Campeau in Hunt Club Woods

At the end of the Mid-Century Modern period emerged a new sense of luxury and an aesthetic that moved toward the traditional side of the spectrum. As an example of this, in the late 1970s Campeau began building a collection of expensive houses in Hunt Club Woods that defined this new notion of luxury. Even so, the designs still have some aspects of the Mid-Century Modern era updated for the time. There was also a notable influence from designs out of Southern California, as I will highlight below.

Above: the brochure with the floor plans inside. Below: the pages from the brochure.

My personal floor plan collection also includes an impressive bounty of designs from Southern California. Below is the Bennington plan by the builder Lusk from the Nohl Ranch in Anaheim Hills that was constructed around the same time as the Campeau houses. There clearly is a connection as Lusk's Bennington and Clarendon plans (shown further below) are nearly identical to Campeau's. The Nohl Ranch also has plans named the New Haven and Windsor, although they are not the same as the Hunt Club Woods designs.

Below is another design by Lusk, The Burlingame, constructed in the early 1970s in Spyglass Ridge, Corona Del Mar, that is an early version of the Bennington. It does not have the bay windows on the back and there is a room over the garage.

In the early 1980s, Richcraft Homes built a Bennington plan in Hunt Club Park that is an updated version of Campeau's Bennington plan. Their version added a 4th bedroom and loft space by expanding the second floor over the dining and living rooms.

The Windsor is an expanded and updated version of Campeau's Playfair plan from the early 1970s. This design veers more towards traditional influence with its symmetrical facade, differing from asymmetry that was a trademark of Mid-Century Modern design. The Essex plan from Hunt Club Chase phase 2, also shown below, is a refinement of the Playfair and more closely resembles the Windsor.

The Ashbury appears to have been a later addition to the plans on offer. It is the smallest and most compact 2-storey design. For some reason it was built sparingly.

The interplay of exterior materials is something borrowed from the Mid-Century Modern era, although in the style is more traditionally-leaning. In many ways the architecture of this design is inspired by rural out buildings like barns and stables, but adapted to create something completely new. The 3-car garage was, and continues to be, a luxurious feature, suggesting a certain socio-economic status that would require the need for so many garage spaces.

Below is the Clarendon plan from Lusk's Nohl Ranch development in Anaheim Hills. It is nearly identical to Campeau's plan of the same name. The sunken living room and wall of windows across the back of the house are influences carried over from the Mid-Century Modern era.

This design is an updated version of the side-split plan common to mid-20th century period. Some Mid-Century Modern influences can be seen in this plan, including the vaulted and beamed ceilings clad in wood.

This design also has a California Mid-Century Modern vibe with a vaulted and beamed living room ceiling. The eating area was originally built with a wood accent wall and screen.

A number of the Campeau designs above were customized and continue to be customized and expanded with time, so they may not resemble what is on these plans. Interestingly, there is also one Bonnechere design built in the area, an earlier plan by the builder. There are a couple of other later additions of Campeau plans from the 1980s that I am missing from my collection, so if any of my readers has them, please share with me!

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Campeau also had a custom home division where their designs could be built on lots anywhere in the city. Many of the Hunt Club Woods designs were available, as shown below:

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The builder Castleridge Homes also constructed the same designs as Campeau, with different names, in the early 1980s. From what I can tell, these were constructed on Huntmaster Lane and Ratan Court. I am not sure how they were able to copy the Campeau plans, especially building adjacent to Campeau's development. Maybe one of my readers knows the reason?

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