DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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32 DIGS.NET | 4.22.2022 S W E E T D I G S | 1 2 5 0 6 C LO U D L A N E M A R K E T A MONG THE FIVE STAR neighborhoods located west of the 405, Brentwood stands out for its sociability. It's the site of some of the city's best public and private schools. It offers plenty of curated shopping and cafe clusters, like those found in Brentwood Village, within the Brent- wood Country Mart and along the strip of San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire and Bundy. The Getty Museum and the Skirball Center are located here as are many of the city's best restaurants. And, it's within easy driv- ing distance of all Los Angeles has to offer. The addresses north of Sunset are considered the most presti- gious. Among these, Crestwood Hills, located at the top of Kenter canyon, is notable for its distinctive cluster of Midcentury Modern homes. Originally founded by a group of musicians driven by a vision of architectural beauty, it was incorporated as the Mutual Housing Group in 1946, later morphing into the Crestwood Hills Association. It's here, tucked into a quiet cul-de-sac, that you'll find the Osoling Residence at 12506 Cloud Lane. Even among a dazzling community of homes that include designs by many of the marquee names of the period, including A. Quincy Jones, Craig Ellwood and Richard Neutra, this house is a standout. Its airy construction expertly merges indoors and out via expansive glass walls, slender metalwork and spacious decks that span each floor offering dramatic ocean views from nearly every room. Credit for the home's architecture goes to Ray Osoling, a build- ing contractor and mechanical engineer designer. While he'd built a home for his sister and her family in Los Feliz, he may have been drawn to this enclave by the presence of Westridge Canyon- back Wilderness Park's nearly 40 miles of hiking trails, catnip to a man who'd been in the first team that ascended the west- ern face of what is known as Piute Crag 2 in the Sierra Nevadas. Purported to have worked with Neutra, Osoling designed and crafted his dream house, with the help of his daughter Karla, constructing an oasis soaked in treetop views. "If the Neutra connection is true," says a former owner, "it's probably the most water-tight and best-constructed Neutra-affiliated house in Los Angeles." Certainly many of the home's attributes, from its slen- der steel framing to its crisp, straight lines, its easy flow and its use of simple materials, echo those found in Neutra's work. The two story home takes full advantage of its hilltop location. Large windows frame mesmerizing vistas that sweep from ocean to the canyon to the city; they also harness the breezes to provide refreshing cross-ventilation. Those who have come to enjoy the benefits of working from home will appreciate how a top floor bedroom has been reimagined as an office space and library. With the property's tall trees swaying just outside windows, it retains an air of serenity even when the rest of the home is crowded with friends and family enjoying the pool. This solitude is ideal for a writer's retreat, an editing bay or a production office. Or, of course, the space can be converted back to a bedroom. With the interplay of branches conjuring up a storybook tree house and the rustle of the leaves playing nature's white noise, here's the perfect setting for a middle school or teenage child and beginning to test their independence and autonomy.