Ilana Gafni

The Crowell Residence, 1967, by architect Theodore Pletsch in collaboration with owner/decorator Jean Crowell. Eleven years after its completion, an article in the Los Angeles Times Home Magazine celebrated the timelessness of the property, attributing this quality to Crowell's design sense acquired while living abroad. Structures on-site exude a rare hybrid of the modern & the classical, combining an old-world sense of color & material with a contemporary sensibility. Three sets of massive glass doors open to the formal garden & Greco-Roman swimming pool, which was originally part of a sprawling Orange Grove estate by the venerable architecture firm Bennett & Haskell. The main residence incorporates a double-height living room, formal dining room, 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, a laundry & an attached 2-car garage. The entry passage draws the visitor into the back yard where the guesthouse - with its open plan living area, kitchen, bedroom & bath - anchors the vista across the pool.