Artworks, ‘Earth 1’ and ‘Earth 2’ by Monica Perez.
Godar’s parents had moved from St. Louis, where she grew up, to Los Angeles, where all their adult children had settled, purchasing a four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath home in the upscale, historic Riviera neighbourhood. The property was originally built in 2002 as a quasi-Mediterranean modern home—“sort of unrealised and stylistically uncommitted,” recalls Godar. A low-pitched terracotta curved tile roof, fireplaces and a spiral staircase with arched windows hinted at stylistic grandeur, but an astroturf and concrete exterior were incongruous, as was the lower level of the house, which “felt like an afterthought and yet was in the most privileged spot in the house.” Resolving these was part of the plan, and certain rooms were more dated than others, but in general, explains Godar, “the brief was: make this a home that can expand for big family gatherings, guests, and neighbourhood parties, but which also contracts practically into a more sophisticated home for the two of them to retire.”