Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 7, 2010

11

Homes & Property

 Mountain Views News Saturday, August 7, 2010 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes & gardens and the people who create them Story and Photos By Chris Bertrand


Charmed By The Farmhouse Life

It’s hard to find Auburn Lane in 
Sierra Madre. When I have ventured 
there previously, the narrow street 
seemed to disappear into the 
foliage. I think it might just step 
back in time sixty or seventy years. 
When I pulled up to the charming 
farmhouse of Leigh Jackson Hood 
and Darwin Hood, I expected to 
hear the rhythmic creak of grandma 
rocking on the front porch.

 In reality, no Grandma lives here. A series of Cal Tech 
geology staff passed ownership down within the department 
over a number of years until Leigh purchased it. She and her 
sons quickly fell in love with it four years ago, and the home 
became centerpiece of Leigh and Darwin’s wedding in 2007. 
In the ensuing years, they’ve gently carved their initials there, 
careful not to break the magical spell that surrounds the home.

Leigh, daughter of a Georgia architect and former interior 
designer for Coca Cola facilities, always lived in more formal 
abodes. Never one to blanch at a “project” home, she’s 
redone several over the years, the last a Monterey Colonial in 
Pasadena. 

 In fact she quips that she always “needs” to have a project 
going in the house.” Says Darwin, “Leigh is a genius at seeing 
the possibilities in a home!” This Auburn Lane home is no 
exception. 

When her Pasadena home sold with a very short escrow in 
2006, she scurried to find a new place to call home. Touring 
this property was a bit of a challenge, with two pit bulls in 
residence. Yet, soon the farmhouse was theirs, and they were 
in love! 

 The Auburn home has an eerie similarity to her “dream book” 
binder of articles assembled from home and architectural 
magazines. She flipped through the book for me, and there 
the pieces were… the simple fireplace, the comfortable relaxed 
seating, the steep straight staircase, the fruit trees (fourteen!) 
and the yard. Ohhhh, the yard! “It felt like a country retreat 
with the nearby amenities of the city,” reflected the couple.

I ate all four of the apricots I received as a parting gift from 
Darwin, just picked from the tree beside the driveway. How 
did they know that apricots were my favorite fruit? Two years 
ago, I even confessed in this column that I chomped down on 
a couple of delectable apricots fallen from a subject home on 
Fairview. Vacant as it was, so I didn’t feel too guilty! But don’t 
tell! 

 The couple laughs recalling her sons’ first visit to the property. 
She says, “They raced right through the house to the back yard. 
One to the rope swing hung from a 
majestic oak and the other, onto the 
roof of the gazebo, like “king of the 
mountain.” From their perches, the 
boys announced they had found 
their home. Whatever was inside the 
structure was immaterial to them.

 The home went through some swift, 
hard work to prepare for Jackson and 
Hood’s summer 2007 wedding. “We 
put a lot of love into it,” says Leigh, 
“and set aside that more traditional 
lifestyle of the big house with a rose 
garden for less formal, casual living. 
It’s been great for the kids… and for 
us!”

 Leigh had accumulated used bricks 
from a contractor, knowing she 
wanted to use them…. sometime. 
Over they came from the old 
Pasadena house. It was Darwin’s idea 
to create a beautiful garden venue for 
their upcoming wedding, and put a 
lot of time and energy into the back 
yard project. Darwin lovingly built 
brick pathways from the driveway 
to the workshop/media room to 
the gazebo and the house, 
adding oodles of just 
the right kind of relaxed 
charm, and connecting the 
areas together. 

 Then he hand built in 
a barbecue and sink at 
the gazebo, creating an 
outdoor cooking area 
that blended into the 
surroundings.

 The gazebo is now their 
outdoor living room 
and was the site of that 
highly anticipated garden 
wedding. In a throwback 
to her Southern heritage, 
Leigh wanted a 
yard aflower with 
hydrangeas. It was 
accomplished, 
though all of them 
had to be stored in pots inside, until just before the 
wedding, as the temperatures soared to triple digits that 
week. 

