I stopped by to visit my friend Shawn Stern and see the progress he has made on the rebuild of his house. Last time i was there it was a duplex with a small studio above the garage.
If you don’t know him he is iconic Singer of seminal California Punk Band Youth Brigade, Co-owner of BYO records and the man who created Punk Rock Bowling which is in its 14th year and promises to be one of the best show line ups ever this upcoming year.
I figured he’s answered a million questions about punk rock but maybe not so many about his house.
Shawn bought his place in 1997 as a one story duplex with a 2 car garage. It has since become a two story 3000 sq ft main house with 4 bed,3 bath,8 ft high fully finished basement and a three story 3 bed,2 bath vacation rental above the 500 sq ft enclosed garage.
He’s In Venice conveniently located one block from the ocean.
Since Shawn has past experience as a contractor he has been very hands on rebuilding his home. Designing the layout with his architect, assisting with electrical,plumbing,basically everything else, and putting in the Radiant Heat system with one of his brothers and another friend.
They traded off each others time by installing the same system in each of their houses.
( FYI: Radiant Heat is a more energy efficient heating system. When a home is heated with radiant heat, rather than heating air and encouraging it to circulate, radiant elements are installed in the floor, walls, or ceiling. The elements heat the surrounding surface, which in turn radiates heat out into the room. Some convection is also involved in a radiant heating system, as the air in the room naturally warms and starts to flow, promoting the spread of heat. Shawn’s are installed in the floor.)
There are also solar panels installed on the roof, so this house is very energy-efficient.
It’s still a work in progress but since ive seen it last it is looking amazing. I asked what some of the biggest challenges are on taking on a project like this. Having to spend six weeks in his office while workers were putting up the drywall,painting, flooring and doing the finishing as well as the continuous build were two of the things he mentioned.
And he said he will probably never be done.
I guess when you own a house it probably always feels like that.
Shawn making pizza dough for his nieces birthday, he’s also a master chef.
Main House:
(And I apologise, I need to get a wide angle lens for my camera so most of my images are a little boxy, i should have brought my other camera) You only get parts of the finished areas.
Front of house. On each side are raised vegetable beds. Currently there is not allot growing but usually there is a garden.
Mosaic at front entrance, made by a local artist.
Another view of Mosaic.
Part of large downstairs living room.
Upstairs hallway and skylight.
Left upstairs bedroom.
Section of master bedroom, which has a bathroom and stairs that lead to a large roof deck.
Stairs to Deck. future home of Hot tub and lounge area. You can see all of Venice including the ocean from this vantage point.
Hallway view of downstairs bathroom #1
Downstairs has two bedrooms,two bathrooms, a large open kitchen with beautiful unfinished redwood counter, spacious living room and one more level down a 1000 foot finished basement.
Vacation Rental:
Just to the back over the 500 sq foot enclosed garage is the three-story lovely vacation rental.
For more info on vacation rental go to: SUNSET AVE BEACH DUPLEX
