Design, Bitches creates a modern bungalow in Venice Beach

Architecture studio Bitches has completed a design for a Southern California home that takes cues from a traditional beach cottage and is meant to be “not too precious.”

The B+B House is located in Venice Beach, a seaside town known for its mix of century-old bungalows and experimental contemporary architecture.

“This specific location sits on the edge of Venice’s famous ‘walking streets’, where small spaces are tightly woven together as the city stretches out to the Pacific Ocean,” said Kathryn Johnson, co-founder of LA studio Design, Bitches.

Built for creative clients, the home replaces a 1914 dwelling that had fallen into disrepair. The main aim of the design was to ensure that the new house was in keeping with the nature of the original house and the area’s shantytowns.

For a small plot wedged between the houses, the architects designed a main residence and a separate guest house in the back.

A small plaza serves as a “dynamic link” between the two buildings, while also providing views of the sky and the surrounding palm trees.

The main dwelling is raised in two levels, and is roughly rectangular in plan and topped with a gabled, upright metal roof. Inserted at the top is a shoebox-shaped bar that connects to the guest house.

The two-storey guest house has a square plan. The upper floor has been carved out to form an outdoor terrace.

“By preserving the integrity and proportion of the traditional Venice Beach bungalow and adding a sliding bar through it, the B+B home makes a case for the flexibility of the original forms – juxtaposing them in a tiny home that speaks to both volumes and modern ways,” the studio said.

Both buildings are clad in shredded, unoiled plaster, thermally modified ash, which turns gray over time. The guest house also features formed concrete slabs.

The interiors are supposed to be flexible according to the lifestyle of the family.

“The home was built for a small, creative family who work in a variety of ways and have a steady stream of extended family and friends who pop in and out of town on a regular basis,” said the studio.

In the main house, the ground floor includes a living room, dining area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

The upper floor contains the primary bedroom and bathroom, along with a loft style room which has openings to both the bedroom and living room below. The loft can be used as a music or sleeping area.

“The flexible loft bridges the boundary between gathering and retreat,” said the team.

She added, “The interior windows have been pierced through the upstairs volumes, so cross breezes and conversation continue and flow from the upper floor into the main living areas.”

The guest house has a flexible space at ground level that serves as a studio, entertainment space and garage. Upstairs is a bedroom and a studio plus a small bathroom.

Finishes and decor are meant to feel livable.

“The home feels instantly homey, welcoming to everyone and not too precious to use,” said the studio.

To add warmth, the team used vertically grained hemlock for the walls and ceilings.

For the flooring in the common area, Johnson and her team selected delicate vitreous bricks in a shade of turquoise that evoke the tiles in Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi’s home in Sao Paulo.

The same tiles, but in matte black, were used to cladding the fireplace. The pendant lighting fixtures in both the kitchen and living area are by the Spanish company Marset.

The kitchen cabinet is made of black oak and dark blue laminate. Countertops are made from a composite product called PaperStone.

To help reduce energy consumption, the team installed skylights, solar heated water, and radiant floors.

Elements at all levels – from the mass to the interior details – were carefully considered during the design of the house.

“Proportions and scale were carefully considered, from the larger formal junctions down to the shifting detail and direction of the textures, pattern and rhythms of the materials,” Johnson said.

Other projects by Design, Bitches include a Nashville restaurant that evokes “old school Miami” and an eclectic restaurant and video arcade in Los Angeles that takes cues from postmodernism and film noir.

Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.