From the street, Russell Brown’s 100-year-old home in Hollywood exhibits historic Craftsman features, including a gable roof, warm green earth-toned shingles, and a covered porch that leads to the front door. Looks like it has everything.
But the two-story accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in the back offers something different. The 21st-century Arts and Crafts architecture is partly inspired by mature elms and small Japanese maples, whose branches commonly graze what once was. It used to be a garage.
As founders of Friends of Residential Treasures: Los Angeles (FORT: LA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating LA’s incredible architectural diversity, Brown collaborated with architect Anupama Mann of Waiota Workshop. It’s no surprise that Siddhartha Majumdar was commissioned to design his monumental ADU. Historic Craftsman home built in 1912.
“The intention was always to respect the aesthetics of the house and the neighborhood,” Brown says of the addition. “Philosophically, we didn’t want to tear down the garage and send the debris to a landfill.”
“We love our gardens, so it never occurred to us to expand into an ADU,” says homeowner Russell Brown. “The units themselves should feel like treehouses.”
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
He also wanted to preserve the towering elm tree in his backyard. According to arborists, the tree is about 100 years old, half its estimated lifespan.
“Trees guided this house,” Brown says of the architect’s influence on the ADU, which he designed away from trees. “I wanted to expand the garage, but I didn’t want to damage the trees.”
Presented with a structurally unsound garage that was lifted off its foundation, the architects decided to preserve as much of the structure as possible, including the original garage door, while building a two-story, 400-square-foot ADU. Selected.
From the beginning, Brown wanted to save as much money as possible on the garage.
“We could have gotten a report condemning the building as unsafe,” Majumdar said. “But Mr. Russell clearly wanted to reuse what was already there.”
Before it was converted into a two-story ADU, the garage was covered in trees.
(Waiota Workshop)
After examining the structure of the garage, the architects deduced that it was not originally on the site. “It looks like a handyman came in and knocked something together,” Brown said. “The level of craftsmanship in the main house doesn’t show up in the garage.”
For an ADU within a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), preserving 50% of the structure was the team’s wisest course of action in terms of exercising design autonomy.
“After meeting twice with the HPOZ Board in 2021 to consider what could be done and what would trigger a public hearing and review, we decided to retain 50% of the structure. ” said Majumdar.
Architects Anupama Mann and Siddhartha Majumdar of architectural studio Wyota Workshop.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
Mann explains: “If you only build his 50% of the base, you don’t need to go through a formal review by HPOZ. If it passes the city planning department, the city planning department will approve his ADU.”
After consulting with Brown, the architects decided to keep the 250-square-foot garage lot, keep the garage door and add a second floor.
The ADU has strong Craftsman lines that reflect the design of the main house. But inside, the interior is clean and modern, with white oak floors and cabinetry, and spacious outdoor views from multiple vertical windows overlooking the lush backyard.
The house is modest, but the second floor makes it feel much larger than it actually is. “We wanted a clean, flexible interior,” Brown says of its simplicity. The second floor is built as an efficient office space, but “for those who wish to use it as a bedroom, there is plenty of space to store clothing.”
Gym on the first floor.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
The first floor of a Hollywood ADU can easily be transformed into a living room.
(Steve King)
The first floor, which is now a gym, has a peloton, treadmill, stair climber machine, bike storage and plenty of space for weights. A big screen TV gives the room an authentic feel of a membership gym, but if Brown chooses to rent his ADU, it could quickly transform into a living room.
If you look at the ceiling on the first floor, you can see the existing roof line. “We intentionally contrasted the historic building with the exposed steel beams,” says Majumdar. “The juxtaposition of old and new is obvious.”
There is no kitchen for now, but the ground floor is ready for a kitchen, with space for plumbing and appliances. “The second Russell wants to install a kitchen, and we’re ready,” Mann says.
The shower’s handmade tiles by Pasadena-based artist and architect Charlie Tan reflect the trees outside. The two floors of the ADU are connected by a spiral staircase. (Steve King)
The ADU features a contemporary spiral staircase, trompe l’oeil windows inspired by Brown’s stay at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Seth Peterson vacation home in Wisconsin, and a trompe l’oeil window designed by Pasadena-based artist and architect Brown. The home features many unique details, including custom tiling in the bathroom by Cha Lee Tan. .
When asked if the second-story ADU was a problem for her Hollywood neighbors, Brown said they were more curious than worried about how long it would take to build. “In some cases, he’s adding ADUs,” he points out.
Even better, ADUs don’t overwhelm your backyard. At 8,000 square feet, Russell decided to keep his ADU small to protect the garden.
“I love my garden so much that it never occurred to me to expand into an ADU,” Brown says. He likes to treat his backyard like an amphitheater and host movie screenings.
Majumdar added: “The ADU fits Russell’s needs. We didn’t have to scale. Initially, we were looking at how we could expand, but we realized we wanted to keep the tree and garage. When you think about it, all the constraints kind of dictated the design.”
The driveway of the house has become part of the garden. “I call it the philosopher’s path,” Brown says.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
As an independent filmmaker who can work from anywhere, Brown appreciates the flexibility ADUs offer as he looks to the future.
“I don’t know if I’m going to live in Los Angeles or live in this house forever,” said Brown, who bought the property in 2003 for $830,000. “If the next housekeeper sees an ADU and wants to move her family here, it would be a great place for someone.”
Trompe l’oeil windows inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin vacation home add visual interest to the second floor.
(Steve King)
For now, his balcony office resembles a treehouse.
“All of my creative work — writing, producing, running a nonprofit — is spent all day upstairs here,” says Brown, who previously had an office on Western Avenue in Hollywood. “I can’t think of a better place to work. It’s a good size and you’re surrounded by nature all day long.”
Like Brown, the architects found inspiration in green spaces. “We picked up a fallen garage at HPOZ and built something under the shade of a tree,” says Majumdar. “It had deep meaning to us.”
With a 1912 Craftsman home in the background, filmmaker Russell Brown enjoys coffee on the balcony of his ADU.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
