The Sunset Hills District of the Hollywood Hills
I’ve spent this week talking about the different architectural styles found within the Hollywood Hills. If you request a certain type of home in your home search, it could mean that you will have to limit yourself to certain locations, so by no means should architectural style be your only parameter for buying a home. Of course, if you’re set on a certain style, then this is no problem, but most people are concerned with location as well as style and size.
This is why the term “Hollywood Hills” is a kind of misnomer. Saying that you live in the Hollywood Hills could mean any number of different areas in the Hills. The neighborhoods have a different feels and there are quiet family locations, just as there are areas that are more closely associated with the Sunset Strip’s night life. The Sunset Hills district – also referred to as Hollywood Hills West – is a neighborhood for which the Hollywood Hills has gotten its reputation.
Hollywood Hills West generally starts at the Hollywood Freeway to the east and Hillcrest to the west, and includes Laurel Canyon, Nicholas Canyon, Sunset Plaza, Crescent Heights, and other neighborhoods in the vicinity. It is the basic heart and soul the Hollywood Hills – closer to the Sunset Strip so it is often more affiliated with the Sunset Strip lifestyle. There are plenty of homes in quiet neighborhoods in the Sunset Hills, but this is the general area people think about when they say, “Hollywood Hills.”
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
American Bungalow Architecture in the Hollywood Hills
The last architectural style to be covered here is the American Bungalow style. Some people don’t think Los Angeles has a sense of history – not in the same sense as a city like New York, and certainly not like the great European cities. Sure, you have to dig a bit more throughout the metropolis of L.A., in which a strip mall might be right next to a building with classic, old Hollywood architecture. But there is plenty of beautiful architecture in the city that is unique to Los Angeles.
Case in point is American Bungalow architecture. Tudor architecture and Spanish architecture have origins far away, American Bungalow architecture has its roots at home. This type of architecture is kind of the antithesis of International style, which uses the cold materials made popular during the Industrial Revolution. American Bungalow architecture aimed to use simpler materials, with a warmer feel.
Though American Bungalow design was first done because materials were cheaper, this does not mean these homes are not solidly built. Especially in the Hollywood Hills, some American Bungalow homes are massive in scale. The main qualities of American Bungalows are overhanging roofs with large spaces within the homes, normally with wood interiors – wood floors and cabinetry built into the home. These homes gives off a real sense of history and give Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills much of its charm, as these homes seem like an enduring piece of old Hollywood.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Spanish Style Architecture in the Hollywood Hills
L.A. real estate is replete with Spanish style homes, and the Hollywood Hills are no exception. There’s something very peaceful about a Spanish style home. Unlike the International style, which uses a lot of glass and metal, Spanish style homes are more organic. Certainly, these homes are as full-featured as modern homes, but the exterior is a reflection of a simpler sort of home-building, as it’s based on older Spanish architecture,, which used simpler materials. Additionally, as Spanish style homes are based on Spanish missions – rather than houses – it lends an air of grace to these homes.
The Spanish architecture movement started in the early 20th century and was focused in Florida and California. The most common attributes for Spanish homes are wide stucco walls, scalloped roofs, and arched windows. In the Hollywood Hills, there are smaller Spanish style homes, as well as multi-room mansions.
What also makes Spanish style homes so enticing is that no two are alike. In fact, this is what is interesting about Hollywood Hills architecture on the whole – the uniqueness of each and every home. This is why shopping around for a home is so paramount – not just in terms of price, but in terms of finding a place that you can call “home.” You may end up falling in love with a Spanish style home even if you initially thought you were interested in another type of architecture. Be sure to check out homes with a variety of architectural styles.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
The Tudor Revival in the Hollywood Hills
Yesterday I talked about Hollywood Hills homes in the International Style – a type of architecture that was modern for the time and is an attractive blend of form and function. What seemed modern then may seem more classic now, but not nearly as much as Tudor homes, which is a more classical, cottage-style of architecture. Homes in the Tudor style can be found throughout the Hollywood Hills.
Like the International style, Tudor grew to prominence in the twenties and thirties. However, unlike International, which has its origins in the late nineteenth century, Tudor homes have origins much earlier – the 16th and 17th century and the reign of Elizabeth and King James – referred to as the House of Tudor. These Renaissance homes have exposed wood beams on the outside of the home, with stucco in between, brick and stonework, and overhanging, pitched roofs. Though this style of architecture was originally used for smaller cottages, some of the largest and most lavish home in the Hollywood Hills use this style.
The style made popular in the twenties made brickwork a focal point, with a prominent chimney, with narrow windows. There was a second Tudor Renaissance in the seventies and eighties, so if you are in the market for a Tudor home, there is a difference between those homes built during the Jazz age and those built more recently – both in terms of price and in terms of craftsmanship, though the recent homes are no doubt high-quality as well. In fact, new Tudor homes will likely need less upkeep than older homes, but some prospective homeowners prefer an older home with a deeper sense of history.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Hollywood Hills Homes Built in the International Style
What makes the Hollywood hills such a fascinating neighborhood is the variety of a architecture throughout the Hills. It’s core to why saying that you want to buy a house in the Hollywood Hills is sort of like saying you want to buy a house in Los Angeles – which neighborhood? Which style of home? There’s a vast variety of styles, as well as prices within those styles, so it’s important to narrow down your options. Even such terms as “modern” or “classic” are not necessarily sufficient. What makes the Hollywood Hills such an electric and interesting neighborhood also makes it a somewhat complicated place to buy a home, as there are so many potential options.
This week I want to talk about some of the architectural styles you’ll find in the Hollywood Hills. Homes in these styles will not necessarily always be available, but it will give a real estate professional some idea about what you’re looking for in a home – beyond the number of rooms, layout of the backyard, and other practical considerations.
The International Style: This is one of the more interesting architectural styles you’ll find in the Hollywood Hills. The International Style is like a combination of the classic and the modern. It is modern because it was progressive for the time – an attempt to use the new materials that came out of industrialization, while trying not to be aesthetically displeasing. Some of the most fascinating architecture in the Hollywood Hills is in this architectural style that erupted in the 20’s and 30’s, though it has origins that go back to the nineteenth century.
This is a perfect case of how using the word “modern” can be a bit of a misnomer, as what may be considered modern architecture of 2009 is entirely different from the modern architecture of the 1920’s. International Style homes are functional and artistic, austere, but also enormously expressive. It’s these combinations, and seeming contradictions, that make homes in this style so sought after and fascinating.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.