The popularity of split-level houses is widespread, and this well-designed home shows the reason why so many families choose them. First of all, it has a plan which can be adapted to nearly any lot, and the exterior is an interesting combination of cut stone and wood shingles with three eye-catching roof levels, and a window arrangement quite different from the usual. The front door leads to a foyer on the lower level; next to the front entry on the outside there is a planter box, and there is another just inside by the stairs.
There is also a coat closet in the foyer, and a full length glass panel at the door to bring natural light to the whole area. Also on the lower level there is a two car garage, a laundry, a powder room and a recreation room with a corner bar and sliding glass doors to the back yard. One level down from this is the full basement for utilities, storage, etc. The level above the foyer consists of living room, dining room, and kitchen. In the living room there is a gracefully curving bow window, a fireplace with raised hearth and the planter by the stairs is seen from the room. Two windows in the dining room look toward the rear of the property, and THIS is a dining room that is big enough for entertaining, close to the kitchen and with privacy as well.
Part of the kitchen is designed to be the working half, with a built-in oven, counter-top range, and plenty of cupboard and counter space. Another part of the kitchen, with two windows, has been designed for informal dining, and since there is an outside door in this room it means a lot of time and steps saved for the entire family. The stairs to the different levels are located in the center of the house and curve around to form a balcony on the top level. At this level there is a master bedroom with two exposures, a wardrobe closet, a walk-in closet, and a private bath with an enclosed shower and a linen closet. Bedroom #2 has three windows and two closets, bedrooms #3 and #4 have two windows and two closets each. The family bath has a vanity sink, a tub, and a linen closet, and there is another in the hall outside.
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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968
Gemini AI Rendering
The NBC Radio City building in Los Angeles was born out of a moment when radio was not just entertainment, but the beating heart of American culture. Constructed between 1936 and 1938 at the famous intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, it became the West Coast headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company at a time when Hollywood itself was rapidly transforming into the global capital of media. The move from San Francisco to Los Angeles reflected a deeper shift: radio was merging with film, celebrity culture, and eventually television, all converging in Southern California.
Behind the ever-popular traditional facade is a floor plan completely different in its concept, providing a practical, organized, yet dramatic living area. A sloping beamed ceiling sweeps around the rear of this home connecting the kitchen with the family room, including space for a dinette. The enormous bay thus created extends into the rear garden and can also be seen from the main entrance. Immediately on entering the house through the flagstone center hall the focus of attention is on the family social area. The core of this area is a brick fireplace—a veritable hub around which all household activity turns. On one side is the kitchen and on the other the family room. Between are a dinette, with a barbeque fireplace for cook-ins, and an extension of the family room which allows it to flow outdoors to the terrace and garden. This expansive indoor-outdoor living area, with floor-to-ceiling glass on all outside walls, is completely informal and contains all the necessities of day-to-day family routine.
The formal living room remains set apart from the daytime activity area, a special place for special gatherings. Its focal point is a bow window overlooking the covered flagstone porch with its grill-work columns. There is no need ever to cross the formal living room to reach any part of the house. The dining room also has an unusual amount of privacy plus two sliding glass doors. One leads to the side porch, which can be screened, and the other leads to the terrace as do the two in the family area. Every one of the three bedrooms has plenty of closet space and a nice arrangement of windows. Bedroom 2 has a comfortable window seat and the master bedroom has a separate bath and dressing area which is most convenient. The family bath has been designed to double as a powder room. The basement is complete with recreation room, laundry, bar, lavatory, game storage closet and walk-in cedar closet. Wood siding and stone have been used for the traditional exterior of this very different home.
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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968
Gemini AI Rendering
Every day of the year and in every area of family life this ranch house will prove to be just right. For example, it has a nice flagstone front porch that’s sheltered from wind and weather making it a pleasant place to welcome guests or simply sit and rock. A larger porch at the rear, roofed over and protected on two sides, can serve as a year-round passage between the two-car garage and the mud room and it can also provide a private area for entertaining and a safe play space for small children. A third outdoor area is the flagstone dining patio, connected to the dining room by large glass doors. The front porch entrance opens on a large, bright vestibule complete with coat closet and the rear porch entrance opens on a mud room-laundry where there is a lavatory, stairs to the basement, room for laundry equipment, freezer corner and huge pantry closet. A compact combination of facilities such as that offered in the mud room will do much to speed along indoor and outdoor chores.
