Alan Pullman with daughters Chloe, left, and Sasha in the backyard of their house in the Alamitos Heights neighborhood of Long Beach. The ribbons of glass wrapping the front and back of the house drew the architect’s interest. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Architect Alan Pullman and his family recently bought and renovated a 1940 Long Beach house by Raphael Soriano, who had worked for Richard Neutra and was a leading figure in Southern California midcentury modernism.
The front of the split-level house. When Pullman first saw the property, he knew, even with the curtains closed, that the sight lines carried past the front metal casement windows, into the living room and through more windows to the backyard. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The front entrance to the house, with Neutra house numbers from Design Within Reach. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
To the right of the front door, a living and dining area. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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Eames chairs sit below half curtains. When the Pullmans researched the house, they saw an old photo with curtains that ran to the bottom of the window rather than to the floor, so they had curtains made to the same length. They are a cotton blend made by Silpa Custom Draperies in Los Alamitos. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Chloe, left and Sasha watching TV in the living room, with the front door off in the distance. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Alan, his wife, Stephanie, and their daughters at the dining table, which is from Design Within Reach. The four off-white fiberglass dining chairs are from Modernica, and the two orange armchairs are vintage Eames designs, pieces that Stephanie inherited from grandparents. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The Pullmans moved the kitchen to where it had originally been — right next to the patio at the back of the house. The corner room has doors to both the patio and the living room. They re-used the white steel kitchen cabinets, which Alan Pullman dates to the ‘50s, but added new appliances and Formica counters. Pullman took down the cabinets himself and laid them out in a new configuration; they were professionally reinstalled but not repainted — just cleaned up. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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A vintage stove for the vintage house. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The original staircase was tattered. Alan found out that the original was made of red linoleum and designed with a curve where each step met the next. “We used the same fittings,” Pullman said. “It was quite a challenge. It took a long time.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The view down from the upper floor. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The entry to the bedroom, with more ribbons of windows bringing in natural light and fresh air. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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The reverse view. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The glass door leading from the living room to ... (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
... the back yard. Immediately behind the house is an outdoor dining table; a few steps down is a lounging area where Stephanie, Chloe, Alan and Sasha hang out. The white butterfly chairs came from Potted in Atwater Village. The sofa is from Teak Warehouse in Manhattan Beach. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The Pullmans remade the outdoor living area after buying the house. The result is a modern space that complements the midcentury architecture. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
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Alan and Stephanie Pullman received a bonus when they bought their Raphael Soriano house: photography showing the house during construction. Here, Soriano (with cane) sits with original owners Dean and Mirian Kimpson, right. The woman with the baby is Kimpson friend Gladys Nixon, with daughter Mary Jane; eventually Nixon would buy the house from the Kimpsons. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Another picture showing architect Soriano with Gladys Nixon, left, baby Mary Jane Nixon and Miriam Kimpson. The photos are dated July 1939. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
The original windows in the house, refreshed with Benjamin Moore aluminum paint, remain some of Pullman’s favorite features.
More profiles:Homes of the Times, L.A. home design in pictures (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
