SINGLE in Redondo

A South Bay home built with epic entertaining in mind

The contemporary style and spacious, sleek vibe of Vegas is what 3ten Development managing partner Owen Hanson wanted in his Redondo Beach home. “I go to Vegas a few times each month, and I wanted my house to feel like some of my favorite hotels there,” says Owen.

With a monochromatic, black-and-white palate, colorful pop art and shiny finishes, the house oozes the stylish attitude of an urban hot spot.

“My dad purchased the original house on this lot in 1985, and we lived in it until I decided to tear it down and build this one,” says Owen. Desiring a house for entertaining, Owen turned to architect Michael Lee to completely reconfigure the space.

Michael utilized the entire lot to accommodate an expansive house and lap pool, and it was deemed so well designed that it won a 2013 AIA Citation Award for Excellence in Design. Working with his business partner, Charlie D’Agostino of 3Ten Development, Owen integrated every fixture and finish that reflected his ideal of contemporary style.

As soon as the front door opens, it’s clear that this house was built for impressing guests. The two-story living room is minimal in design, but the architectural features are maximized.

Porcelain tiled floors and charcoal-colored bricks imported from Australia give clean lines and strong texture to the space. Light floods into the living room from the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the room.

However, the real party takes place in the room adjacent to the living area. Housed behind clear glass walls and outfitted with Lucite shelves and purple-infused lights, the tequila room is homage to the famed beverage of Mexico.

A veritable stable of tequila lines the shelves, from the everyday brand used in a frozen margarita to rare, international selections that rival any collector’s bar. The phrase “baptism by fire” is an appropriate description for the single pedestal that serves as the bar for tequila shots—yet closely resembles a baptismal font.

The chef’s kitchen is outfitted beautifully—but never used. “I don’t like to cook, but I do like to entertain,” says Owen.

Massive glass doors slide fully open to the courtyard and pool. When the party starts, it flows seamlessly between indoors and out with no evident boundaries. The lap pool is long enough for a rigorous workout, but it’s perfectly proportioned to the house so that it creates a striking balance with the lines of the house

Owen spent years studying every detail of his favorite Vegas hotels. “I love the bathrooms at the Aria hotel, so I modeled my bathrooms on them,” says Owen. With a cool grey-and-white palate, large spaces and good lighting, the bathrooms are a peaceful respite.

A former USC football player under Pete Carroll, Owen spends his weekends with friends in his media room watching games. A true man cave, the room is designed in shades of black.

“I wanted the chairs to be super comfortable, so instead of buying regular chairs, I bought manicure reclining chairs and had them reupholstered with fabric so they don’t appear so commercial,” says Owen. Paintings and photographs of some of the most famous faces associated with Vegas line the walls.

The downstairs bathroom walls might be wallpapered, but the highly creative surfaces make one want to reach out and feel them. “I wanted to find wallpapers that don’t look like wallpaper, so they look more like stone or tile,” says Owen. The iridescent surfaces add to the lustrous appearance of the walls.

In the upstairs of the house, the floors transition to French cut oak and a softer palate of dark grey and white for a more somber affect.

“I built a suite with a separate entrance for my dad at the back of the house,” says Owen. A staircase off the back leads to the apartment that opens to the main house if needed. With an open concept living and dining area and small kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, the suite is not only fully equipped, but it has great views of Redondo and Torrance.

For his own master bedroom area, Owen again looked to Vegas for inspiration. “The bedrooms at the Palms Casino Resort are my favorite,” he says, so his master bedroom reflects the same sexy attitude. An austere, white bed floats in the middle of the room, while a long, laminated mural of a woman’s big eyes and full eyelashes with pops of bright yellow exactly replicates the premier rooms at the luxury Vegas hotel.

Owen’s office is adjacent to his bedroom, and though small, it encapsulates everything about the entrepreneur. A sleek glass desk with oversized computer monitor housed in a cocoon of black and steel sends a message of cool, calculated design.

Throughout the house are artistic references to Louis Vuitton. From the silver-plated AK-47 with a Vuitton signature mark in Owen’s office to the fluorescent painting above the staircase, references to the famed design house abound.

While Vuitton might be a $30 billion revenue stream for LVMH and one of the most easily recognizable brands on the planet, the fashion house is a powerhouse because of the quality of the construction of its products. It seems that Vuitton, Vegas and 3ten Development are a royal flush in that regard.