The Ray Kappe House has been featured in nearly every notable architectural magazine over the years. Named a landmark of nature-friendly modernism and placed in a Top 10 list of best Southern California homes by an LA Times panel in 2008, the property represents the pinnacle of mid-century California residential design.

Kappe was recognized with the AIA-Los Angeles Gold Medal — the region's highest architectural honor. His lifelong devotion to integrating structure with the natural environment produced designs that remain visionary more than five decades later, continuing to inspire new generations of architects worldwide.

Many have called the home a marvel of engineering as much as design. Positioned across seven levels on a Pacific Palisades hillside, the residence features cantilevered wood decks, floating platforms, and redwood exterior siding that blend the structure seamlessly into its wooded setting.

The family room features 14-foot ceilings and a built-in seating area around a large fireplace. Interior wood joists extend 12 feet beyond the exterior wall, creating a pergola-like structure that reinforces the home's dialogue with the landscape.

Built during an era when building codes permitted a more extensive use of glass, the home delivers a treehouse-like atmosphere throughout its public spaces. Only the four bedrooms have doors — everywhere else, the open floor plan gives way to views and natural light. Kappe used subtle elevation changes to define living areas without walls.

The various levels are connected through a carefully choreographed sequence of stairs and bridges, creating what Kappe described as a continuously unfolding experience — one that positions the home as a symbiotic partner to the landscape rather than an imposition on it.

The poolside cabana, pool, and spa are privately positioned at the rear of the property. The cabana includes a rooftop deck offering expansive area views, while the lap pool is surrounded by mature greenery.

The property has been photographed by Julius Shulman — the most celebrated architectural photographer of the 20th century, whose work defined the visual identity of California modernism for generations. A Shulman photograph is not merely documentation; it is its own form of architectural validation.

The description above is drawn from a pitch summary I prepared for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, which has hired me to write pitch summaries for unique estates and architecturally significant homes. Several of these summaries have led to features in publications like The Robb Report.

The article this pitch inspired is linked here at Robb Report — worth a read alongside the photos by Cameron Carothers and Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times.

If this property caught your eye, you might enjoy these related pieces from The Pinnacle:

→  Timeless John Lautner-Designed Home in Long Beach — Another landmark of California modernism, with pool and glass walls

→  The Greta Garbo Estate: A $10M Masterpiece of Hollywood Provenance — A 1937 hillside icon with Hollywood history

📬 Enjoy stories like this one?

The Pinnacle covers dream-worthy estates, architectural icons, and real-world investing insights — written by someone who has learned both the hard way. Subscribe free here.