Farmhouse modern in Studio City

When Vanessa Choy and Andrew Wong closed their architecture practice in Hong Kong and moved to Los Angeles, they bought a Studio City lot and made plans for a farmhouse with a distinctly modern vibe. Here, daughter Jillian, 5, plays with the family dog in the entry hall, where the vertical lines of the house’s board-and-batten exterior are repeated in the transition from the outside to the inside. Spotlights and troughs of pebbles line the walls; above lies a fiberglass sunroof. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

July 9, 2013 2:13 PM PT

When Vanessa Choy and Andrew Wong closed their architecture practice in Hong Kong and moved to Los Angeles, they bought a Studio City lot and made plans for a traditional house with a progressive spin. The result is a pleasing mix of country and city, rustic and industrial, casual and refined.

The heart of the home is the kitchen, shown here with Wong’s mother — who lives on an adjacent lot — in the foreground. Poggenpohl cabinetry lines two walls, and dual islands are set in the middle. Fleetwood glass doors on one side lead to the backyard and its pool; a second set of glass doors on the opposite side of the kitchen, out of frame, lead to a walled patio area. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The house is composed two wings, connected with a glass-walled staircase to form an L-shape. The regularly spaced windows and lack of extraneous ornamentation lends the traditional form a modern sensibility. A concrete wall in the foreground, left, creates a private patio area off the kitchen; to the right, out of frame, the corner lot continues with ornamental grasses and flowering rosemary set under a pine tree — a peaceful view from the living room, set behind the garage. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

More expansive glass doors lead to the living room and its grand piano, left. Structural beams were left unpainted, and the vertical lines of the balcony railing were intended to echo the house’s board-and-batten siding. The staircase is walled in glass and set under a fiberglass ceiling. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The view from the front door, with Choy crossing the polished concrete floor. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The master bedroom eschews the Western in favor of the Eastern: bedding set atop a raised platform. The furniture’s low lines are made more dramatic by the soaring ceiling — one of the benefits of the farmhouse form. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The owners loaded the house with high-end elements, then used their creativity to remain within their budget. Old cabinetry was recycled, and an old kitchen countertop was repurposed as a dining surface, set atop sturdy folding tables. Choy’s model of the house sits atop the cabinet. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

In the children’s bathroom, the couple decided to forgo a pricey vanity. In its place: A clean-lined console from the Crate & Barrel Outlet. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Rather than buy garden sculpture, the owners made their own — like their house, a mash-up of the industrial and the rustic. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Though Wong and Choy say they probably will finish the stairwell someday, for now they like rough-around-the-edges effect, which creates an interesting contrast with the glass walls and the grand piano that lies beyond. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The living room, with its Barcelona chairs flanking the fireplace. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The view from a second-floor landing: The horizontal beams had been painted white, like much of the rest of the house, but Choy and Wong later decided to sand the beams back to their original, unfinished appearance. The result is a bit of visual contrast and warmth. Vintage chairs give a second floor landing its pop of color. A window frames the canopy of a palo verde tree in the front yard. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The white-on-white color scheme takes a sharp departure here, in the children’s play room — the white picket fence a nod to the architectural tradition that drove the house’s whole design. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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