Bel Air Hillside Home Makes the Most of Warm Minimalism
Combining sustainably sourced wood with an earth-toned color palette.
Los Angeles-based architecture practice HM DG has completed an expansive five-bedroom home in Bel Air, which combines wood cladding and earth-toned finishes to create a warm minimalist aesthetic inspired by the work of Finnish design icon Alvar Aalto.
The hillside home was crafted with responsibility in mind, and the wood used over its facade has come from the Norwegian sustainable timber company Kebony. The building’s placement allows for views across Downtown LA and out to the Pacific Ocean from the patio, with huge windows creating picture-perfect vistas from inside the house.
Inside, the studio wanted to create the feeling of indoor-outdoor living and has done so through the use of balconies and expansive glass doors which disappear into the walls when opened. Downstairs is a formal living area, which includes a fireplace, and two bedrooms of the five bedrooms. A double-height atrium features a central staircase, which leads up to the second floor.
Here, a master bedroom boasts perhaps one of the most incredible views of the property from its bathroom – which is clad in dark charcoal-grey marble and has a bath that looks out onto the Hollywood Hills. Also upstairs is access to patios and an informal living room, which can be used as a family room or game room, and two additional bedrooms. The aesthetic of the space is drawn together through a consistent color palette, which prioritizes warm earth tones. On the first level, floors are made from limestone, while on the second, the architect utilized white oak.
Hassan Majd, Principal at HM DG says:
“The flair is in the finishing details. In the kitchen and informal living space, the casework and paneling are all the same woodwork.
That ties the house together and provides an Alvar Aalto sensibility. I love the way the master bedroom enjoys the best views on the property, with an unobstructed view of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills.”
Take a look around the property – which just sold for $12 million – above, and check out this surreal family home in nearby Santa Monica.