No "through traffic" in the living room and plenty of unbroken wall space make this room easy to decorate nicely and easy to keep looking that way, too. The two chief features, a graceful bay window and a handsome fireplace with a long hearth, complement each other perfectly. Barbeque meals have earned a rightful place on the American menu, and in this kitchen those meals can be cooked with a minimum of fuss on the barbeque fireplace. The usual kitchen chores can be handled with ease too and informal meals can be served pleasantly in the roomy dinette corner. In the bedroom area to the left of the foyer there is a family bath with a sink and vanity combination, and there are three large bedrooms. There's a total of eleven closets—all but the linen closet have sliding doors, and there are nice big windows in each bedroom. The master bedroom also has a private bath, a dressing room with vanity and some handy shelves. A handsome stone and shingle exterior seems perfectly suited to this ranch house.
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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968
Gemini AI Rendering
This ranch house is just the right size for the average family with two or three children. It also has a wonderful floor plan which will let that family enjoy many at-home activities. At the rear of the center entrance hall there is a spacious family room; with sliding glass terrace doors and a fireplace with extended hearth, this room will prove ideal for informal get-togethers all through the year. The dinette area of the kitchen, designed for informal meals, also has sliding glass terrace doors which open near a barbecue center. The whole terrace is private yet convenient and large enough for real enjoyment. At the far end there is a door which opens on a service area consisting of a storage closet, laundry area and adjacent lavatory. A wide window above the sink in the efficient kitchen affords supervision of the youngsters at play on the terrace or in the yard beyond.
Please note that from the kitchen it is only a step or two to any of the areas where meals may be served. Leaded glass windows add interest to the formal dining room at the front of the house and in the living room beyond there are four full length windows. These two rooms are convenient for formal entertaining from the standpoint of both hostess and guests and may easily be combined for large gatherings. The two family bedrooms are nearly identical; both have double front windows and double closets with sliding doors. The master bedroom has cross-ventilation, a dressing room with four closets and a built-in vanity and a private bath. The family bath is convenient to both bedroom and daytime areas and has a vanity sink. In the hall outside there are three big closets.
On one side of the attached two-car garage there are a built-in work bench, stairs to the basement, a storage closet and door to the service area. At the rear are two big storage rooms, with indoor and outdoor access. An exterior of wood and stone features an eye-catching covered porch and will look wonderful in any setting you choose.
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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968
Gemini AI Rendering
This house has been designed to suit the needs of a family from the time the children are small until they have families of their own and come to visit! The heart of this three-bedroom, two-bath ranch is a living room which extends from the flagstone porch at the front of the house a full 20’ to the rear. Large triple glass windows front and rear give you cross-ventilation and two pretty views. There is also a fireplace with a very wide raised hearth and room for a built-in hi-fi and television. The adjacent dining room also has three big windows at the front and sliding glass doors which open on a patio. The kitchen has an L-shaped layout, with room for a double built-in oven, a counter-top range, a dishwasher and ample cupboard and counter space. There is also a dinette corner close to the rear windows overlooking the patio. Off the kitchen there is a laundry and mud room with a patio door, stairs to the basement and access to the garage.
The two-car garage has room at one side for a work bench, space at the rear behind folding doors for storing toys and tools and a storage room with an outside door for garden equipment. The design of the bedroom wing allows two nice bedrooms for children or guests, with a closet wall between and a full bath which may be shared by the occupants of these two rooms. Parents will welcome the luxury of the completely private master bedroom with its large window areas, private bath with enclosed shower and entry dressing room which boasts a total of eight closets. The large flagstone porch at the front of the house gives a hint of the feeling of spaciousness which is felt as one goes on into the foyer and from there to the various areas of the house. Worth noting: the fact that the patio can be transformed into a family room with a minimum of fuss and expense, should you wish to do so. The pleasant styling of the exterior, combining clapboard and stone, will keep its eye appeal through many long and happy years.
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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968
Gemini AI Rendering