 A special kind of green light emanates from the yard, 
which remains relaxed and natural, but seems to glow 
like lush halo. I noticed it immediately when I reviewed 
the photo I took of the couple at the gazebo. That warm 
glow seeped into the wedding pictures, too, where the 
family and the groomsmen used a sage green for dresses 
and ties.

 Inside, they found the hardwood floors unusable, so 
new ones were installed to look like the period. They 
peeled back a Masonite-type product on the living 
and dining room ceilings to reveal a charming bead 
board. The room was reconfigured by an earlier owner, 
incorporate the old front porch into living space once 
upon a time, when the front door was changed from 
the South to the East side of the house.

 The kitchen was remodeled with finishes chosen to feel 
compatible with the era of the rest of the home. The granite 
counters were honed instead of polished to reflect a soft aged 
look, rather than mirror like surfaces often used today. 1920’s 
style handles on painted cabinets and brick shaped ceramic 
tile backsplashes complete the farmhouse look.

Modern laundry facilities were hidden away between the 
kitchen and dining area. Doors keep the washer and dryer out 
of sight; and the generous counters can multitask as surfaces 
for folding clothes or filled with a buffet for guests.

 The master suite opens to that magical yard through windows 
that were replaced in the remodel. What it might lack in 
voluminous square footage is replaced with a permeating 
tranquility gleaned from the back yard views. The second 
floor remains unabashedly “farmhouse” with pitched ceilings 
and simple closets decorated in shades of masculine blue 
denim, corduroy and cotton duck, appropriate for the two 
teenage boys who share it.

Even though a bit of unexpected reality struck when they 
realized their dream cottage in the country didn’t have air 
conditioning or a dishwasher, this family’s love for their 
farmhouse hasn’t dimmed one bit. They just had another 
“project” for Leigh!

Know of an interesting home or garden that might interest 
our readers? Send the contact information to C.Bertrand@
MtnViewsNews.com today!


Chris Bertrand


415 Auburn Lane


Leigh Jackson Hood and Darwin Hood


There are two apparently attractive 
options for buyers scoping out 
a deal. One type is the "short 
sale," where sellers have made an 
agreement with

their lender to sell the home for 
less than they still owe on the 
mortgage.

 The second type is the REO 
(bank-owned) home, which has 
fallen back into the hands of the 
lender after the sellers defaulted.

 While these properties may be 
appealingly priced, buyers need 
stomach and smarts to take proper advantage. If you're considering a short sale purchase, focus only 
on those with a price pre-approved by the lender. Otherwise, you may be wasting precious time in 
negotiations that may still ultimately fail.

 Also seek out foreclosures that are protected by the Cash For Keys program, which offers the current 
(or former) owners a cash incentive to prevent them from neglecting the property before vacating it. 
Either way, inspections are crucial, especially if the house has been vacant for some time. Talk to your 
agent about having the utilities temporarily reconnected for the inspection, so you're sure all is in 
working order.

 And finally, don't focus on the asking price alone. Location in a declining neighborhood or extreme 
maintenance and repair issues will eclipse any perceived value in a low price. Great homes are out 
there at bargain prices, but let an agent guide you through potential pitfalls.

Luther Tsinoglou has just been named the top producing sales agent in Dickson Podley Realtor’s Sierra Madre office 
for 2009, making the top 10% at the company overall. Luther has been licensed and practicing real estate since 1992. 
He specializes in residential and income property in Southern California. Luther can be reached at his direct line 
(626) 695-8650 or at luther@tsinoglou.com. 


SIERRA 

MADRE’S 

FARMERS 

MARKET


Wednesday 

3-7pm

 

Fresh vegetables 
and 

seasonal fruits 

from California 

family farms. 

Specialty foods, 
vegetarian and 
vegan dishes, ethnic 
foods and hot 
food - Everything 
you’ll find at the 
farmers market 
has been made or 
picked fresh, is 
pesticide-free and 
preservative-free. 

Free public parking 
on Mariposa.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com