Inside Aubrey Plaza’s $6.5M Mediterranean-Style Los Feliz Mansion
Category: Celebrity Home
Published by: ArchitecturalStory.com
Introduction
Nestled in the culturally rich Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, actress Aubrey Plaza’s newly acquired $6.5 million home is a masterwork of preservation and modern adaptation. Originally built in 1928, this two-story Mediterranean-style residence exemplifies the enduring legacy of Spanish Revival architecture in California. This blog offers an architectural exploration of the property’s design principles, technical specifications, restoration techniques, and its resonance with Mediterranean-style homes across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Historical Context: Mediterranean Revival Meets Southern California
The Mediterranean or Spanish Revival style gained prominence in Southern California during the early 20th century, paralleling a widespread romantic fascination with the vernacular architecture of southern Europe and Moorish North Africa. Characterized by stucco façades, red-tile roofs, arched doorways, ironwork, and terracotta patios, the revival adapted timeless forms to a new climate and lifestyle.
Aubrey Plaza’s Los Feliz mansion is a textbook example of this tradition, embodying the design ethos of the 1920s while responding to modern living standards. Originally constructed in 1928, the home fuses Moorish arches, Italian Renaissance ornamentation, and Spanish Colonial massing—all tailored to suit Los Angeles’s Mediterranean climate.
Architectural Specifications and Design Features
Size, Layout, and Site
- Total Living Space: ~4,064 square feet across two floors
- Lot Size: Approximately 0.3 acres
- Floor Plan: 4 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, including luxury amenities
The property is sited to maximize privacy and indoor-outdoor continuity, with mature landscaping and terracotta-clad patios strategically enclosing terraces and courtyards—hallmarks of Mediterranean residential planning.
Building Envelope
- Construction: Presumed wood-frame structure with wire lath and cementitious stucco—a typical LA method absorbing seismic considerations
- Roofing: Traditional terracotta clay tiles, offering thermal protection and Mediterranean authenticity
- Glazing: Arched windows and French doors, likely upgraded with energy-efficient glazing while retaining historical symmetry
The building envelope balances thermal mass through tile and masonry, and lightweight framing systems suited to California’s seismic profile. Stucco on wood—with seismic retrofitting likely, though unconfirmed—is favored over the load-bearing masonry common across Mediterranean Europe due to earthquake codes.
Interior Features
The interiors reflect both prestige and function—suited to the demands of modern celebrity life:
- Custom Screening Room: Dedicated home cinema for leisure and entertainment
- Wine Cellar: Subterranean or climate-controlled space engineered for optimal storage
- Primary Suite: Featuring a spa-style bathroom with “stone everything”—natural marble or limestone enveloping floors and walls
- Finish Materials: Original or carefully matched hardwood floors, handmade tile accents, and natural stone surfaces in bathrooms and terraces
Mechanical and Comfort Systems
- Climate Control: Central forced air HVAC—a significant upgrade from original passive or gravity-fed systems
- Security: Integrated alarm system and privacy-enhancing vegetation
- Appliances: High-end, built-in units for kitchen, laundry, and entertainment
Outdoor Living: Landscape and Hardscape Elements
The exterior is a lush, carefully curated series of outdoor “rooms” that expand the home’s usable area:
- Pool Area: A rectangular pool at the base of a tiered garden, ringed with tropical landscaping for privacy and atmosphere
- Patios and Terraces: Finished in terracotta, these facilitate seamless indoor-outdoor interaction—a critical element of Mediterranean residential design
- Driveway and Garage: 2-car garage with a custom blacked-out door, blending privacy with visual elegance
Mediterranean homes emphasize outdoor living, and this property delivers extensively—from shaded nooks for repose to sun-lit entertainment zones.
Key Design Principles Reflected in the Home
1. Indoor-Outdoor Continuity
Wide, arched doors and French windows integrate garden and interior, supporting both cross ventilation and visual flow. This is a deliberate nod to courtyard-centric living from the Mediterranean basin, reimagined for California lifestyles.
2. Seclusion through Vegetation
Mimicking Andalusian patio homes and Roman villas, dense planting buffers the house from urban noise and provides privacy—an essential feature in celebrity architecture.
3. Adaptive Renovation and Preservation
The home balances 1920s authenticity with present-day luxury. Renovations such as spa bathrooms, modern HVAC, and a media room demonstrate a hybrid approach: maintaining original character while future-proofing the residence. Earthquake resistance measures, while not documented, are often added through steel moment frames or foundation strengthening.
Global Mediterranean: Comparative Typologies
| Region | Defining Features and Differences |
|---|---|
| North America (Los Angeles) | Stucco over wood frame, clay tile roofs, arched fenestration, open-plan interiors, indoor-outdoor flow. Interior upgrades and large-scale privacy landscaping common in high-end markets. |
| Australia | Affluent suburbs (e.g., Sydney, Melbourne) showcase homes with traditional Mediterranean palettes but infused with glassier, more open layouts and contemporary plantings. Climate control strategies adapt to Southern Hemisphere norms. |
| Europe (Spain, Italy) | True masonry construction with thick thermal walls, smaller openings for shade, and heritage constraints that maintain façade specificity. Emphasis on courtyards and passive cooling remains central. |
Exemplary Case Studies
- Paul R. Williams Homes (Los Angeles): Elegant Spanish Revivals, still prized for their graceful proportions and symbolic opulence.
- Luigi Rosselli (Australia): Contemporary reimaginings of Mediterranean traditions adapted to Australian suburban sites.
- Barcelona Eixample Townhouses: Renovated Spanish properties reveal traditional elements restored under conservation mandates alongside minimalist modern updates.
Architectural Lessons for Today’s Practitioners and Homeowners
Aubrey Plaza’s Los Feliz residence offers numerous insights for architects, builders, and informed homeowners:
- Blending the Old and New: Success lies in maintaining the architectural “DNA” of a historic home while incorporating functional updates such as zoned HVAC, media rooms, and high-end kitchens and bathrooms.
- Material Harmony: Stone, tile, and hardwood must be chosen or restored for authenticity and compatibility with historical finishes.
- Passive Design Principles: Original Mediterranean forms promote natural cooling, cross ventilation, and climate-savvy massing. Architects can replicate this with updated materials and engineering strategies.
- Seismic Integrity: In areas like LA, meeting historic preservation standards must be balanced with retrofitting for earthquake resistance—often unseen but critical.
- Planning for Privacy: Whether through lush landscape buffers or architectural screening, experiential privacy is vital in homes exposed to the public eye.
Conclusion: A Model of Adapted Heritage
Aubrey Plaza’s $6.5M Los Feliz home is not merely a celebrity estate—it is a living educational example of how Spanish and Mediterranean Revival architecture can adapt across time. Its relevance echoes in the timeless motifs, strategic renovations, and contextual sensitivity that will inspire architects and homeowners alike.
As Los Angeles continues to evolve, its architecture will increasingly demonstrate how historical forms can serve modern needs without compromising their essence—a lesson exemplified exquisitely in this 1928 gem.
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