Californian house

Frequently built in the hills on the edge of major Californian cities, including Los Angeles and Palm Springs, this style of West Coast home can be found in France in the hills above Cannes, along the French Riviera and in Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Toulon. French architect Jean Prouvé’s house in Nancy is a perfect example of these homes that reach to the sky to offer incredible lofty views over the landscape below, but which remain rare and outstanding properties.

Prestigious architecture

It’s hard to resist the temptations of California-style homes, with their unobstructed views, roof terraces, minimalist design and inside/outside continuity between house and garden. The houses designed for California in the post-war years freed themselves from a number of domestic constraints by introducing open-plan spaces, open kitchens, sliding doors and extensive glazing for maximum natural daylight. They blurred the boundary between indoors and outdoors. They provided the freedom to work on the terrace or eat breakfast in the living room… Often single storey, these geometric houses reinvent our desire to furnish, stroll around and live our lives. They introduce a new perspective on investing in bricks and mortar.