preserved during construction — which are experienced as part of the living space. This visual ambiguity is part of the fun: are these trees inside or outside?

Last year, LaFetra bought the Lautner that occupied a prime position on his list of desirable houses: the beach-front Stevens Residence in Malibu Colony. Built in 1968, the house sits on a tight 32-foot lot, standing out from a row of motley cottages. Open to the ocean at one end and to the mountains at the other, the house resembles an inverted boat, thanks to its soaring concrete roof, which curves steeply over the space in an enfolding gesture, both soothing and protective. The sound of the waves is a constant presence, and sunlight, reflected off the water, penetrates far into the interior. These elements gently reinforce the nautical ambience, while the whimsically exotic window shades evoke the sails of a Chinese ship.

In his book John Lautner, Architect, feeling frustrated by the site’s limitations, Lautner wrote of the Stevens project: “A lot of this size