Nightingale Residence, modern home, bird street homes, los angeles architecture, doheny estates architecture

Nightingale Drive

Typology Residential

Location Los Angeles, California

Completed 2010

Size 9,268 SF

One of two successful collaborations with developer Mauricio Oberfeld in the Doheny Estates above Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, Nightingale is a single-story single-family spec house that takes its name from the illustrious 'Bird Street' it calls home. Sited precariously on over a half-acre canyon-side lot, we envisioned this residence as a relatively quiet structure made vital by both the terrain and a view of Los Angeles that stretches from downtown to the Pacific Ocean.

Additional Credits: Bruce Damonte (photography)

Responding to that intent, our design plans skewed simple, with an L-wing of bedrooms wrapped around another similar L of living spaces that form a C-shaped box. Within this box is a smooth white patio ceding to a trimmed courtyard that is ultimately enclosed by a slightly raised pool that spans nearly the full width of the house’s main frame. A small basement holds a wine cellar, a private theater, service, and mechanical rooms, and is adjacent to a subterranean three-car garage tucked beneath the home’s front wing.

The exterior is clad solely in Parklex, a wood-resembling panel that exudes warmth, but, unlike wood, requires no maintenance. This material dominates the street façade, providing limited insight and privacy into the homes inner workings, but gives way on the courtyard side entirely to a series of sliding glass panels. This emphasis on glass is a consistent theme in Nightingale and underscores our design’s deference to natural light. Several rectangular skylights subtlety disperse the sun throughout the interior, an effect further balanced by a system of black anodized aluminum sliding windows and doors.

The interior features a diverse selection of wood and stone providing a warm, textural feel. Floors are wire-brushed white oak, a silver travertine wall spans the north side of the main living space, and water drapes a scrabbled mosaic on the stairwell descending near the home’s entrance to the garage below.

A number of our other custom homes can be found in the Doheny Estates, including the Oberfeld Residence and House on Blue Jay Way.