62 DIGS.NET
| 10.21.22
S W E E T D I G S | 4 4 1 2 6 T H S T
T
he striking new residence
along 26th Street in Manhattan
Beach is often described as "the
house with the moat around it." Step-
ping across the inviting wood bridge
flocked with lush greenery delivers you into a
world of its own—contemporary and conspicu-
ously roomy, with approximately 6,000 square
feet of living space. "It's one of the largest
homes ever built in the Sand Section," notes
real estate agent Ed Kaminsky, pointing out
that the lot is larger than most, with a width of
42 feet at points, in contrast to the standard
lot, which is 30-feet wide.
The result is a 6-bedroom and 7-bathroom
home with four sunlit levels—from a spacious
basement with abundant natural light, to a
sophisticated uppermost level with exhilarat-
ing 180-degree hilltop views. The overall style
references a California beach house, with a
mix of clean lines and traditional features.
However, points out builder Steve Lazar, "It's
very transitional." Lazar, of Design + Build by
Lazar, who has been building notable custom
homes in the Beach Cities for three decades,
crafted the look of the home in collaboration
with homeowner Pavlina Solo, a writer-director
whose well-travelled European aesthetics can
be found throughout the residence.
Though initially conceived as Pavlina's
personal abode, the new home has never been
lived in, and features a quadrant-organized floor-
plan and a shape-shifting palette focused on
versatility—welcoming new owners to imprint
on it their own sensibilities. "The color palette
is very accommodating, and doesn't dictate
anything with respect to how you might furnish
or decorate it," describes Lazar. Minimalist white
spaces dominate, warmed with natural elements
like copper, character-rich wood and finely
crafted Italian and Spanish tiles. "There's also
a little theme of silver, gold and crystal brought
together, but in an organic way," explains Pavlina,
who hails from the Czech Republic. "Crystal is
a Czech specialty, and it works with the house."
The second floor is home to four bedrooms,
including a primary suite with an oceanview
balcony, and a cluster of three bedrooms orga-
nized in its own quadrant. The latter is an
ideal kids' zone, and features at its entrance a
pragmatic touch: built-in lockers and laundry
hamper drawers for each bedroom. This quad-
rant is separated from the primary suite by a
grand hallway, acting as a buffer between living
spaces. Such transitions are found through-
out the home and are intentional. "You have a
chance to catch your breath before you go from
one part of the home to the next," explains
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