A modern house with wooden exterior walls, multiple small and large windows, surrounded by tropical plants, including cacti, on a sloped street. An elderly woman walks her black and white dog.

Avenue 46 Residence

Mount Washington, Los Angeles, CA
Residential / Addition
Existing: 1,650 SF / Added: 630 SF
Private
Completed

location:
program:
area:
client:
status:

The Ave 46 residence is an addition and renovation to the house of a television writer, her USC administrator husband, and their two daughters. The house is located towards the top of Mount Washington on a corner lot with exceptional panoramic views over Los Angeles.

Prior to Casey Hughes Architects’ involvement, the house had been haphazardly added to, in different styles and degrees of success, resulting in a building that was disjointed and had turned it’s back to the view.

Modern kitchen with large glass windows overlooking hills and trees, featuring a white island with a built-in sink and faucet, wooden cabinetry, a dining table with chairs, and a potted plant.

Large panes of glass are set without vertical frames to create an uninterrupted panoramic view.

To maximize the construction budget, we retained much of the existing house and focused on a kitchen and a master suite addition. This strategic intervention simplified the layout, shifting the house’s orientation to the rear yard and spectacular view. The new kitchen and dining room are seamlessly connected to the existing living room, creating a large continuous living space where the old and new are indistinguishable. The ceiling of this space runs uninterrupted the entire length of the house, extending to a 26 foot long plate glass corner window that frames the panoramic view.

Modern kitchen with wooden cabinetry, white countertops, stainless steel appliances, a large window with outdoor patio, and a wooden dining table with placemats and a bowl of apples.

View of the kitchen

A vestibule was inserted just beyond the kitchen to transition between the living spaces and the bedrooms. In this area the ceiling is vaulted to large skylights, contrasting the horizontality of the main ceiling, while bringing natural light to the center of the house. The wood panels of the kitchen cabinets extend into this area creating a warm wood accent that is washed with light.

Modern dining area with wooden table, apples in a bowl, sliding glass door leading to an outdoor balcony with a table and chairs, overlooking trees and a city view.

On the exterior, cedar cladding wraps the attached garage at the front, the rectangular volume of the existing house and the wedge shaped addition to the rear, unifying these parts into a coherent whole. This wood wrapper extends to form the banister of the deck above the garage and a second larger deck off of the kitchen and dining room that extends these spaces outdoors. The banister’s height varies to maintain privacy from the street, while allowing a connection to the yard.