HOMESopen for viewing on the “Icons of Architecture” tour
in Glendale include the Schaffer House (1949), top, designed by
John Lautner, and the Taylor House (1964) by Richard Neutra.
Photographs byMatthew LetcherYears before John Lautner
crafted the futuristic Chemo-
sphere house overlooking Mulhol-
land Drive and the Bob Hope
house in Palm Springs, the cele-
brated architect designed the
Schaffer House, a humble two-
bedroom home in a remote area of
the Verdugo Hills of Glendale.
Like Lautner’s Sheats-
Goldstein and Elrod homes, the
1949 redwood-and-glass structure
has played a prominent role in fea-
ture films, including “A Single
Man,” directed by fashion designer
Tom Ford, and “Happy Endings.”
So it was something of a sur-
prise when the house went on the
market in 2008 and sat there for 4½
years. (The house finally sold in
December 2012 for nearly $1.4 mil-
lion).
In an interview with Curbed,
real estate agent Crosby Doe tried
to offer an explanation as to why
the house wasn’t selling: “A lot of
people have a preconceived notionabout what Glendale is, and they
don’t know the Verdugo Hills.”
Glendale is home to a number
of architectural gems designed by
some of the most celebrated archi-
tects of the last century, five of
which will be open to the public
Sept. 29 as part of the Glendale
Historical Society’s “Icons of
Architecture” home tour.In addition to the Schaffer
House, the tour will include the
1964 Taylor House, a Modernist
glass box designed by Richard
Neutra. Among its highlights: a
fireplace that appears to float on a
cantilevered brick plinth. Also on
the tour: the 1941 Perkins House, a
Country Colonial farmhouse by
Gerard Colcord. “One of the signa-
ture characteristics of Colcord’s
farmhouse homes was that they
were purposely designed to look as
if they had been added onto over
the years, as if they had evolved
over time,” according to the Glen-
dale Historical Society.
Other tour highlights include
the Spanish Colonial Revival
Story House by Robert Finkelhor
and the Lloyd Wright-designed
Calori House, a 1926 Expressionist/
Spanish Colonial home listed on
Glendale’s Historic Register and
currently for sale for $1.7 million.
The tour is self-drive and in-
cludes docent-led tours at each
home. Some houses have stairs,
and not all rooms will be open for
touring.Why does a rug feel like such a big
commitment?
I compare it to art. A chair you
need, a sofa you need, but people
wait to buy a rug, like they do with
art. Rugs are expensive. But it can
be a starter rug; people shouldn’t
wait. Go to Pottery Barn. A rug is
the first thing your feet feel every
morning. It’s sensory; you feel
sumptuous. After a long day, you
want to feel that in your body. It
starts there.
Why are rugs so expensive?
Because of the way they’re
made. You can’t make people’s
fingers and hands go faster. The
Rug Co. will tell you it’s all about
the ethos that goes into that. It
used to be little children making
rugs, almost like trafficking. Now
there are seals all over saying this
rug was made ethically.
What was the first rug you de-
signed for the Rug Co.?
I was like a crazy fan. I saw that
Diane von Furstenberg and Paul
Smith were doing rugs for them. I
wasn’t a designer yet. I went there
and suggested doing something
painterly as opposed to pattern,
somewhere between a zebra and
faux bois wood — called Zebois. It
got into their collection, then it
caught on; it had a nice run. I was
with my parents at Harrods and
we saw it.
What should we look for in a rug?
Look for pattern and texture. I
can always custom the color,
which I’m insane for. But you have
to respond to a pattern that moves
you. There’s emotion in a rug.
Always look for something you
can’t live without.
BROWSING
The best rugs? Let’s tag along
INTERIOR DESIGNERAdam Hunter checks out the Zig Zig Zag at Mehraban in L.A. “I go here for texture and vintage,” he says.Photographs byKent NishimuraLos Angeles TimesBy Martha McCully
When Adam Hunter was 6, he
got his first job singing onstage in
“South Pacific.” By 12, he had a
steady income from the theater.
