The SheatsâÂÂGoldstein Residence is a house designed by American architect John Lautner, in the Beverly Crest neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Designed and built between 1961 and 1963, Lautner used the sandstone ledge upon which the house was built as design inspiration for a cave-like dwelling, and used the hillside site to take advantage of the dramatic views of Benedict Canyon and Beverly Hills. The house exemplifies the tenets of Mid-Century Modern design and the American Organic Architecture ethos, deriving its form as an extension of its environment and of the individuals for whom it was built. The design of the house and the completed structureâÂÂlike all of Lautner's workâÂÂhave been commended as being strongly influenced and defined by addressing the challenges and constraints of the site.
The house was originally built as a private residence for Helen Carolyn (née Johnson) Taylor Sheats (1910-1999), and Paul Henry Sheats (1907-1984) and their three children. Helen, an architectural designer and Neo-Fauvist painter, and Paul, Dean of University Extension and Professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education, had previously commissioned Lautner for their 1948âÂÂ1949 Sheats Apartments project located in Westwood, a neighborhood adjacent to the University of California, Los Angeles.
The SheatsâÂÂGoldstein Residence is one of John Lautner's most well-known and completely unspoiled works. Lautner designed the house, the interiors, windows, lighting, rugs, furniture, and operable features. The house is extensively detailed, and the range of the architect's work is visible throughout the different stages of the re-mastering. All of the home's furnishings contain design elements so the aesthetic of the forms enhance the house and become a function of the whole.
Originally constructed with wood, steel, and poured-in-place concrete, the house has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and one half-bathroom (sink and toilet). Lautner designed the living room completely open to the terrace, and protected by a forced-air curtain. Lautner's unique design took advantage of Southern California's temperate Mediterranean climate and the Santa Monica Mountains' warm canyon winds to create a natural, zesty environment with a seamless transition between the home's interior and exterior.
One of the home's most distinct features is the living room's coffered ceiling, the surface of which has over 750 cast drinking glass skylights. The home is cooled with cross-ventilation, while the floors and pool are warmed with copper-pipe radiant heating. Exterior pathways lead to guest bedrooms and the primary bedroom, and exterior features include a tennis court and nightclub. The primary bedroom and the studio have windows looking into the pool, designed so Helen Sheats could watch her children as she worked in her art studio.
In 1972, businessman James Goldstein purchased the residence from its third owners, and began a partnership with Lautner to renovate, upgrade, and improve the house. For the following two decades, Goldstein and Lautner worked together "perfecting" the house until Lautner's death in 1994.
One of Goldstein's additions to the home is Above Horizon, an art installation designed by light artist James Turrell. Located on a steep slope below the residence, Above Horizon was built with the same construction materials as the home. James Goldstein originally conceived the art installation as a collaboration between John Lautner and James Turrell, but Lautner died before being able to work extensively on the project. Completed in 2004, the room features two folding carbon-fiber portals and a built-in concrete lounge for viewing thousands of hidden LEDs lighting the room every evening.
In 2016, James Goldstein entrusted the home and estate to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as a promised gift to the institution. The endowment includes Goldstein's extensive art collection, Lautner's architectural models, and a 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud parked on the property. The collection is the first of its kind for LACMA and the endowment preserves the home's legacy, Lautner's work as an urban achievement, and its significance in Los Angeles architectural history.
The house has been used in several movies, television shows, commercials, music videos, and adult films.
Movies and Television:
Music Videos:
Adult Films:
Actor Carel Struycken photographed the home's living room as part of his collection of spherical panoramas. In the Netflix reality show Selling Sunset, the home is featured in episodes 1 and 2 of Series 7 (2023), when Brett and Jason Oppenheim host a dinner for their real estate agents and James Goldstein, the home's owner.