Skip to main content

In the Press

Brian Grazer’s Clunky Santa Monica Mansion is Transformed Into a Sleek Contemporary Gem Brian Grazer’s Clunky Santa Monica Mansion is Transformed Into a Sleek Contemporary Gem

The Oscar-winning producer enlists architect Mark Rios and designer Waldo Fernandez to renovate his scenic Santa Monica manor

Hollywood mogul though he may be, when it comes to the way he lives, Brian Grazer defies typecasting. For years the prolific spiky-haired producer of such big-screen hits as Splash, Apollo 13, and Frost/Nixon resided in the reclusive upper reaches of Los Angeles's Pacific Palisades neighborhood, in a 1930s Cliff May ranch house that was decorated in a fairly traditional style. But five years ago, after a divorce, he sold the place—to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck—and resolved to make a significant change. "The goal was pretty simple," Grazer says. "Give me the opposite of what I had."

The The "WOW" Factor

Authentic Art Deco style pairs with elite technology to provide the ultimate home theater in a totally renovated Southern California estate.

Country- Style Modernism Country- Style Modernism

A home in the california countryside takes 20 years to design and build—and the architecture and technology become more modern in the process

In 1987, the owner of this house—an avid art collector and owner of a drywall company—purchased 42 acres to grow citrus in an agricultural community north of Los Angeles. Postmodern architecture was all the rage at the time, so the owner hired Zoltan E. Pali to design a Georgianstyle residence. The young architect, who happened to be a disciple of the Case Study modernists, was just starting out on his own and couldn’t afford to decline the commission. “It’s sort of like young people when they are dating,” he says. “I was idealistic enough to think I could change him.”

Silver Screen Silver Screen

A homeowner plans to renovate his Cape Cod-style home without adding a theater until his interior designer convinces him otherwise.