Though the finished project may invoke a midcentury vibe, it isn’t a stuffy period piece.
Home & Garden
Rock singer-guitarist Beck is asking $2.345 million for his 1961 Malibu beach home --- a slight price reduction from $2.399 million.
At the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, more note the rising trend in home cooking and the scaling back of projects.
DATEBOOK
Learn about California flora and beneficial insects
![Santa Monica designer Michael S. Smith to decorate Obama's White House living area](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44531603-15105552.jpg)
Santa Monica designer Michael S. Smith has won the commission to redecorate the White House living quarters for the Obama family.
MAN OF THE HOUSE
![A burning desire for turkey wings](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/column/2009-01/44561270-16181321.jpg)
I'm talking to my buddy Irv about women -- of which I know precious little -- and I confess upfront that I refuse to chase her anymore.
DATEBOOK
Learn about California flora at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley
HOT PROPERTY
![With Malibu sale, Olivia Newton-John can get mellow](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44560998-16162156.jpg)
The Mediterranean-style house has four bedrooms and includes a pool, spa and guesthouse.
![Victory gardens sprout up again](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44428549-13170104.jpg)
People are borrowing an old wartime concept to lessen the need for mass-produced food, reduce pollution and build a sense of community.
HOME LIFE
![More Americans stashing money at home](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44444232-12112228.jpg)
U.S. banks are federally protected, but economic turmoil has some turning to creative hiding places to store their cash.
MAN OF THE HOUSE
![Date night at the movies](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/column/2009-01/44442533-09180535.jpg)
If they ever give an Academy Award to the best moviegoer of the year, I would have to be a nominee. No one enters a packed theater with more flair (or ...
LOST L.A.
![Colony in Pacific Palisades nurtured top artists in 1950s, 1960s](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44442536-09180320.jpg)
A retreat in Pacific Palisades' Rustic Canyon served as a live-work destination for top painters, writers and musicians.
HOT PROPERTY
![Beverly D'Angelo's Beverly Hills home listed at $2,185,000](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44444229-09155138.jpg)
The five-bedroom Spanish-style home features a two-story entryway, beamed ceilings, a detached studio, pool and courtyard.
DATEBOOK
Gardening how-tos include growing orchids indoors, and organic fruit trees outside.
![Bad design trends we hope die in 2009](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photogallery/2009-01/44324892-07114704.jpg)
Toss the heavy brocade curtains and warm up that industrial kitchen. The experts weigh in on the worst in home decorating.
![Brock Galerie](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photogallery/2009-01/44300090-02170004.jpg)
Brock Galerie owners Cameron Smith and Tom Kurthy have created a new showroom where major 20th century European designs mix with brawny industrial ...
MAN OF THE HOUSE
![A holiday night's dream? Well, mostly](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/column/2009-01/44323648-02164112.jpg)
Board games, teenage houseguests, bad movies and one Christmas miracle. It all stacks up to good things in the new year.
HOT PROPERTY
![Jakob Dylan lists Brentwood Park home at $11 million](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44323754-02163405.jpg)
The 7-bedroom Spanish estate features two guesthouses, a lap pool and spa on a gated property.
DATEBOOK
How to design a parking strip garden and the 2009 Multicultural Weaving Exposition.
NEIGHBORLY ADVICE: COWAN HEIGHTS
![A quiet sanctuary in central Orange County](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2009-01/44323663-02162537.jpg)
The unincorporated community has woodsy appeal and features luxury homes in large, private lots.
![Recycled living: A bohemian L.A. loft is decorated with flea market finds](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photogallery/2009-01/44273706-02155721.jpg)
In the spirit of adaptive reuse, nearly all the furnishings inside this loft hail from flea markets, thrift shops or alley finds.
![A home full of salvage in Silver Lake](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photogallery/2009-01/44298438-02160007.jpg)
“Everything in the house is found,” says owner Al Teman. “The stuff is there for free everywhere. You just have to find it.”
![Greystone show house 2008](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photogallery/2008-11/43137901-05153837.jpg)
The Greystone design showcase, open through Nov. 16, presents something quite novel: a show house that actually feels like a house, not a collection ...
![HOMES OF THE TIMES](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090130081004im_/http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/gallery/2008-10/41943664-08122742.jpg)