What would fairytales be without evocative names like Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty? Further, would you heed my advice were my name Federico Merributtons? I say not! (You may not know the Merributtonses, but they are an infamously lying and low flying family of seagulls.)
So may I, Mr. The Flamingo, present the aptly named owner/builder of my latest architectural interest, Leona P. Wood. Her 1930s marvel of European craftsmanship combines centuries of woodworking trade skill — a half-timbered facade, Medieval arched doorways, the foyer’s da Vinci-esque curved staircase — into one sprawling estate fit for Grimm and his compatriots. Royal flourishes like delicate crown moulding and contrasting domed beams, not to mention a garden that rivals the most enchanted of forests, underscores the innovative poetry of the structure, most gracefully encapsulated by the fireplace mantel’s inscription, carved by Ms. Wood herself: To God, My Faith — To Friends, My Hearth.
Perhaps once upon a time and in a land far far away are not so far away after all. And, to be honest, from since I first cracked out of my shell, most of my fairytales were set in Los Feliz.
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