smart
The other day I was lamenting the continuing preponderance of what I call OliveGardeniate style architecture in Manhattan Beach to my friend Bill who works in construction and real estate. He mentioned a house a few streets down on 35th Street that was having an open house that he thought I'd like. I had noticed it as it was being built and it did look pretty amazing from the outside - no sight of fake 'stupidstone' anywhere. I wandered down for the open house and discovered that the inside was even better than I expected. The surfaces and finishes throughout are nicely chosen and compliment the clean lines throughout, but more than anything, space is consistently used in smart and clever ways. Most rooms feature walls that do not go all the way to the ceiling - some with glass and some remaining open, a feature that creates an open and spacious feeling throughout the house. The top floor is the living area with walls that open to an amazing ocean view. The lower floor features some industrial feeling finishes that add another layer of excitement - I would love to have seen more of that, but of course, its not my house. There was no info on the house inside, but I've heard that its going for 5 million. If you've got that to spare, you could make it yours. I believe the house was done by Lazar Design/Build, who from their website seem to do a lot of smart clean well-designed houses in the area (despite the cluttered and frenetic feeling of their website). Perhaps there's hope for new houses in the area after all.