sweet digs: prairie meets bali in the hollywood riviera

8/4/2019 Sweet Digs: Prairie Meets Bali in the Hollywood Riviera

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by pamela coranTe-Hansen

p r a i r i e m e e T s b a l i i n T H e H o l ly w o o d r i v i e r a

Sweet

m a h o g a n y w

i t h f r o S t e D g l a S S c u t o u t S m a k e

t h e f r o n t D o o r f u n c t i o n a l a n D

D e c o r a t i v e , c r e a t i n g a S t a t e m e n

t p i e c e t h a t a D D S v i S u a l i n t e r e S t

f r o m t h e S t r e e t a S w e l l a S f r o m

t h e i n t e r i o r o f t h e h o m e .



36 SoutHBaydigS.com | 09.16.2011

says. “The doors telescope away and add

a true indoor-outdoor feel. We live in an

environment [that is ideal for] indoor-

outdoor living, so you almost inherently

design the home that way.”

Plans for the home were completed

in four months, and the Balks attribute

the successful execution to the fact that

they stayed true to Tomaro’s design. The

couple initially consulted with three

other architects, but was not completely

sold on the plans. Having once lived

in a Manhattan Beach home designed

by Tomaro, they decided to work with

him on their new house. Tomaro

incorporated some of their ideas into

the plan, creating larger windows in the

kitchen to maximize natural light and

ocean vistas, and adding a bathroom

easily accessible from the pool to allow current – and

future – grandchildren to shower off before traipsing

through the house. Construction was completed in

13 months. Andy and Christine were involved in the

process, occasionally rolling up their sleeves and

pitching in, as evidenced by an aerial photo of the home

under construction, featuring Andy on the roof as it was

being completed.

Christine, a former apparel and merchandising

stylist, oversaw the interior design on 4,100 square

feet of living space. “I get a lot of inspiration from

hotels,” Christine says. “Crazy places, not just ve-

star properties.” The master bath is a subtle display

of Christine’s afnity for day spas, with a shower

oor made of smooth stones, and a wall clad in sleek

travertine subway tile separating the shower from

the bathtub. Christine jokes about her obsession with

glass tile, which manifests itself in all four bathrooms.

A basement bathroom boasts iridescent blue-green

and golden glass tiles in the shower, providing an

elegant foil to a distressed lighting xture with an edgy,

industrial vibe, equally suited for a 1940s army barracks

or an underground nightclub. Christine sourced the

xture from a company in England. The pool bathdazzles with turquoise-blue and algae-colored glass tile

set in a stylized wave pattern.

Glass tile is nowhere to be found outside on the pool

deck, however. Instead, subtle stippling highlighted

with embedded shell gives the swimming pool a

contemporary feel, its cerulean hue complementing the

Pacic Ocean panorama that extends to Point Dume.

The pool holds salt water, an effort to offset the effects

of harsh chemicals on swimmers and the environment.

Christine notes that her taste in pool tile errs on the side

of understated. “With all those eur-de-lis and patterns,

one false move and it’s overwhelming,” she says. Inkeeping with her spa theme, the sage green ceramic

tile evokes calm and tranquility.

If peace and calm can be found in a kitchen, the

Balks have mastered it. The eye is drawn to a simple

yet rened backsplash of pearly white glass tile with

an inlaid pineapple motif. A nod to the couple’s love

for the island of Kauai, the design provides a sense

of place without falling into cliché. White, pre-

nished custom cabinets from Canadian cabinetry

rm Downsview provide ample space to stash

kitchen appliances and essentials, yet avoid giving

“

“

Surrounded by boxes on the rst night in their

custom Hollywood Riviera home, Andy and Christine

Balk were treated to an unexpected bonus. A dazzling

sunset over the Pacic and a movie-worthy view of

the illuminated cityscape were enough to keep the

television off for three nights. “And we actually talked to

one another,” Andy quips. Married 34 years, the couple

never imagined they would end up with ocean views

and an expansive front lawn in one of the South Bay’s

most coveted neighborhoods.

Perched on a 14,200 square foot lot rising gently

on a slope of mid-century modern dwellings, the

Balks’ seaweed-green, metal-roofed house morphs

harmoniously into the hillside, its low-prole facade

ducking coyly behind a modest screen of gnarled pines

that were planted when the neighborhood was rst

subdivided. As understated as the home is, the design

takes full advantage of the trapezoid-shaped corner

lot, allowing for an extravagant 1,000 square feet of

near wrap-around storage space, ocean views from

the basement and a garage deep and wide enough to

contain the Balks’ RV.

