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  • Douglas Fir in California Building Design

    Posted on July 28, 2011 by Jennifer

    Los Angeles is America’s city of dreams—the sun-drenched town where hopeful folks go to make their dreams come true. And the city is known for homes that reflect that California dream—from elaborate Hollywood mansions to simple suburban ranches, much of California architecture is about taking the best of the state’s natural beauty and bringing it into the home.

    The Kaufmann House in Palm Springs makes great use of Douglas fir paneling.

    For decades, home designers have turned to Douglas fir—naturally beautiful and native to the West Coast—as a key element in creating those California dream homes.

     

    Many of the earliest structures in Southern California reflected the influence of Spanish settlements, making use of stone and adobe. However, in the early 20th Century, the Arts and Crafts movement swept the country, and L.A.’s residents were not immune to its charms. As the name suggests, Arts and Crafts-style homes reflect a love of quality, hand-crafted elements. Wood paneling, built-in cabinets, and use of natural materials like stone and wood are key features.

    One of L.A.’s most notable Arts and Crafts homes, the Gamble House, was built in 1908 for wealthy residents David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company. Douglas fir is one of several types of wood used for the exposed beams, window and door frames, and other intricately-crafted woodworking that fills the interior of the home, known as one of the “twelve great man-made wonders of L.A. county.”

    A 1917 issue of “House Beautiful” magazine includes an article on native building materials of the Pacific coast, calling Douglas fir “a wood destined for extensive building uses in this country” and mentions that it holds “exceptional possibilities for paneling.” The Historic Highlands area of Pasadena, Calif., which was built from the turn of the century to 1925, is another area where surviving examples of Douglas fir’s use in the Craftsman/Bungalow area can be seen.

    However, as 20th century continued, Los Angeles homes evolved, and architects began using Douglas fir in new ways. Beginning as early as the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s, a simpler, sleeker style of architecture began to arise—known as mid-century modern, or as California modern. Characterized by simplicity and integration with nature, architects such as Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler and Gregory Ain epitomized the California style.

    douglas fir trim and siding

    Skyrose Chapel has 10 miles of Douglas fir trim and siding.

    Douglas fir continued to be important to mid-century modern architects, as a building material that was both natural and widely available for west coast homes. Many mid-century modern architects were very conscious of designing homes that were accessible to anyone—using readily available materials and designs that were easy to build.

    The Crestwood Hills area of L.A., for instance, was developed in the late 1940s as a neighborhood of modern homes to meet the needs of the post-World War II baby boom families. According to a 2010 article in Westside Today magazine, the houses of Crestwood Hills “set a standard for excellence in postwar tract-home development.” They used simple materials like concrete block, Douglas fir, and plate glass. “With thoughtful planning and the use of level changes, the original structures housed a post-war family quite comfortably. Large areas of glass in the walls and sliding doors dissolve the boundary between house and garden,” architect Cory Buckner writes.

    Richard Neutra, a noted modernist architect, was another designer who experimented with creating simple homes out of affordable materials like Douglas fir. His 1936 “Plywood House” built out of Douglas fir plywood was designed as part of a competition at the California House and Garden Exhibition—it was meant to pay homage to his love of small but spacious homes and was finished inside and out with Douglas fir.

    The mid-century modern style did not necessarily mean the homes were utilitarian or not attractive, however. The Dorland House, designed by America’s most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, in 1948, uses Douglas fir ceiling beams as one of the many features that set off the beauty of its setting in the Altadena foothills by deliberate use of organic materials that echo the surrounding natural beauty.

    Wright’s colleague Richard Schindler also chose Douglas fir for one of his most lovely homes, the Rodriguez house in Glendale. Vertical grain Douglas fir, Santa Maria stone, and slate are among the many natural materials showcased in the house.

    As the century has continued, California’s love of natural materials like Douglas fir has continued too. Once-lost historical gems like Richard Neutra’s classic of the modernist movement, the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, which features Douglas fir ceilings, have been recently restored.

    In 1997, Douglas fir was used in the Skyrose Chapel of Whittier, Calif., one of several funeral chapels at Rose Hills Memorial Park. Skyrose Chapel features stunning exposed beams throughout, soaring ceilings, and more than 10 miles of trim and siding.

    And in 2010, the California Home & Design Award for residential interior design went to a Costa Mesa home that features Douglas fir doorways and ceiling beams, adding an earthy flair to an otherwise modern home.

    From craftsman to modern, simple to ornate, Douglas fir is an adaptable wood that’s well-suited to the California aesthetic: organic materials meeting natural beauty for more than a century of L.A. homes.

    - Jennifer Rouse



    This post was posted in All Entries, Douglas Fir Trim, History and Interest and was tagged with Douglas-fir, Douglas fir flooring, douglas fir trim, douglas fir paneling, douglas fir design, california design

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