Midcentury Modern Home in Pasadena is a Treehugger’s Dream – DIRT

“I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree” wrote the poet Joyce Kilmer, and really, who among us could disagree? Certainly not Pasadena architect Floyd Mueller, from the looks of the home he designed for himself and his wife, Chilean artist Susana Guevara, back in 1946. Located in Pasadena’s Linda Vista neighborhood, the architect’s residence sits smack-dab over the Arroyo Seco, and is enveloped by awe-inspiring oak, sycamore, willow, and alder trees.

Featured on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens in June 1950 and in the December 1951 issue of Arts and Architecture magazine, the post-and-beam home contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and dining rooms, a kitchen, an office, and a laundry room within its 2,785 square feet. In accordance with the California Modernist ethos of maintaining a connection to nature, the living room and each bedroom are lined with walls of glass that open onto a wraparound balcony. Other features of note include the slate flooring, fireplace in the living room, and built-in cabinetry and shelving designed by Mueller, who worked as a furniture maker and set designer for films before launching his architecture practice.

Per the listing description, the house “has been updated over the years to reflect the original spirit of the design without kitschy or anachronistic aesthetic choices. Currently, Japanese woodwork, screens, and lighting are a nod to the Japanese architectural influence on Pasadena, and the inherent serenity of the home’s design.”

Along with all of its arboreal splendor, the property’s three-quarter-acre grounds feature a grotto-style pool and spa, two flagstone patios, and a carport. On the market for the first time in half a century, it’s listed at $2.28 million. And if you really wanna go out on a limb, the adjacent midcentury home is also up for grabs — on one-third of an acre, it’s asking $1.23 million. Both properties are repped by Steve Clark of Backbeat Homes.