Cummings is an extensive restoration, extension and modernization of the first estate in Los Feliz.  Deferred maintenance and previous owners’ alterations marred the once-stately facade of the house.  The project included intense study of sepia-toned photographs from the 1930s to restore the exterior of the house to its original grandeur.  Built in 1895, the interior layout segregated service spaces form the formal, owner-occuppied spaces and left a small kitchen in a remote corner of the house.  Thus, the project includes a kitchen addition that places a new, modern kitchen at the center of the house with a sweeping view of the Los Feliz hills, the Hollywood sign, and the Griffith Observatory.  The project also converts the attic and basement to interior, useable square footage.  Throughout the house, the new, minimally-detailed elements juxtapose against the restored, historic features of the home to draw contrast and appreciation of each.