Gorgeous Mid-Century In Pasadena, $1.375M
Author:Philip FerratoA real estate unicorn, this 1959 Post+Beam has been put on the market by the estate of its original owners in original but beautifully maintained condition. And while no architect has been identified, this house is very much of its time, and in a way that’s rarely seen today.
If we had to make an educated guess, we’d choose Eugene Weston III, a third-generation architect who worked in and around Pasadena and Orange County. Some of Weston’s signature details appear here: the cantilevered hearth and exposed smokestack chimney flue; the very simply detailed kitchen cabinets that form their own partitions and have a peek-a-boo opening to the living area; a cooktop facing a window and the view; the visually featherweight wood window frames containing expanses of glass.
Weston was also once quoted in the LA TImes as saying “…the house is the last of the handcrafted objects” which, considering the explosion of furniture, ceramics and textiles produced in the Post War era (especially in California) seems… shortsighted.
What We Love: The way the architect has floated the roof above the living area with almost no visual means of support; while most of the architecture of the period was photographed in black and white, here the warm wood tones and subtle palette gives a new perspective on the inherent warmth of these Post+Beam structures.
While the house is closed off at the front, it feels very much like a tree house in the back, a sense that’s reinforced by what must have been a very early use of expanded steel mesh railings.
More: Go to the listing for additional images and details. Listed with Candace Gunther, Roland Wilhelm, and Alex Ford at Compass, along with Michael Darling and Sandi Rozman at Deasy Penner Podley.
Open Saturday/Sunday, October 20/21 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm
300 Anita Drive, Pasadena
3-beds, 3.5-baths, 2187 square feet
$1,375,000
Photo Credit: Shawn Bishop for Compass