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Architect Melinda Gray and 'High School Musical' producer Bill Borden preserve ramshackle charm of Leo Carrillo's 1932 hacienda - Los Angeles Times
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Architect Melinda Gray and ‘High School Musical’ producer Bill Borden preserve ramshackle charm of Leo Carrillo’s 1932 hacienda

Bill Borden, creator of "High School Musical" and the producer behind the new MTV musical "The American Mall," and architect Melinda Gray, founder of Gray Matter Architecture, are self-proclaimed "complete modernists," but they live in a once-ramshackle 1932 hacienda. The Santa Monica residence was built for Leo Carrillo, the cowboy movie star best known as Pancho, sidekick to TV's Cisco Kid. Some owners might have restored the fanciful structure as a period piece or just torn it down, but Borden and Gray chose to apply their contemporary design sensibility while preserving the integrity of the vernacular architecture. Here, the loggia lined with salvaged bricks shades daybeds that Gray designed and the couple built themselves. The sculptural seating in the foreground, called Pebbles, was carved from stacked plywood by EIS Studio in Venice.

Bill Borden, creator of “High School Musical” and the producer behind the new MTV musical “The American Mall,” and architect Melinda Gray, founder of Gray Matter Architecture, are self-proclaimed “complete modernists,” but they live in a once-ramshackle 1932 hacienda. The Santa Monica residence was built for Leo Carrillo, the cowboy movie star best known as Pancho, sidekick to TV’s Cisco Kid.

Some owners might have restored the fanciful structure as a period piece or just torn it down, but Borden and Gray chose to apply their contemporary design sensibility while preserving the integrity of the vernacular architecture. Here, the loggia lined with salvaged bricks shades daybeds that Gray designed and the couple built themselves. The sculptural seating in the foreground, called Pebbles, was carved from stacked plywood by EIS Studio in Venice.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The result of the couple’s work: A rustic relic has been transformed into a contemporary indoor-outdoor space. “The house combines the modern and the 1930s and still works,” says Borden, shown here with Gray in an outdoor living area.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A yellow surfboard sits outside a guest room. Borden and Gray wanted to make the home contemporary and comfortable without losing its ramshackle charm.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Near the bar, a table tennis paddle is stowed in good hands.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The kitchen, once closed off and claustrophobic, became more airy after a wall was removed and a skylight added. Blackboard paint created a convenient family memo board.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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“I couldn’t even read a book in the daytime,” Gray says of the original design. “It really needed natural light.” Skylights fixed that problem. The newly opened floor plan also created better flow from the kitchen to the adjacent work space and lounge area. To the left: the brick-lined loggia’s floor-hugging Togo seating by Ligne Roset and, in the distance, Swedish country chairs under a fanciful umbrella light.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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In the kitchen, the couple replaced cabinets with open shelving and poured two concrete islands with the help of their sons.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The new kitchen feels contemporary but still reflects the casual ambience of the house.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Bright colors and a reproduction of a Vatican tapestry from the set of “End of Days” (for which Borden was a producer) decorate the bedroom of son Chance.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A new skylight illuminates the 1932 home’s original beams in the living room.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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At one end of the loggia, just outside the master bedroom, Borden and Gray have created a sitting and meditation area.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The loggia not only brings in light and ventilation but also provides a much-needed hall for the house. Now the entire length of the home is linked to the outside. “I like the style of living outdoors and being connected to nature ... ,” Borden says. Gray hired retail storefront glaziers to fit glass into the brick arches. For the larger openings, she designed steel walkout doors.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Steps under a tree-shaded canopy lead to the house. Of their thoughtful remodel, Gray says: “With every change I have had to ask myself, what will I do here that makes the most sense while trying to be honest about how it was in the beginning?”  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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