Ray Kappe’s Keeler Up Close

Master architect Ray Kappe's work has been described as "the apotheosis of the California Modern House." It's quite possible you've seen a Kappe up close if you've watched the movie 'Cruel Intentions,' or the television series 'Californication.'

Recently, a realtor's for‐sale sign gave us the opportunity to experience one of Kappe's Southern California gems up close for ourselves—the Keeler House in Pacific Palisades.

The home dramatically soars over its hillside site, an exquisite structure in harmony with its natural setting. There, a forested aqua garden looks out to views of the canyon and beyond to coastline and city vistas.

Represented by Crosby Doe, who has specialized in selling architect‐designed properties since 1974, the treehouse‐like structure is sited at 16525 Akron Street in Pacific Palisades and priced at just under $8 million.

"I've been studying great architecture formally for 50 years," says Doe. "For me personally, experiencing the Keeler House for the first time was truly an unforgettable moment.

"The space seems to be almost alive. Kappe's cantilevering the roof joist glulam beams out well beyond the structure is not just a design element, they literally unify one's indoor/outdoor visual experience."

Kappe's designs masterfully have taken the post‐and‐beam style to its zenith, and in this project, we see a reinterpretation of the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Completed in 1991, the single‐family residence was constructed over four‐and‐one‐half years from clear heart redwood, teak, fir, concrete, and glass utilized in creative combinations, and extending to the walls, floors, and ceilings.

After initially starting a renovation project with another architect, jazz singer Anne Keeler asked Kappe to step into her project. Keeler already had been inspired by Ray and Shelly Kappe's 1967 home on Pacific Palisade's Brooktree Road.

As the story goes, Kappe brought an enticing model of the new design to the couple, "complete with a tiny piano." The Keeler structure was completely reworked from a home that Anne and then‐husband Gordon Melcher had previously purchased in the Palisades.

Accessed via a driveway leading into a gated parking plaza with a two‐vehicle carport, the 4,142‐square‐foot residence incorporates spaces that are integrated both horizontally and vertically.

A series of steps make their way through a lush water garden, which ends at a second entrance. Both entrances open into a stunning double‐height atrium illuminated by a vaulted skylight, and hardwood floors inlaid with glass panels.