Bend Goes To The Stahl HouseBehind The Bend

Midcentury design is an endless fountain of inspiration for us here at Bend. The clean lines and functionality of designs from the period continue to be relevant today. In Los Angeles, Midcentury homes are a dime a dozen, but a few stand out above the rest as icons of the era. As a National Historic Landmark and the most photographed home ever - the Stahl House takes the cake when it comes to Midcentury homes in America.

Perched above the Sunset Strip behind Chateau Marmont, the Stahl House is one of the most recognizable homes in the entire world. The glass and steel edifice was designed by Pierre Koenig in the late 1950s as a single family home for Buck Stahl, an Angeleno Graphic Designer. Stahl created rudimentary designs for his Hollywood Hills lot that Koenig retrofitted to achieve Stahl’s desired “island in the sky” aesthetic with sliding glass doors and cantilevered overhangs at every turn. The 1200 square foot home sits on the edge of a cliff facing 180 degree views of the city that allow you to see all the way from Griffith Observatory to Century City. Not to sound cliché, but the view had our jaws on the floor and our phones out for pictures.

The interior of the home is filled with reproduction furniture and memorabilia from the family. Original floor plans and photos are sprinkled throughout the house for your viewing pleasure. These mementos help you to imagine sitting in the house and staring at the skyline back when the Hollywood Hills were much more vacant and serene. As we watched the sunset and the city began to illuminate, it was hard not to feel inspired by the beauty of L.A. and even harder to leave! As we snapped our final pictures everyone fantasized about growing up in this house. If only we could snatch this beauty up for ourselves, we would be one happy team!

See the Stahl House for yourself by purchasing tickets for a public tour. Nothing can beat seeing this landmark in person!