It didn’t take long for entertainment and banking executive Lewis W. Coleman to sell his midcentury modern-influenced home in La Canada Flintridge; a buyer came along who not only appreciated the award-winning architecture enough to snap it up in a flash, but was willing to spend $350K over the asking price to be sure his offer sped the home into contract. Coleman had listed the house in the first half of October for a little less than $4 million, and had to wait less than a week for the offer of $4.35 million that bought the place.
The house dates to 2008, and, as a first impression, presents a foundation of 1950’s modernism combined with the wood accenting of a 1970’s contemporary. The 21st-century approach uses all kinds of modern design cues for a pastiche effect; box-upon-box architecture, exposed steel beams, naturally-finished wood cladding and stone accents for warmth and texture, and a common area that implicitly emphasizes social interaction and intimacy with an open-design fireplace and a floating staircase.
The home employs dramatically opposing ideas of warmth and cool, with the intoxicating redwood built-ins of the office offset by a kitchen that approaches clinical. It’s a fascinatingly comprehensive distillation of the history of the modern style, seen through the lens of postmodern revisionism.
With two master suites, and an additional two bedrooms and 2.75 baths across nearly 5,100 square feet, the home has a good sense of proportion, and a comfortable layout. The property extends to .6 acre, and tiered exterior living spaces with landscaping that allows a bit of wildness into the design vision.
Coleman has spent over a decade at Dreamworks Animation, in various positions. He has also held positions at Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
