Diana Braun Point of View

Ginger, Neutra, and the US Open, All in One Newsletter

Newsletter · August 29, 2026

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

There Is an Art to Tennis

The US Open kicks off this week in New York, and if you have not been watching, now is the time to start. Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are back on court alongside Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic, and in one of the most anticipated moments of the tournament, Serena and Venus Williams competing together in doubles for the first time since 2022. A record $108 million in prize money. It is a spectacle.

But what I keep thinking about is not the scores. It is the courts.

Tennis has always attracted a certain kind of person. Players who finish their careers and become fashion designers, art collectors, interior decorators. John McEnroe became one of the most important figures in the contemporary art world. Venus Williams built an interior design firm. The sport has always had a quiet creative undercurrent running through it.

A tennis court begins with one of design's most unforgiving diagrams: a flat rectangle divided by exact white lines. Almost no room for interpretation. And yet the surrounding experience can be transformed almost without limit.

The court at Il San Pietro di Positano is carved into the Amalfi cliffs, the Mediterranean opening beyond one baseline while rock rises sharply behind the other. The Bürgenstock Resort above Lake Lucerne has a diamond timber lattice roof inspired by crystal geometry that transforms the act of serving into something almost architectural. And there is a rooftop court in Paris's 15th arrondissement where you take a lift eight floors up and find the Eiffel Tower standing directly over the baseline.

The finest courts translate a destination through movement. The game becomes the setting and the setting becomes the game. It is not so different from the homes I love most.

A Blank Canvas in the Palisades

Frank has a listing in Pacific Palisades and I want to tell you why it is unlike anything else on the market right now.

315 Via de la Paz is a lot. But calling it a lot does not do it justice. A Richard Neutra home once stood here. The original 1948 Freedman Residence, one of the great examples of California modernism, was lost in the fires. What remains is the site. And as a wise quote reminds us, the beauty of the architecture is the site itself.

The Palisades has a rare opportunity right now. Because of the fires, the community gets to start over with intention, and this parcel is a perfect example of what that can look like. Plans already exist by Assembledge+, a modern rebuild organized around a central courtyard with deep overhangs, sliding glass walls, and transparency toward the Pacific. Indoor and outdoor dissolving into each other, in the spirit of the original case study houses. You can execute those plans, or bring your own vision entirely.

Either way, you are starting with one of the most extraordinary sites in the city. The views are unreal.

315 Via de la Paz, Los Angeles CA 90272

0.35 Acres | 15,334 sq ft | $7,837,500

Listed by Frank Langen with Crosby Doe

Speaking of Amazing Opportunities...

I have a new listing coming to market soon on Washington Boulevard in Mar Vista, a few minutes from both Hatchet Hall and one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. More details on the listing very soon. But first, let me tell you about Ginger's.

Ginger's Divine Ice Creams on Washington is exactly the kind of place Mar Vista does better than anywhere else. Ginger herself started making ice cream right on the premises daily back in 2017, sourcing her fruit and herbs directly from the Mar Vista and Santa Monica farmers markets. Twenty to twenty five flavors made fresh, rotating with the seasons, with a selection of vegan options made from coconut milk that honestly give the dairy versions a run for their money.

I am not someone who craves sugar often. But when I do, this is the place. My current obsession is the chocolate covered strawberry, made with farmers market strawberries and pieces of rich dark chocolate. And the coconut base on the dairy free flavors is something else entirely. It is lighter, more refreshing, and on a hot Los Angeles afternoon there is genuinely nothing better.

This is a neighborhood institution built by one person with real intention and an incredible palate. Walk in, take your time with the flavors, and do not leave without trying at least two.

From the courts of Positano to a blank canvas in the Palisades to a scoop of chocolate covered strawberry on Washington Boulevard, this is what the end of summer looks like right now. Beautiful things made with care, in places that could exist nowhere else. Until next time.

xx. Diana

Westside Market Report

Last Week of August 2026 | Single Family Homes

City Spotlight: Venice

Inventory: 92

Median List Price: $2,949,500

Median Days on Market: 81

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