Preserving a Zen vision
The home that Japanese American artist and Los Angeles landscaper Benji Okubo built on the top of Mt. Washington in 1953 continues to reflect his vision 33 years after his death.
Since buying the property four years ago from Chisato Okubo (Benji’s widow, who is still living), Walter and Deanna Zivalic have invested countless hours and estimate that they have spent about $150,000 re-creating his Zen-inspired retreat.
The Zivalics remodeled portions of the small home and enhanced the landscaping, keeping Japanese design details in mind along the way. They added nearly 200 square feet to the back of the house, where the new kitchen flows easily into the great room.
Although the built-in, raised double-door stainless-steel refrigerator-freezer, gas oven and borealis granite counters would usually scream modern, the Zivalics used cherry hardwood flooring, bamboo window trims, grass-cloth wallpaper and persimmon-colored paint to make it all blend rather seamlessly. The layout helped too. You can’t even detect the monster refrigerator until you walk into the kitchen and make a U-turn.
The laundry room was turned into a second bathroom, which has a waterfall view as does the master bathroom and the kitchen. Walter Zivalic, a carpenter by trade, created a moon doorway using a neighbor’s pool as a form to gradually mold the clear-grain flat redwood into a circular shape. In the living room, he added a window to enhance the effect of the indoor waterfall contrasted with an outdoor one -- a total of eight surround the home. Another rarity: a 9-by-20-foot basement -- perfect for a wine cellar.
Cobblestone pathways lead to several distinctive areas, including Okubo’s rockscapes, a patio built above a large waterfall overlooking a canyon, a separate guest room-office, a koi pond with a small bridge, an outdoor daybed that also looks out into the canyon and a twin-skylight, 32-by-76-foot artist studio tucked away at the side of the property.
The home is a short walk from Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters and Elyria Canyon Park on the southwest slopes of Mt. Washington.
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To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos with caption and credit information on a CD and a detailed description of the house to Lauren Beale, Real Estate, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Questions may be sent to [email protected].
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Artist’s refuge
Location: 3931 Rome Court, Los Angeles 90065
Asking price: $895,500
Previously sold for: $525,000 in 2004
Size: There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,412 square feet on a 9,680-square-foot double lot.
Additional features: There are two wood-burning fireplaces, one outlined in tumbled slate. Pomegranate, lemon, persimmon and kumquat trees are planted throughout the front yard -- a Japanese tradition intended to bring good fortune.
Around the neighborhood: 188 pre-owned single-family homes were sold in the 90065 ZIP Code from January through November, according to MDA DataQuick. The median sales price was $465,250. In 2007, 266 pre-owned single-family homes were sold at a median price of $599,250. There were 198 homes listed for sale last week in 90065, according to Realtor.com, priced from $120,000 to $1.5 million.
Web resource: Go to www.janm.org/collections/benji-okubo-collection/ to see an online collection of Benji Okubo’s paintings.
Open: Today from 1 to 6 p.m.
Listing agent: Art Olivier, Cogburn-Miller Realty, (562) 754-2294