When he graduated from the Uni-
versity of Michigan’ school of mu-
sic, his mother told him that if he
wanted to be a Broadway musical
star, he would have to wait tables
and drive a taxi. Instead, his first
role was in “Les Mis.” Then “Rag-
time” with Audra McDonald.
Then Baz Luhrmann’s “La Bo-
hème.” Then “The Lion King.”
“But I was not cut out for it; it
was grueling,” he says. “My Ti-
mon was Jewish. I needed a bagel
and a nap.”
You might think his transition
to interior design was based on
the dramatic skills he developed
while singing for his supper. But
the truth is, what he learned in
the theater was more about emo-
tion, art, pattern and breaking
the fourth wall, which have all
come into play in his design ca-
reer, where Hunter, now 45, cre-
ates high-end projects that are in-
deed theatrical productions. He
is known for warm ombre leather
walls, experiential 3-D trompe
l’oeil and most of all, for his ab-
stract impressionistic rugs that
take cues from nature, especially
in California.
“Of course, I know how to
make things dramatic and fabu-
lous,” says Hunter. “But my ap-
proach of showing you behind the
stage is 100% part of my brand, it’s
authenticity.” And that transpar-
ency often involves light, which
imbues every aspect of his work,
including the patterns on the
rugs he designs for the Rug Co.,
such as Smoke, Sunset, Waves,
Wisteria and Transcendence.
We wanted to find out what to
look for if we want to feel as pas-
sionate about a rug as Hunter
does, so we hit a few of his favorite
Los Angeles shops to learn how to
fall in love with the right rug.
F6 LATIMES.COM
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOME & DESIGN
The Rug Co.
8727 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles
therugcompany.com“The Rug Co. is the Louis Vuitton of rug shopping. They are
so strict that their rugs are handmade, their actual name is the
Rug Co. Handmade. I suggested they do hand-tufted rugs, as op-
posed to handmade. Now they have TRC Lab, like Waterworks
Studio. The rugs are half the price and take six to eight weeks for a
custom rug. In a point-and-click world, that was a seismic move.
TRC Lab is selling like hotcakes. I was the only West Coast designer
invited into the fold of it.
“Look at this Alexander McQueen Hummingbird rug ($21,384).
Now I’m dead. I can’t stand up anymore. That’s how you want to feel.
The light, color, movement, fluidity; it’s breaking the trompe l’oeil.
You literally feel like they’re in motion; there’s a vibrancy and bold-
ness in the color. I would never put this on the ground; it should be
on the wall. This is like a symphony, the equivalent of a Damien Hirst
butterfly piece. In the art world, it’s actually cheap.”Mehraban
545 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
mehraban.com“I go here for texture and vintage. I love the jewel tones of the old
Sarouk rugs. The design is formal, but it has a nomadic feel to it; it
feels worldly. The medallion colors are from spices, saffron, vegeta-
bles and roots. Weavers would weave what was in their mind. That’s
why I love a rug. It’s a piece of history — the length of time, the work.
Rugs are hard for people to know about — their age, history, condi-
tion. When you go shopping for a great rug, you’re shopping for a rug
dealer really. I love Soheil Mehrabanian [the owner]. He’s such an
honorable guy in the L.A. community. I trust him implicitly, and his
taste is excellent.”CB2
8000 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
cb2.com“I love CB2. It has by far the most innovative noncopies. I suggest
the Daphne($399); it reminds me of [a floral] McQueen tapestry we
saw for $30K. You could build your room around [these flowers]. It’s
different, magical, and a lot of people probably won’t have it. It’s so
worth it for a few hundred dollars to have such joy and art in your life
if only for a year or two.”The shopping list
HUNTER admires the “vibrancy” of the Hummingbird rug.RUGSline up at Mehraban. The designer loves the selection.THE DAPHNEat CB2. “It’s different, magical,” Hunter says.‘Icons of
Architecture’home tour
When:10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 29
Tickets:$35 to $45 in advance;
$40 to $50 after Tuesday
Unless there is a sellout,
day-of-event ticket purchases
will also be available at the Alex
Theatre Box Office, 216 N. Brand
Blvd., Glendale, from 9:30 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
Info:(818) 242-7447,
glendalehistorical.orgMeet some Glendale icons
By Lisa Boone