red tile roofS, Wooden BalconieS and decoratiVe Wrought-iron grille Work are characteriStic of the SpaniSh colonial

reViVal Style. the SQuare turret at the front of the houSe containS a reading alcoVe.

Sweet
by pamela coranTe-Hansen

photography By paulJonaSon

s pa i n o n T H e s T r a n d : a r e n o vaT i o n H o n o r s T H e H o m e s H e r i T a g e

new york transplant kevin shields knew it would be a challenge to convince his southern californiaborn fiance to abandon Bel Air for Manhattan Beach. But he never imagined that getting her to move would require purchasing a 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival home on The Strand, a mere block from the 1921 Art Deco house he had meticulously restored earlier. Over the 15 years I lived in the Art Deco home, Id walk past the Strand house so many times, Shields recalls. I would always ask the owner, Mr. Foley, when are you going to sell me your house? When he and his wife decided to move to Palm Springs five years ago, I bought the house. It was only then that my wife agreed to marry me and move down to the beach. Bucking the trend of razing old homes and replacing them with monolithic mansions, Shields and his wife decided to renovate the house, staying faithful to its original Spanish Revival design. The vision: A SpanishMoroccan-style residence with modern flourishes.

an iridescenT Tile ceiling creaTes a modern lounge vibe above The bar and counTerbalances period scrollwork on The venTilaTion cover.

a vinTage phoTograph in The sTudy shows The house (cenTer) shorTly afTer iT was builT. The recTangular, blocky building above and To The righT of The home is The 1921 arT deco house builT for early film sTar ronald coleman and resTored by shields.

The expansive beach view in fronT of The house.

Visitors get their first taste of the homes design aesthetic at the front entrance off a walk street. An arched, dark wood door with a moorish star pattern leads into a terra cotta tile entryway graced by a curved staircase that draws the eye to an understated, Spanish Revival chandelier in frosted glass and dark metal. On this level of the home, the 1930s meet 2011 in a well-orchestrated convergence of styles: An iridescent mosaic tile ceiling evokes a hip, jet-set hammam, only here it floats above built-in bookcases with stylized arch detailing and a dark wood bar adorned by carved Moorish star motifs. The homes original floor plan ended at the bar. Additional square footage was created by carving into the slope upon which the home was built and adding new pilings for structural support. A powder room was added behind the bar, and a hallway leads to a walk-through, climate controlled wine cellar that can stock 2,000 bottles. In an era when tear-downs are the norm and historic preservation ordinances a rarity, Shields passion for restoring homes to their original glory may seem unusual. He comes by it honestly, however. I put myself through college and business school as a finish carpenter, so I was banging nails from age 15 to 25, he says. I did some home renovations on Victorian houses in the Bay Area. Its a passion. shields is quick to credit the success of the renovation to the creativity and talent of his contractor, Tim Peterson of Peterson-Wozniak, Inc. It was Peterson who introduced Shields to Steve Wunderlich of 4-C Design Group, the architect who created the plans for the renovation. When you take on a project of this magnitude, its important that the builder and the architect have a close working relationship, Shields said. Peterson helped shields with the renovation of the Art Deco home. That house was built as part of a movie

contract for [actor] Ronald Coleman, Shields says. The project involved adding a third floor and a new wing. Shields envisioned a modern aesthetic that harmonized with the homes signature Art Deco lines. In the end, the homes 1920s Hollywood pedigree was preserved, and shields entrusted Peterson to handle the renovation of the Spanish Colonial Revival home, itself a symbol of early 20th century Californias obsession with the allure of distant lands (see sidebar). Indeed, Shields commitment to retaining the homes original character is evident throughout the house, where reclaimed wood from the original structure was incorporated into new window frames and used in decorative finishes. On the second floor, a vaulted ceiling features a curlicue wrought iron tie beam above the living room, a classic Spanish Revival embellishment. Wide-plank dark wood floors add warmth and provide a striking contrast to the cream plastered walls and fireplace. The space is illuminated with natural light pouring in from expansive windows facing the beach and wrapping around the north side of the living room, offering ocean views from Palos Verdes to Malibu. A cozy reading alcove is ensconced in a turret with a cathedral ceiling. West and south-facing windows offer plenty of sunlight and unobstructed vistas of The Strand, and shields attests that he and his wife can spend hours enjoying the view or curling up with a good book. Breaking away from the living areas SpanishMoorish theme, red cabinets and butcher-block countertops in the adjacent kitchen lend a Prairie School flavor. The Mediterranean touches continue down a barrel-vaulted hallway leading to two guest bedrooms and a bathroom that boasts a brilliant green and blue Moroccan tile backsplash.

