12.11.2020 | DIGS.NET 39
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estate agent. Bisignano's forte is California Modernism, having repre-
sented another Neutra—Kilbury House in Palos Verdes Estates—along
with homes by Ray Kappe, Thom Mayne, Pierre Koenig and others. "The
Kaufmann house really set the pace," Bisignano points out. "This was
just post-World War II and for the time it was ground-breaking."
Five bedrooms are spread throughout the floor plan, which is assem-
bled in a cross-like shape from which distinct wings span: there are two
bedrooms in the guest wing, and another two bedrooms in the service
wing. The core of the home holds the dining and living room, both neatly
adjacent to the master bedroom—a sunlit retreat that's fairly enclosed
in floor-to-ceiling glass. Remarkably, given the home's 1946 vintage,
is the absence of a corner post in the master bedroom, a feature that
enables two glass doors to meet at a point, as if balanced in space.
Slide the glass open, and one's treated to an instant dose of fresh air,
green grass and striking blue of the pool, a few steps away. Throughout
Kaufmann House, outdoor living figures largely into the overall design,
with fresh-air spaces incorporated side-by-side with interior ones.
The rectangular pool, for instance, is steps from the main living area.
It balances the shape of the home, while injecting a refreshing element—
water—into the desert palette of rocks and cacti. Head upstairs to the
second floor, an open-air space Neutra called the "gloriette."
From here one is treated to sweeping desert views, including the grand
silhouette of the nearby San Jacinto mountain range. "The gloriette draws
you," says Bisignano. "It brings the house into an amazing harmony."
