This Australian Architect's Silver Lake House Is A Love Letter To Los Angeles

Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles from Australia in 2019, architect Richard Stampton set out on foot to see the landscape and pink and gold light of Southern California.

Redwood siding lends organic texture to the exterior of architect Richard Stampton's Los Angeles home. "We wanted to slowly gain some presence in the community and not get into the swing," Richard says of the conversion of an existing 1920s bungalow on the site. "It was a more sensitive approach that was necessary in a neighborhood where people had lived for a long time." — Redwood siding lends organic texture to the exterior of architect Richard Stampton’s Los Angeles home. “We wanted to slowly build some presence in the community and not come into the swing of things,” Richard says of remodeling an existing 1920s bungalow on the site. “It was a more sensitive approach that was needed in a neighborhood where people had lived for a long time.”

Mainly looking for a fixer-upper, he and his wife found the wreckage of a house on a hillside in Silver Lake. Measuring the 1920s structure and the orange, fig and lemon trees, he saw what it could be. “Underneath the outer structures was a beautiful LA cottage,” he says.

Three shades of yellow bring warmth to the interior. Before moving to Southern California, Richard read director David Lynch's memoir about it "inspiring and energetic" the light of the first morning in Los Angeles. "I wanted to capture that experience," he says. — Three shades of yellow bring warmth to the interior. Before moving to Southern California, Richard read director David Lynch’s recollection of the “inspiring and energizing” light of his first morning in Los Angeles. “I wanted to capture that experience,” he says.

During a visit to Japan, Richard was taken with the work of architect Kazuo Shinohara, who designed a house with a tent-like roof. "I didn't intend for the interior to look like a tent here," Richard says, "but my friends said to me, 'You like to disappear into the wilderness and stay in a tent, and you've made your house look like one.'" — During a visit to Japan, Richard was taken with the work of architect Kazuo Shinohara, who designed a house with a tent-like roof. “I didn’t intend for the interior here to look like a tent,” says Richard, “but friends said to me, ‘You like to disappear into the wilderness and stay in a tent, and you’ve made your house look like a tent.'”

After purchasing the property, he began restoring the house’s original footprint while connecting it to the garden with floor-to-ceiling windows. He replaced the weathered exterior with redwood, and the material’s lustrous hues are complemented by copper-wrapped Douglas fir doors and anodized aluminum sunshades that keep things cool in the summer.

The lower level office occupies a space that the previous owner converted into a speakeasy/bar. Richard uses a separate structure on the property to create architectural models and "the noisier job I do," he says. — The lower level office occupies a space that the previous owner converted into a speakeasy/bar. Richard uses a separate structure on the property to create architectural models and “the noisier work I do,” he says.

"The garden is illuminated by southern light, and from the office it is possible to experience the entire arc of the sun from east to west during the working day." says Richard, who enjoys drawing at his desk. He and his wife often sit on the steps opposite the window and watch the hummingbirds in the sage bush. — “The garden is illuminated by southern light, and from the office it is possible to experience the entire arc of the sun from east to west during the working day,” says Richard, who enjoys drawing at his desk. He and his wife often sit on the steps opposite the window and watch the hummingbirds in the sage bush.

Natural light floods the reinvented interior, bouncing off vaulted ceilings painted in three shades of yellow, and pink marble in the bathrooms and kitchen.

Inspired by the Finnish architect and critic Juhani Palasmao and his book Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses, Richard designed rectangular Douglas fir door handles for the second bedroom and other spaces in the house. "Handles are a simple, everyday opportunity to invoke a softer and warmer transition between ourselves and the house," Richard explains. "The underside is hand shaped to provide an intermediate pull angle and a generous wood surface for the fingertips." — Inspired by the Finnish architect and critic Juhani Palasmao and his book *The eyes of the skin: architecture and the senses*Richard designed rectangular Douglas fir doorknobs for the second bedroom and other areas of the house. “Handles are a simple, everyday opportunity to invoke a softer and warmer transition between ourselves and the house,” explains Richard. “The underside is hand shaped to provide an intermediate pull angle and a generous wood surface for the fingertips.”

Floor-to-ceiling pink marble brings sparkle to the bathroom as well as the kitchen. "You really get that pink light here in the morning, and I tried to bring that in," he says. — Floor-to-ceiling pink marble brings sparkle to the bathroom as well as the kitchen. “You really get that rosy light here in the morning, and I tried to bring that inside,” he says.

Richard’s workshop occupies a separate shed on the property, while his wife works in a lower level space with a window overlooking the wild, mostly native garden next to an earthquake.