Mid-Century Modern Tree House

A Restored and Updated 1960s Icon

Built in 1960 by architect Boyd Georgi, the iconic Puelicher House holds a Registered Historic Landmark status. Comprehensively restored by Emily Farnham Architecture with Bronstruction behind the rebuild, this geometric classic was redesigned for multidisciplinary artist Julia Sherman, the personality behind Salad for President, as well as an awarded garden installation artist, founder/creator of Jus Jus Verjus sparkling wine, and the author of two cookbooks.

The vivid white house that stair-steps around a wooded Pasadena hillside has been structurally rebuilt, but all the home’s original materials were maintained and restored, including the striking floor-to-ceiling mitered windows, the doors and parquet floors. The original decks still surround the house on multi levels, but each one was meticulously deconstructed and rebuilt. A new chef’s quality kitchen and a trio of bathrooms complete the redesign, in addition to updated millwork throughout.

Outside, the home straddles a freshwater stream, its angular, glass-enclosed volumes expanded by a bridge and a shaded play area for the kids next to the water. A fruit orchard occupies the back yard, and the front of the home opens to a tree-lined street in West Pasadena.

Layout

Main house: Primary bedroom with queen bed, en-suite bathroom and dressing room; two kids' rooms with single beds (but bunk beds are available)

Granny flat: Queen bed, en-suite bathroom, wet bar and private entrance

Garden A-frame: Office

Events and photoshoots

Photoshoots are welcome, but the price is dependent on the shoot size, hours, and number of people on set. Events are also possible, on request.

Around

This property is located in West Pasadena, in the 3.7-square-mile area known as South Arroyo. Varied walking and driving tours allow for visiting the neighborhood’s landmark architectural homes, created by celebrated Modernist architects such as Richard Neutra, Harwell Hamilton Harris and John Lautner. The area’s architecture spans from the 1930s to post WWII originals, all celebrating a connection to the Southern California setting and lifestyle. The Puelicher House shares the area with one of the earliest Case Study Houses (#10 by Kemper Nomland and Kemper Nomland, Jr), as well as other notable homes like Harwell Hamilton Harris' Graham Laing House and Richard Neutra's Constance M. Perkins House.

The neighborhood’s ornate San Rafael Bridge is an icon in its own right, and its little sister, the La Loma Bridge is another landmark. Wooded with native California oak trees, the neighborhood is great for urban hikers, and the area borders South Pasadena’s Lower Arroyo nature preserve, with steep canyon walls, a river bed, and local wildflife and flora. Other local destinations include the Norton Simon Museum on nearby Colorado Boulevard, the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, and Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge.