Eric Lloyd Wright’s Ross House In Silver Lake

Recently—and very briefly on the market—Eric Lloyd Wright’s c.1957 Ruth Ross House is likely the young architect’s first independent project, an elegant but compact expansion of a c.1927 casita with spectacular views over the Reservoir. Eric may have been the grandson of the celebrated Frank Lloyd Wright and the son of Lloyd Wright, but he was no architectural nepo baby. He had apprenticed at Taliesin West, and like his father before him, Eric was involved in his grandfather’s many late-career projects. Also like his father, he settled in L.A., and would probably become best known (and much sought after) for advising on the restoration and preservation of his father’s and grandfather’s work, with a design practice that over the years melded both landscape and residential design; he was an early and passionate advocate for what today we refer to as sustainable design. Photos by Gavin Cater for CompassPhotos by Gavin Cater for CompassLast on the market in 2017, the Ross house has been sensitively restored and updated by the recent seller, highlighting what we think of as typically Wright-ian flourishes, a composition of deeply cantilevered levels, plus a central fireplace and extensive built-in cabinets, along with skylights and wood-framed lighting details—within a then-radical reverse floor plan.Photos by Gavin Cater for CompassPhotos by Gavin Cater for CompassPhotos by Gavin Cater for CompassFor more, go to the listing for additional images and details plus a video that really tells the story best. An outstanding piece of LA’s rich design and cultural history, represented by architecture specialists Jeremy Kaiser and Alyse Livingston at Compass.Photos by Gavin Cater for CompassThe post Eric Lloyd Wright’s Ross House In Silver Lake appeared first on California Home+Design.

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The Fine Print

Fifty years on, San Francisco’s Arion Press still painstakingly hand- crafts its artist booksFor Pooh, a reimagining of A.A. Milne’s work (2023), over 50 drawings by Sandow Birk “toggle between traditional, idyllic scenes of 100 Acre Wood and its denizens and scenes of Christopher Robin’s contemporary daily life on the streets,” says creative director and lead printer Blake Riley. Photos by Shaun Roberts and Erik Carlson.Amid the Presidio’s historic forest and brick facades, the boxy beige building barely draws attention—save for a towering smokestack out front. Its unremarkable exterior, however, entirely belies the wondrousness inside. This is the home of Arion Press, the only vertically integrated bookmaker in the country—recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as an “irreplaceable cultural treasure.” Founded by Andrew Hoyem in 1974, Arion produces limited-edition, handcrafted books that pair literary works with contemporary artists for “a retelling of the story through images,” says Rolph Blythe, director of the press.Along with its 50th anniversary, fall brings a move to a more prominent location elsewhere in San Francisco: the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. In the new venue, designed by Jensen Architects, Arion’s metal type foundry, letterpress room and bookbindery will continue to operate under one roof. And thanks to expanses of glass, the public can glimpse its painstaking process. For the deluxe-edition copies of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (2018), lead bookbinder Megan Gibes glues maple slipcases that have been engraved with a ship motif by artist Tim Hawkinson. Photos by Shaun Roberts and Erik Carlson.With books that are wide-ranging, “the throughline is this notion that we’re creating a fine-press edition, working from the inside out,” Blythe says. “We make type choices first, then layout and design choices in concert with the artists. Binding plays a big role, but it doesn’t come up until rather late in the process for us.” Indeed, just as its traditional techniques are noteworthy, Arion’s approach to working with artists and the resultant designs are unparalleled.The printing process starts in M&H Foundry, which was acquired by Arion in 1989 and is overseen by typecaster and press operator Brian Ferrett. Century-old typecasting machinery turns molten lead into letters. The letters are composed into lines, which are then assembled into pages. In the letterpress room, Arion creative director and lead printer Blake Riley explains, multiple pages are arranged in the press bed and locked into position. As the presses carry each sheet of paper onto the type, the type is impressed into the fibers of the sheet. Riley and his team review the proofs “to make sure everything is where it belongs, that there’s consistency throughout,” he says. They check for inking, typos and broken letters. A table holds pages with characters circled in pencil—bad type that will need to be replaced individually by hand.Arion’s first title for 2024, Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, features linoleum-block cuts by Alison Saar. Fine-press copies are priced at $1,300, while deluxe copies are $4,100 and accompanied by an original relief print, The Escape. Photos by Shaun Roberts and Erik Carlson.The final stop is the bindery, where lead bookbinder Megan Gibes can be found cutting, folding and stitching volumes by hand. Every detail is carefully considered. Case in point: For the headband—the decorative strip at the head and tail of the spine—she wraps silk thread around leather cord, creating a striped pattern. In 2024, Arion is releasing two books: Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, for which Los Angeles artist Alison Saar carved 14 linoleum blocks, and Aesop’s Fables. The latter—which includes works by Enrique Chagoya, Barry Moser and Kara Walker—is presented in a sculptural box conceived by artist Kiki Smith. Each title is offered in fine-press and deluxe editions, with annual subscriptions available.The post The Fine Print appeared first on California Home+Design.

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The Seventies are alive and Well in Silver Lake, $3.38M

Born in Britain, architect Richard Holme [1922-2010] emigrated to L.A. in 1956—no doubt drawn inexorably like so many of his fellow countrymen—to warm weather, palm trees and opportunity. Trained in Britain (he was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects) Holme was, early in his career, a protege of Richard Neutra and worked in the offices of other architecture luminaries including A. Quincy Jones, Carl Maston and Rex Lotery, as well as designing for private clients. In 1979 he built this home for his family in the Moreno Highlands neighborhood and it’s now on the market for the first time in almost four decades.Photos by Susan Pickering PhotographyPhotos by Susan Pickering PhotographyThe home’s cubist composition climbs up the steep lot, providing unobstructed views from every room. It was built at a time when innovative thinking and new developments in construction were fueled by the Postwar boom—that would enable architects to build on challenging sites that might previously have been considered unbuildable. With its curving silo-like stair tower and the carefully arranged volumes, Holme had no doubt seen Richard Meier’s work on the East Coast, and one wonders what this dwelling would look like if painted a gleaming white, as all of Meier’s are.Photos by Susan Pickering PhotographyPhotos by Susan Pickering PhotographySensitively updated in recent years, the 3-bed, 3-bath home has been consistently maintained in exceptional condition; the almost tropical landscaping has matured, and there are multiple intimate and private outdoor spaces to enjoy.Photos by Susan Pickering PhotographyPhotos by Susan Pickering PhotographyPhotos by Susan Pickering PhotographyPhotos by Susan Pickering PhotographyFor more, go to the listing for additional images and details, including floor plans and a 3-D tour. An outstanding and very livable example of 1970’s residential design, represented by architecture specialists Henry Blackham, Maureen Erbe and Bonnie Matthews at the Erbe + Blackham team at Compass.Photos by Susan Pickering PhotographyThe post The Seventies are alive and Well in Silver Lake, $3.38M appeared first on California Home+Design.

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