santa Monica, California designed by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architect. The home sits on a gentle slope on a wedge-shaped corner lot with a long side bordering a moderately busy street and a short side on a quite side street. The obvious choice would have been to orient the home to face the side street and to enclose the backyard with a tall fence. The architects proposed to orient the L-shaped 4,300 square foot (316 square meters) home to face the busier street, with the glass fronted living area and upstairs bedrooms overlooking directly onto a busy neighborhood intersection.

The home’s exterior is visually distinctive, intended to evoke light glistening off the ocean waves. With a fresh and lively approach, dappled in a chartreuse-and-white pattern, the painted siding is accented with vertical ipe screening, and a square reflecting pool is set flush into the concrete patio. The house easily transitions from indoors to out through a series of patios and a spacious terrace. The home is cooled by cross ventilation from the natural ocean breezes. The interiors feature natural materials, with an open floor plan connecting the living room with the kitchen. The living room wall features a two-sided divider with built-in cabinetry which separates the space from the office; a sliding panel can be drawn across for added privacy. Windows, glass walls and skylights are at every turn, bringing in plenty of natural light and fabulous views.

Visit the website of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architect here.