Property of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Swift | Los Angeles, California | Architect Kenneth Swift | Photographer Bob Cleveland

IT's always interesting to find out what kind of a house an architect chooses for himself. Kenneth Swift, for instance, likes Colonial design as a background for the many old pieces of furniture he and his wife have collected over a period of years. Yet, when he built his own house, he believed that many liberties could be taken with the traditional Early American plan to make it better suited to the informal Californian way of living. Therefore, his house turned out to be an excellent example of modification to fit present-day living needs.

Before analyzing the floor plan and its departure from the Colonial norm, let's examine the exterior treatment. The house is located on the west side of a pleasant street which skirts a country club. Because of the street traffic with its resulting noise, only the dining room and one bedroom were located on this side of the house. Natural stone combined with weathered gray shingles were used as wall covering on this elevation whose low eaves practically touch the sloping lawn of English ivy. Facing the street side, the shingle roof was left unbroken and, extended, forms protection for the generous entrance porch.

Now let's step into the entrance hall, a charming little pine-paneled room with wide oak flooring, oval braided rug, and an old marble-topped chest against one wall. To the right is the dining room with its old walnut furniture, yellow wallpaper which contrasts nicely with the plain brown rug, and crisp white lawn curtains which are capped by yellow percale, checked valances. Not a large room, but ample for the Swift family, with its pleasant windows facing east and north. Across the hall is the master bedroom, gay with lush rose-covered wallpaper. The furniture here consists of four-poster bed with quilted top and ruffled bottom, a handsome curly butternut chest and an old-fashioned rocker. Note on the plan that from this bedroom there's a small hall leading to bath and daughter's room in the rear. In the latter, the foot-board of an old bed has been converted into a low headboard for the daughter's bed, which has a boxed bedspread of floral chintz. Scenic wallpaper, crisp Dutch curtains with a band of matching floral hintz, shelves for books and toys, and a low pine rocker made this a colorful room for a small girl. Now back to the entrance hall and straight ahead to the living room, which is planned with emphasis on Californian living. The entire end is opened by floor-to-ceiling windows with a French door on either side leading to a garden terrace. Everything about the room speaks of informal family living and comfort. On two walls there's cream-and-red wallpaper of an old-fashioned scenic design, while on the fireplace wall we find vertical pine paneling stained a warm honey color. Exposed ceiling beams against the white plaster ceiling give the room a cozy Early American look. A red tile fireplace hearth runs the entire length of the room and gives interesting contrast to the oak flooring and woven rugs in soft tones of red, tan, and yellow. The red in hearth and wallpaper is picked up again in the soft pink-tan draperies. Near the fixed window, a charming furniture arrangement makes an ideal spot for games. The love seat is leaf-green color, warm against the pine background. There is an old pine rocker by the fireplace. Gay pieces of colored china and pottery march across the mantel. Wherever one sits in the room, there's a pleasant vista of either garden or the pine-paneled entrance hall. A small door near the fireplace leads into the bedroom hall and makes for unusually good circulation.