Open House Obsession: Rescue a Harry Gesner in Brentwood

By Philip Ferrato / 11/30/12 at 1:17 pm / Comments

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We had to struggle through the listing photos to recognize this gem– a victim of unsympathetic decor– remodeled by Los Angeles architect/icon/surfer/modrnist Harry Gesner. Open on Sunday, December 2 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm

12345 Deerbrook Lane, Brentwood, $1.999M

Los Angeles architect Harry Gesner's best known for his expressionist houses in Malibu, which include a group of wave-themed houses along the edge of the beach, and boat-like houses in the Hollywood Hills, but here in Brentwood he added a sober series of living spaces under a 1958 house already perched at the top of a steep downslope. And while there are no swooping ceilings or corkscrew staircases, you can look past the regrettable decor and see a master's hand in the redwood paneled rooms and fireplaces.

There's no room for a pool, but we're loving the hot tub with a view and conveniently low hanging citrus:

The master bath is a composition in stone, redwood and mirror. At first we thought those vertical elements were speakers, but on second look, they're actually heat lamps.

Below, the roof of Gesner's addition becomes a deck for the original house with spectacular open views to the ocean. Big enough for a baskeball half-court, it needs serious rethinking:

The long deck outside the Gesner addition (see at top) which carefully echoes the railing inside. Sadly, it's been painted beige. Fortunately, the rest of the house has not.