The 11 most popular home and garden stories of 2016

Dec. 20, 2016 7 AM PT

It’s that time of the year when we come to reminisce over some of the Saturday section’s most popular Home photo galleries and stories.

Over the course of 2016, Saturday section readers toured Craftsman-style homes, modern restorations, total makeovers, lofts — and even a trailer park home like no other.

Readers voted with their clicks. Here are the 11 most popular Home stories and photo galleries viewed on our site:

1.) An L.A. designer bought a trailer park home in Ojai and tricked it out. The results are jaw-dropping.

Amy Shock, left, relaxes with some bird-watching off of the back porch of her mobile home in Ojai. (Gaszton Gal)

It’s hard to believe this is a mobile home, but it is. Designer Amy Shock purchased it for $5,200 and transformed the 800-square-foot mobile home with floor-to-ceiling walls of glass in the living room to take in the Ojai scenery.

2.) He created the ultimate bachelor pad in this Hollywood rental

Designing the perfect party pad. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Digital media strategist Matty Pipes rented a two-bedroom apartment at Eastown, the large-scale complex on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He liked the apartment’s contemporary interior design details, amenities and a location that put him near restaurants, shops and the Hollywood/Vine subway station. He enlisted his friends Kim Swift and Andrew Stevens of We Came in Peace, a Los Angeles design firm that typically stages parties and events, to decorate his bachelor pad in the epicenter of Hollywood.

3.) This is the Culver City home that a family built — with its own hands

The construction of this Culver City home was a family affair. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Noah Riley designed his sister Gerun Riley’s Culver City home and built it with his brother Nathaniel and his brother-in-law Jason Wilborn.

4.) A hillside home is taken down to the studs and reimagined to embrace Los Angeles

Architect Aaron Neubert completely made over this developer's "box." (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Scott and Kendall Watson chose their four-bedroom house in the Hollywood Hills for the location, and then revamped the whole structure to let in more light and enjoy the hillside view with architect Aaron Neubert’s help.

5.) This rundown Craftsman in Highland Park needed a savior. Now it's a stunning family home

Taidgh O'Neill disassembled the box beams on the ceiling of the living and dining rooms and flipped them over to expose unspoiled wood. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Architectural restorer Taidgh O’Neill and his wife, Stephanie, found a 1905 Highland Park home for $300,000 that needed lots of TLC. So O’Neill gutted and stripped and then remodeled and refinished. And then he built some furniture, including a crib for his sons, a rocking chair and a sofa in the living room and this table, among other things.

6.) This Palm Springs dream home is built to look like it's 'launching off the hillside'

The natural beauty of this hilly site in Palm Springs inspired an indoor-outdoor design that embraces the surroundings. (Michal Utterback)

Kort and Kathryn Schnabel found an ideal site for their family retreat with views of the San Jacinto Mountains and the Coachella Valley. They hired architect Sean Lockyer of Studio AR+D to build a home away from home.

7.) Photographer Gray Malin and his husband aim for a picture-pretty but comfy home

In the living room, bordered window shades by Neal Bernardino and upholstered armchairs add sophistication to a room with bright splashes of color. (Christina House / For The Times)

Photographer Gray Malin and tech exec Jeff Richardson renovated their 1940s Spanish home in West Hollywood, consulting Orlando Soria, who is part of Homepolish.com. Their home also features work from Malin.

8.) An open, industrial loft in DTLA gets a cozy makeover

MTV's "Scream" star Carlson Young, 25, shares her DTLA loft with her fianc, Isom Innis of the indie pop band Foster the People. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Actress Carlson Young from MTV’s “Scream,” and musician fiancé Isom Innis wanted their two-bedroom DTLA loft to be warm and unique. They enlisted their friend Joyce Pickens of JDP Interiors and Caroline Walkup to create a “cozy art gallery” feel in their home.

9.) The décor in this L.A. home is glamorously over the top — and that's the point

The living room features a wide assortment of seating for game nights, parties and karaoke. The ceiling is painted in a checkerboard pattern of different green tones. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

For Johanna and Andy McElfresh, less is not more. They bought their 1933 Mid-Wilshire home in 2002, and the decor is a product of their longtime collaboration. Don’t miss comparing the peculiar differences of the “his and her offices” with our slider.

10.) A Long Beach couple lovingly restore an architectural gem

A classic, restored. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Kelly and Ted Hyman rescued this Edward Killingsworth-designed house in Long Beach from being torn down and restored it to its late 1950s glory. It was truly a labor of love, for the design and for each other.

11.) Total makeover: A Spanish 'teardown' is transformed into a modernist retreat

Can you believe this used to be a Spanish teardown? (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Vanessa Bradley and Michel Bocande fell in love with the work of Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson of Santa Monica-based Minarc. So when they bought a 1924 Spanish-style teardown in Beverly Grove, they enlisted them to remake the house using mnmMOD system, which uses prefabricated panels that are energy-efficient and easier to customize.

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Travel & Experiences

Denise Florez

Denise Florez is a former News Desk multiplatform editor for the Los Angeles Times. She previously worked at the Press-Enterprise Spanish weekly La Prensa, now named Excélsior and Al Borde Magazine. Mexico City is her hometown and USC is her alma mater.