The Gardens and Houses of Tichenor & Thorp

Deeply fluent in Mediterranean and American vernaculars and the modern forms of the California tradition, architects M. Brian Tichenor and Raun Thorp design exceptional properties that integrate large-scale residences and luxurious gardens and landscapes into a singular, united vision. Dubbed “Hollywood’s best-kept secret,” the Los Angeles-based husband-and-wife team founded their firm in 1990. Since then, they and their talented, dedicated staff have completed more than 350 projects nationwide. Among their clientele they count film industry power players, business moguls, and museum heads. As go-to architects for many West Coast AD 100 interior designers, the pair has collaborated with, among others, Suzanne Rheinstien, Barbara Barry, Kelly Wearstler, Fisher Weisman, Joe Nye, Thomas Beeton, and Johan Cottrell, several of whom have asked Tichenor & Thorp to work on their own homes.The projects featured in this lavishly produced volume include a contemporary Spanish-inflected courtyard house and garden in Las Palmas that spectacularly frames the palm trees and the mountains; a Bel Air estate and grounds tinged with English and French influences; a hilltop hideaway overlooking the Pacific Ocean that evokes a Portuguese quinta; a Provencal bastide and surrounding gardens transplanted to Rancho Santa Fe; a Pasadena retreat imbued with John Soane-inspired details; a renovated Harrell Hamilton Harris house in Holmby Hills with a cruciform plan and corresponding gardens of individual character; two luxe contemporary Manhattan apartments; and a modern Western getaway at the foot of the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Supplementing the projects are illustrated essays devoted to Tichenor & Thorp’s core design elements. The topics addressed include pattern, light and color, fire and water, engaging the land, views, narrative, history, design puzzles, and inside/outside. These essays give the reader a deeper understanding of how the firm takes each of these elements into account and incorporates them into their projects.