Los Angeles, CA

About this dome

  • Size: 1800 sq ft
  • Lot size: .25 acres

Designed by Los Angeles architect William King, this extremely unique house has three dramatic levels: 1) huge skylit earth-sheltered lower level 2) warm woody timber-framed kitchen 3) topped by geodesic dome with wrap around deck. Dramatic city and mountain views with 1/4 acre of native and cultivated gardens. Renowned home of Sundown Salon/Schoolhouse and critical part of the LA contemporary art scene since 2000. It has been widely published internationally and hosted many film and photoshoots.

This home exists in a slightly different dimension. You enter from the street into the dramatic earth-sheltered lower level, a poured concrete curvy space illuminated by 15 skylights, including a newly-renovated full bath. Up a few steps you land on a spacious stage-like level where a secret skylit sleeping chamber is accessed behind a painting.

Further up the stair leads you into the timber-framed kitchen, an angular woody perch with a massive sliding wood table and 180 degree views of the San Gabriel Mountains. An adjacent bathroom leads to an outdoor shower and wood soaking tub overlooking the garden.

One last spiral up puts you in the 24-foot diameter geodesic dome, a bright blue hemisphere. A triangular window faces the garden to the south. The city below and mountains beyond are framed by a large hexagonal window from which you could imagine a Bond villain plotting world domination.

The low-water succulent, native and fruit tree gardens feature a sequence of outdoor spaces terraced into the hillside including a spacious dining area and an 18′ diameter heavy-duty canvas dome yurt on a wood platform.