• Designed by David Hyun • 640 Hightree Road , Santa Monica CA, 90402

The Modern Tree House - Architect David Hyun 1960. The original owners of this enviable, light-bathed lot tasked Hyun (who, in his early years, worked in the offices of mid-century modernist masters Richard Neutra and A. Quincy Jones) with designing a post-and-beam structure that integrated the magnificent native Oaks and the giant Sycamore which graced the site in a way that would allow the owners to view the trees. Hyun realized the owners' vision by creating rectilinear "voids" which incorporated the Century-old living elements into the "structure" and assembling broad expanses of glass which insulated the occupants from the elements while still affording views from every area of the home. Natural light enters the dramatic two-story high living and dining areas from four directions providing a constantly changing play of light throughout the day and a variety of subtle moods in the room as the light gradually lessens or weather changes. Additionally downstairs is a newer, eat-in Eggersman kitchen, a full-service bar, formal powder room, and three bedrooms (all sharing one full bath). Upstairs holds the primary suite with uncharacteristically (for the era) expansive closets, two separate offices and a very large den/media room. Sited on perhaps the best block of Rustic Canyon, the nearly one-quarter acre lot features a spacious rear yard with a large swimming pool, an area for dining amongst the trees, and, perhaps most importantly, a gate directly into Rustic Canyon Park (one of the County's most beloved), which extends the yard spectacularly.