Our boy Rufus (we can claim him, given he spent his formative years with his mother and aunt in Montreal) and his husband, Jörn Weisbrodt, have purchased a little pied-à-terre in L.A., and it’s not the typically low Mediterranean ranch style we expect of celebrity housing in California. This one is a 1920s “California storybook” home, a light-hearted style created some 100 years ago, when an indulgent husband created one as a sales space for his wife’s handmade dolls. Before long people were knocking on their door asking him to build such a home for them. Similar designs popped up around Carmel and around L.A. for retail kiosks and shops. Tell-tale signs are turrets, off-kilter windows, thatch or shake roofing with curvy edges, and cobblestone paths. It’s a goofy riff on the Tudor style of home, which was also seeing a revival at that time.
House of the day
Homes and cottages we’d love to have — whether we can afford them or not
Key details:
• 2,100 sq. ft.
• 3 bedrooms, 3 baths
• $1,450,000
• Anita Rich, Keller Williams Realty
• see Zillow story here
The Wainwright/Weisbrodt house is 2,119 square feet with three bedrooms, built high on a hill and accessed by a steep stucco-walled staircase. Diamond-pane windows and bump-out window seats in the treetops add to the fairy-tale vibe. Daughter Lorca will love it; we’re betting her bedroom will be a princess’s dream (she’s five!).
The sunken living room has a wood-burning fireplace with an offset niche (for one of their many awards, or a vintage trinket Weisbrodt has picked up on their travels), and French doors to a balcony. It sounds like they like their homes romantic, given that they are, too (to wit, this interview about their Toronto rental).
The kitchen has recently been updated with pro-grade appliances, and features new flagstone flooring.
The dining room is very cottage-like with its wood ceiling and Arts & Crafts pendant light. Wainwright considers himself “the Bohemian” of the two, Weisbrodt is a little more orderly, but they both like vintage designer furniture with a story.
The office/den is circular, which is rather what one would expect in a pixie palace. Depending on its acoustics, perhaps it will become Wainwright’s song-writing studio, with a piano in one “corner” and a guitar in another.
A long, private terrace will allow him and Weisbrodt, former Luminato artistic director, to hang out with their many bold-face pals.
A Seven Dwarves-like footbridge spans the banks of the koi pond, adding to the whimsical design both inside and out.
A perfect home for two artsy types, who, when out of the spotlight, long for nothing more than “a quiet street with birds chirping and dogs barking and a beautiful husband to take care of,” as Wainwright has said.
Here’s a story of how Storybook cottages came to be.
If you have an interesting listing, reno or just a really neat home — whether it’s for sale or not, drop us a line with a few words telling us about it.
Related
- House of the day archive
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