Most homes are built in about 6 months, but can you imagine living in one that took over
50 years to finish? Hi everyone, Ken here, welcome to "=This House
In 1916, Sam Maloof was born into a well-to-do family in Chino, California. His parents
had emigrated from the Ottoman Empire and the family’s maid had recently emigrated from Mexico.
Growing up, he became fluent in English, Arabic, and Spanish, but his genius didn’t stop there.
In his early childhood, he showed an interest in the arts and his parents bought him all the
wood working tools a little kid could dream of. He allowed his imagination to run wild,
designing and building his own toys and tools to play with. By the time he reached high school,
his self-taught talents were far beyond his art teachers instruction.
Just as he was starting his career, World War II was in full swing and he was drafted for service.
His dreams of working as an artist had to be put on hold until 1946,
when, at the age of 30 years old, he was able to pick up where he had left off.
The following year, he met his future wife, Alfreda, who worked on the admirative side
of an international arts and crafts program. The two dreamed of starting
their own artist compound where they could allow their creativity to direct their lives.
By 1953, the now wed couple had found the perfect place to build their compound.
The site in Alta Loma, California was nestled at the base of snow covered mountains with
dense forests surrounding a clearing with vista views towards the horizon.
The original house that sat in the clearing was too small for the couple, but they saw its
potential to grow, and they were willing to put in the hard work to make that happen. Using a mix of
salvaged and new materials, they grew the modest 6 room house to a sprawling 22 room compound.
Sam crafted millwork, door surrounds, and decorative elements in his workshop on site.
And all the while, he continued to receive custom commissions for furniture, especially
his simplistic, but ergonomic chairs which we can see hanging on the wall in the background. Many of
these chairs, if not in private collections, are on display in various museums today.
Additionally, he built a guest house with a large wrap-around porch. The
interior was illuminated by a large light well placed directly over the
platform bed with partition shelves to delineate the living and sleeping space.
To find the main house, where Sam and Alfreda lived, we will travel through a grove of trees,
slowly being replaced with posts to frame the main gate. After entering the courtyard,
we will turn around to find a pergola extending over an elaborate garden.
We can follow the path around the central tree, branching out to touch each wall, until we find
an overhang framing a hand carved redwood door which swings open to welcome us inside.
First we will see the 2 story family room with 2 tiled accent walls to house the stove.
This room serves as a showplace and living area for Sam’s various chair designs.
Next we will snake our way through the house to find the dining room, once again with each and
every piece of furniture being made by Sam and many of the decorations by Alfreda. This opens
up to the breakfast room, cozied up to a breakfast bar in the kitchen. The kitchen is delineated by
hanging cabinets and an oxbow acting as an archway and accented by wall baskets and potted plants.
Let’s travel down a long, narrow hallway to find the gallery attached by a breezeway.
As we step down into the gallery, we are not only looking at the art which has been crafted by the
couple, but also the furniture, spiral staircase, and millwork which was all made in Sam’s workshop.
We can travel up the stairs to make our way across a series of cat walks which outline
atriums for the rooms below. The walls are inset with niches for displaying stoneware and
the tables piled high with art books while the banisters are covered in tapestries.
This gallery is where you can really feel the marriage of the couple’s
artistic abilities as everything was made by them for their home.
Continuing along, we will head back downstairs and wind our way through the house to find Sam
and Alfreda’s bedroom. When designing the house, they chose to keep as much wall space as possible
without sacrificing natural light so they could display as much art as possible. You’ll notice
that there are ample clare story windows as well as long, thin windows on the first floor.
Unexpectedly, their bathroom was kept clutter free, allowing the
clean lines of the perfectly set tile to speak for itself.
Let’s now head back to the second floor using the main staircase to bypass the gallery.
Up here we will find a long, narrow sitting room, where I’ll call your attention to the
gable to note the twisting tree trunk acting as an exposed beam.
The house includes several more artistic, and creative rooms,
blending architecture and art in an experimental fashion.
Each room, as unconventional as the last, carries on a cohesive tie into its unique style which
blends elements of craftsman, arts and crafts, art nouveau, and modernism. When the house was
finished, not only was it its own style unique to the Maloofs, but it held its own sense of place.
In their later years, Sam and Alfreda were enjoying their property until an
expansion to California’s 210 Freeway was planned. It was to cut directly through
their house and nothing they could say or do would stop the freeway’s expansion.
The site of their home was leveled and regraded until there was no trace of their lives work left
on site. Thankfully, before that happened, they had reached a deal with the state to
have their house disassembled and reassembled on another, similar site about 3 miles away.
Though it no longer boasts the exact sense of place which Sam and Alfreda poured their souls
into, the house itself stands to this day as a monument to America’s most celebrated woodworker.
Did you have a favorite room or feature? Did any of the art pieces catch your eye? Let me
know down below in the comments section. And while you’re there,
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