'Dream House with Young Ideas'

The Jones & Emmons architectural firm (A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons) had nearly a decade of designing Eichlers under its belt when Good Housekeeping magazine introduced the world to one of their custom designs that the domestic lifestyle magazine called a "dream house with young ideas" in 1961.

Six decades later, we present that same house to you, now on the Southern California market for $2.995 million. Besides the Eichler connection to the home, its backstory, as well as its well‐preserved present state, are deserving of coverage here too.

The 1960 'Good Housekeeping Model House,' what the magazine called a modern, up‐to‐the‐minute house "with the outdoors built in," is located at 4965 Calvin Avenue in Tarzana, and lists at $2.995 million.

According to the USModernist website, the home was built by the Shadow Hills Building Company in the small, five‐home Royal Homes development designed by Jones & Emmons.

Marketed today as the Calvin House, the home was known earlier as the Harlan Lee House for its original owner, who headed up the development company for the subdivision. Over the years, the house has been well cared for, and is currently owned by a celebrity artist, who, according to listing agent Preston Gazowsky of The Beverly Hills Estates, "restored the house back to what it should be."

The 2,202‐square‐foot home features four bedrooms and two baths, with custom millwork and new terrazzo floors. Just stepping into the courtyard is an experience, Gazowsky points out.

"First there's those sky‐blue double doors," he says. "You can actually enter the house in three different ways, which is unique; either straight into the living room or family room, which leads to the kitchen; or by making a left. And today, if you use that fourth bedroom as an office, you can actually have visitors come in that way."

The family room opens into the kitchen, dining room, and a living room the listing describes as "cinematic." A ten‐foot‐high wall of glass illuminates the indoor living spaces, with views out to a swimming pool surrounded by a native California landscape. Panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley and the mountains beyond complete the idyllic scenery, especially on sparkling summer nights.