3841 Latrobe St, Los Angeles, CA 90031

The precise lines of this midcentury board-and-batten prize harmonize with the organic forms of a gently sloping hillside in a quintessentially California vision focused by wrap-around balconies and picture windows affording expansive views. Designed by architect John Pugsley as part of a modernist enclave called The Cliffs, the home has been optimized for current lifestyles -- an updated master bath, for instance (with a frameless shower finished in travertine). The house surrounds a stairwell fronted by glass for a stunning atrium effect. Brazilian walnut underfoot furthers the feel of the outdoors brought in. The actual outdoors unfolds along an impeccably landscaped garden connected by a meandering path to backyard entertaining spaces shaded by laurel and fruit trees (and occasionally bedazzled by Dodger Stadium fireworks). You need not leave this property to enjoy a quiet interrupted only by birdsong, but the 282-acre Debs Park, a wilderness in the city, is just down the road.