“When we were building the garage, people

would park on the street and just stare. Men would

drool,” says Andy. A veritable drive-in man cave, the

garage’s discreet prole belies its epic proportions:

36 feet deep, 22 feet wide, 900 square feet. Indeed,

architect Louie Tomaro and his clients shared a

vision of honoring the neighborhood’s character,

and the garage is just one example of how a modern

design and oor plan can be seamlessly incorporated

into an established subdivision.

Taking cues from Frank Lloyd Wright, Tomaro

designed the home with a linear emphasis reminiscent

of Wright’s classic Prairie School style, but with tropical

touches such as hip roof design and extensive use of

dark wood. The Balks own a home on Poipu Beach in

Kauai, and a trip to Bali sealed Christine’s passion for

the Indonesian aesthetic. “The emphasis was to make

an open house that ows easily to the outside,” Tomaro

“WHEN WE WERE BuiLDiNG

THE GaRaGE, PEOPLE

WOuLD PaRk ON THE

STREET aND JuST STaRE.

Men wold drool,” sys andy.

a vertble drve-n mn cve,

the garage’s discreet profle

beles ts epc proportons:

36 feet deep, 22 feet wde,

900 sqre feet.

off a storage-unit feel. The marble counter tops,

pale jade in tone, display booking motifs and draw

the lush greens of the outdoor landscaping into the

home. Christine selected the lighting xtures, three

generous globes of clear glass suspended from the

11-foot high ceiling, adding a modern contrast to the

traditional xtures and ooring.

Anchoring the home’s main level, wide-plank

oak wood oors in a dark custom stain add a degree

of warmth and help carry the Indonesian inuence.

With three dogs having full run of the house, the

Balks chose a semi-distressed, at nish. On this

level, a long entryway provides a clear line of

sight to the pool, drawing visitors directly from the

statement piece of a front door to the pool deck with

city, mountain and ocean vistas. The wood ooring

extends from the entry to the three bedrooms,

dining room, kitchen and living area. Downstairs

in the basement, polished cement ooring gives

a hip, warehouse-y energy to the couple’s work

areas. Natural light illuminates an expansive ofce,

with windows that provide enviable ocean views.

A smaller studio is primed for creative work. The

basement level offers access to the garage, and a

quick jog up a short ight of stairs leads to a landing with an Al ice-in-Wonderland-esque square door.

Beyond the door, which one enters with the help

of a folding chair, is the fabled 1,000 square-foot, fully

nished storage area, in which an adult over 6 feet

tall can stand without having to crouch. In addition

to housing the water heater, central vac and cooling

and security systems, there is more than enough

space to stash seasonal items and household staples.

Originally, the area was to be left unnished, but the

allure of having additional storage space inspired

Andy to work with Tomaro and make it functional.

But the space also holds an item that carries deepsignicance to the Balks. Suspended from a beam is a

six-by-ve foot tapa, or Polynesian textile made from

the bark of a native tree. A gift to the Balks from the wife

of the stonemason who worked on their Kauai home,

the tapa features delicate stamped bird and plant motifs.

“She made it when she was 15,” Andy says. “We became

good friends with them, and they were surprised that

we would go to their house.” A self-made businessman

who left home at 15, he says, “I feel very fortunate, but in

the end, we’re all the same. There’s no magic formula;

you just have to treat people well.”

a l a n a i o f f t H e k i t c H e

n a n d d i n i n g a r e a a f f o r d S p a n o r a m i c V i e W S o f t H e S a n t a m o n i

c a m o u n t a i n S , S o u t H B a y S H o r e l i n e a n d t H e c i t y S c a p e .

l

a n d S c a p e d t e r r a c e S e V o k e t H e

c a n t i l e V e r e d S u r f a c e S p r e S e n t i n S o m e f r a n k l l o y d W r i g H t H o

m e S . l a n d S c a p i n g B y S o u t H e r n

c a l i f o r n i a l a n d S c a p e .



09.16.2011 | SoutHBaydigS.com 37

p H o t o

g r a p H y B y p a u l J o n a S o n

tHe SaltWater pool iS underStated to keep tHe focuS on tHe expanSiVe VieWS. cement Work By pearce conStruction.

caBinetry By canadian firm doWnSVieW proVideS ample

Storage Space WHile adding decoratiVe flouriSHeS.

irrideScent glaSS tile in tHe BaSement leVel SHoWer

eVokeS tHe Blue-green toneS of Sea glaSS and tHe Warm

SaBle SandS of local BeacHeS.

sweet digs: prairie meets bali in the hollywood riviera

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