At the end of the hallway, a billiard room with a 12foot high ceiling occupies the space that was the original homes outdoor courtyard. It is in this part of the home that fanciful modern features add character and intrigue. A short jog up a flight of stairs leads from the billiard room to a mezzanine landing, featuring a bookcase worthy of a 1930s Prohibition-era movie set. The shelves are actually double-doors that open onto a hidden man cave. Outfitted with a plasma screen television, the generous space functions as a home office with a roomy sitting area. For a home with multiple rooms spread across four levels, Shields says he and his wife make good use of all of the space. Its a big house, about 5500 square feet, he notes. But every room has a purpose, and even though its just the two of us, we use a large percentage of the house every day. Were in the dining room, reading room, gym, master bedroom, the man caveeach room gets a lot of use, which is unusual for a house this size. Quintessential southern california indoor-outdoor living assumes a global flavor on the homes top level. Glass-paned doors open completely from the master bedroom onto a split-level deck. An outdoor living area outfitted with minimalist sofas sits adjacent to the master bedroom, and Moroccan brass lanterns hang from the patio roof. A few steps up, a sun deck boasts a stainless steel Jacuzzi hot tub whose motor, Shields notes, is in the basement, allowing for a tranquil soak minus the usual mechanical roar. Hidden away in the secret room behind the bookcases, a grainy black-and-white aerial photograph of The Strand in the 1930s reveals sparsely developed lots and a much closer shoreline. In the center, the Shields home looks very much the way it does today. Restoring homes is a hobby, Shields says. And this house is a piece of art to me.

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SouthBaydigS.com | 09.30.2011

SPANISH cOLONIAL REVIVAL ARcHItEctURE IN cALIFORNIA

Widely credited as the creator of the Spanish colonial revival movement, noted american architect Bertram goodhue introduced Southern californians to the style at the 1915 panama-california exposition on the site of present-day Balboa park in San diego. to honor californias hispanic heritage, goodhue borrowed from 17th century Spanish architectural elements to create a distinct aesthetic that continues to influence architects and builders today. characterized by red-tiled roofs, stucco walls, arches, parapets, tile floors and wrought-iron and concrete grilles, Spanish colonial revival homes began gracing coastal Southern california cities such as Santa Barbara and la Jolla in the early 1920s. architect george Washington Smith took the style to the next level, designing homes for Southern californias elite in the 1920s and 1930s. Several of his creations still stand in montecito, Santa Barbara and pasadena; some are open to the public. influenced by the palaces and cathedrals of Spain, primarily in the region of andalusia, the style conformed favorably to Southern californias mediterranean climate, enabling architects to design courtyards and patios that could be used year-round. Before long, Spanish colonial revival homes became iconic elements of Southern californias architectural landscape.

SuggeSted reading: george Washington Smith: architect of the Spanish colonial revival by patricia gebhard (gibbs Smith, publisher, 2005). california romantica: Spanish colonial and mission-Style houses by diane keaton (rizzoli, 2007).

buTcher-block counTerTops and red cabineTry add color and inTeresT To The kiTchen while providing ample counTer and sTorage space.

SpaniSh colonial reViVal home tourS: george Washington Smiths casa del herrero house, Santa Barbara (www.casadelherrero.com). By appointment only. call (805) 565-5653. adamson house, malibu (www.adamsonhouse.org). guided tours Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (310) 456-8432. p.c.h.

The barrel ceiling adds a spanish colonial revival Touch To The TemperaTure conTrolled walk-Through wine cellar.

goThic Touches such as The sTylized columns of The fireplace were common in 1930s revival archiTecTure. The sTone manTelpiece and wroughT-iron arTwork make an eleganT sTaTemenT in The second-floor living area.

a view from The sTrand. The fronT of The home has reTained mosT of iTs original form and spanish revival elemenTs.

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