House 1: A “twofer,” a pair of ugly homes side by side
In last month’s Delicious Design I took you along on the first half of a tour of the Venice Canals where I recently strolled, making notes of the good, the bad and the ugly in architecture.
As I mentioned previously, I rarely venture into Venice, perhaps because, as a native Westside Angeleno, Venice was considered for many years a dangerous area, filled with crime and drugs. Of course, everyone knows Venice has changed dramatically in the last decade or so, having become gentrified and expensive, fueled most recently by the influx of Silicon Beach “techies.”
House 2: The whimsical sculpture enhances this bright structure
But I’m so glad that I took an afternoon to stroll along the waterways and gaze at many charming gardens, decks and patios, as well as the homes themselves.
So, with that, here is Part 2 of my to visit to the Venice Canal Historic District.
House 1: This is actually a “twofer” – a pair of atrocious homes side by side. The concrete box on the left looks like some nondescript boutique on an ordinary stretch of a big Los Angeles thoroughfare. The wooden brown home next to it personifies the worst of ‘70s residential architecture.
House 2: This is a pretty, light and bright home, with lots of glass and a quirky and whimsical sculpture of the diving girl, which gives the home a distinctive flavor.
House 3: A lovely home, but not its bad use of wrought iron and out-of-scale light fixtures
House 3: This is a lovely example of Spanish architecture, but it’s almost ruined by the bad use of wrought iron (perhaps masquerading as a Quinceañera dress?) and light fixtures that are way out of scale.
House 4: I can’t help but love Victorians, or even Victorian copies. We’ve lost so many of them in Los Angeles. They’re more suited to colder climates, and that’s why so many of them disappeared in favor of more modern houses.
4: You can’t help but love Victorians