Stunning Hollywood Vistas Persuaded This Homeowner to Buy a Fixer-Upper

When Charles Moreland first toured this 1935 home on Hollyvista Avenue, in Los Angeles, he says he “ran screaming from it.” Previous owners had built additions that didn’t work with the original vibe of the home, and it looked like it hadn’t been updated since the mid-70s — at best. But the views and sunsets won Charles over pretty quickly, and he’s renovated the home into something he imagines the original owner might be proud of.

Charles’s vision for this home has always been to “return it to what I thought I should have seen when I opened the door.” Now that it’s finished, the home’s grand features do indeed start right at the front door, which is oversized and opens to a tiled entryway reminiscent of Spanish haciendas.

Charles moved into this house in 2002, and spent more than 10 years renovating it while he lived there. The house is now for sale via ACME Real Estate in Los Angeles. This room, what Charles calls the “grand room,” was in the worst shape when he bought it, he says. The house is built on a hillside and needed to be leveled out. After that literal facelift, Charles installed these hardwood floors to match the design of the home.

When Charles first moved into this house, the grand room had a loft built into it, with a staircase right in the middle of the room. He lived there for a while as he worked on the rest of the home, but eventually removed it and played up this room as a bright and airy living space. Throughout the home, Charles wanted to “absolutely maximize the space,” so he installed custom built-ins made by Pasadena craftsman Nick Morales.