A “reinvented treehouse” with hints of a Swedish ski lodge and Japanese spa and connections to architectural history is on the market in Glendale, California.
The 3,200-square-foot house tucked between towering trees and native plants hit the market earlier this month for $2.6 million, according to a listing on Homes.com. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a one-bedroom, one-bathroom basement guest house. The listing agent is Jermayne Shannon of Compass.
Known as “The Seeds House” after its original owner, equal rights advocate Robert V. Seeds, the property, located at 1321 Cedar Court Road, was built in 1961 and designed by famed California architects Buff & Hensman. The duo is known for their post-war work across the state.
The sellers are acclaimed film director and comedy writer Jamie Ting, known for his work on projects including the “Deadpool 2” ad campaign, and landscape designer Rebecca Delgado Berg. The pair said they were initially drawn to the home in 2019 while shopping for a property with separate square footage, known as an accessory dwelling unit or ADU, that could serve as a creative space.
“Every ADU we toured was a dark garage conversion tucked into a tiny backyard,” Ting said in a statement. “This house’s basement in the treetops — the definition of cognitive dissonance. Stepping out onto the deck, it felt more like a weekend trip to Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear than being in Glendale.”
Ting and Delgado Berg said they’re moving because their work has brought them to the East Coast and Europe.
Rediscovering the home's roots
Since buying the home, Ting and Delgado Berg set to work restoring the house, which Ting said was “obscured by drywall, '90s glass bricks and fluorescent tubes.”
Along the way, they aimed to imbue elements of Scandinavian and Japanese design.
“Simplicity, smart solutions, sustainable choices, natural materials, calm and space,” Delgado Berg said of the approach to the restoration. “Nothing is there that doesn’t need to be there.”
The restoration also brought surprises, including the rediscovery of the property’s original oak and fir staircase banister that was hidden behind drywall, according to Ting and Delgado Berg.
“Ascending and descending the staircase is like playing a marimba. It’s hard to describe,” Ting said. “Actually, I think I described it perfectly.”
The owners also spent time curating the amphitheater backyard and its garden. The garden is filled with native California foliage, and there’s also a waterfall that regularly attracts wildlife, they said.
“Even though you’re fairly centrally located in LA, you’re surrounded by majestic, old native California trees and birdsong,” Delgado Berg said. “It’s blissful and makes you forget your surroundings.”