A gem among the midcentury homes of California, this is Clear Oak
A gem among the midcentury homes of California, Clear Oak by Woods Dangaran, is an artfully renovated residence in Los Angeles
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

The midcentury homes of California often go against the stereotype of modernist architecture being clinical and cold. The 20th-century bungalows that dot Los Angeles are a case in point, designed to be warm and flexible, often built with natural materials and a human scale that is intimately connected with the outdoors. Such a piece of residential modernist architecture, in the heart of Los Angeles County, in Encino Village, has been recently thoroughly refreshed by local architecture studio Woods + Dangaran – winner of Best Private House in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023, for Desert Palisades.
Clear Oak: a gem among the midcentury homes of California
Titled Clear Oak, the structure is nestled in the hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley, and the San Gabriel and Santa Susana mountains. The residence, created for a private client and spanning 4,800 sq ft, brings together open spaces with a generous entertainment deck, an infinity pool and native plants and trees, with minimalist interiors, filled with art and midcentury furniture and influences that link back to the home’s 20th century origins.
The team at Woods + Dangaran looked after both the architectural renovation and the interior refresh. Subtle adjustments in lines and openings – including a straightening of the roofline and a gentle enlargement of windows and doorways – meant the residence pays homage to its origins while shifting more towards the vistas and adapting to its new owner’s fondness for entertaining.
The team was headed by partners Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran, whose joint portfolio includes more modernist wonders, among them the 1965 Craig Ellwood-designed Moore House, and Carla Ridge, a new-build home that interprets the region’s rich architectural heritage for the 21st century. The architects’ careful hand and extensive experience in the genre have resulted in Clear Oak having already scooped up multiple awards, including a citation in the Residential category at the AIA (the American Institute of Architects) Los Angeles, and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum’s American Architecture Award for 2022. The home once belonged to Bing Crosby’s manager – and it’s clear that this elegant redesign ensures it will continue to offer both a warm domestic haven and a covetable space for socialising for years to come.
woodsdangaran.com (opens in new tab)
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
S94 Design makes the most of its uptown location to blur the lines of art and design
S94 Design brings displays from Kwangho Lee, Donald Judd, Max Lamb and more to its Rafael Viñoly-designed location
By Julie Baumgardner • Published
-
Oasi Cashmere is taking Zegna back to its roots in the Italian Alps
Oasi Cashmere – an environmentally-conscious, all-embracing cashmere collection – is inspired by the Oasi Zegna nature park in the lush Biella Alps
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Lynda Benglis’ seductive hall of mirrors and juicy neon eggs in London
American artist Lynda Benglis subverts expectations with new bronze sculptures and otherworldly coloured eggs in a new solo show at Thomas Dane Gallery, London
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Lasting Joy Brewery injects design sophistication to Hudson Valley farmland
Lasting Joy Brewery by Auver Architecture brings contemporary energy and sophistication to the growing Hudson Valley craft beer scene
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Khanna Schultz’s House in Michigan is an exercise in balancing contrasts
House in Michigan by Khanna Schultz was conceived to fulfil contrasting needs – and does so with poise and efficiency
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Marfa’s El Cosmico campground hotel is getting a 3D-printed revamp
El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas, is being reimagined by BIG, 3D-printing specialist Icon and hotelier Liz Lambert
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Sonoma home gets dramatic flowing studio extension
Mourning Dovecote by Schwartz and Architecture is a Sonoma home’s eye-catching studio extension for an architect
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Black Creativity in architecture celebrated in Chicago exhibition
New exhibition in Chicago is centred on honouring Black Creativity in architecture through the ages
By Audrey Henderson • Published
-
Highgrove House is an architect’s own home embedded in Malibu nature
A family home in tune with its surroundings, Highgrove House by Lorcan O'Herlihy is sensitive architecture embedded in Malibu nature
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Palm Springs Modernism Week 2023: architects reveal desert’s best-kept secrets
As Palm Springs Modernism Week 2023 unfolds, we’ve spoken to architects and designers participating in the festivities to pick their brains about the desert city’s hidden gems
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Beacon House is the contemporary rebirth of a midcentury San Francisco home
Beacon House by Edmonds + Lee Architecture is a renovation project that sensitively brings a modernist San Francisco home into the 21st century
By Ellie Stathaki • Published