Diana Braun Point of View

What Do the Best Homes and the Best Art Have in Common?

Newsletter · September 26, 2026

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

The House That Made Us Think Differently About Marketing

Every once in a while a listing comes along that asks you to throw out the playbook.

Our new listing on Campbell Drive in Mar Vista did exactly that. The moment we walked through it we knew the standard approach was not going to cut it. This house was made for a specific kind of person. A designer. An artist. An architect. Someone who would walk through the door and feel it before they could even articulate why.

So we marketed it that way.

We made reels we have never made before. Unconventional, a little unexpected, designed to stop the right person mid-scroll and make them feel like this house was made for them. Not everyone. The right one.

Because that is the truth of this property and honestly the truth of great marketing in general. Everyone who sees it will think it is beautiful. Only a handful will feel genuinely called to make it their own. The job is not to appeal to everyone. It is to speak so specifically to the right person that they cannot ignore you.

A double lot in Mar Vista. A 1,008 square foot artist's studio with a 14 foot ceiling, a wall of glass, and a sleeping loft wrapped in white oak slats. Natural materials throughout. A garden that wraps around every room. Architecture by Mike Patterson. Landscape by Big Red Sun and Lisa Onodera.

The lesson this house taught us: have fun with it. The more specific you are, the more powerful it becomes. And when you get it right, the right buyer finds you.

Gallery 169

Some of you already know about Gallery 169. For those who do not, it is something Frank and I have been pouring ourselves into as a passion project for the community we love.

The gallery sits at 169 West Channel Road in the heart of Santa Monica Canyon, rooted in the creative spirit that has always defined this neighborhood. It is our small way of giving something back to a place that has given us so much.

This October we are opening an exhibition that genuinely moved us. Intimate Expressions features the work of the late Washington artist Jack Boul, more than 50 oil paintings and one-of-a-kind monoprints curated by his son David, a longtime senior producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show and a Santa Monica resident. Jack Boul's work is held in the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian, and the San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts. This will be his first showing in California.

The Washington Post's art critic once wrote that his work lingers in the memory like a fragment of a melody. We think you will feel that the moment you walk in.

Opening reception is Saturday October 3rd from 5 to 8pm at 169 West Channel Road. Complimentary valet. Art, food, drink, and good company in the Canyon. Come find us there.

Los Angeles Just Got Its Most Anticipated Museum

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art officially opened its doors on September 22nd at Exposition Park, and it is unlike anything else in this city. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum is dedicated entirely to the art of visual storytelling, from prehistoric cave paintings and Norman Rockwell illustrations to vintage comics, anime, film props, and murals. The premise is simple and radical at the same time: illustrated storytelling is a universal language, and it deserves to stand alongside painting and sculpture as fine art.

The building itself is a work of art. Designed by architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects as a sculptural, curving form shaped by light, clouds, and the surrounding tree canopy, it sits on a 13-acre campus with gardens by landscape architect Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA. Three hundred thousand square feet. Thirty-five galleries. A free research library. A destination restaurant called Skywalker Grill. New public green space for South Los Angeles.

George Lucas said the museum was created to honor the artists who connected our modern imaginations with our ancient emotions. That is a beautiful way to think about what art does at any scale, whether it is a 300,000 square foot museum in Exposition Park or a small gallery on West Channel Road in the Canyon.

Go. It is free to explore the campus and the gardens, and it is already one of the most important things to happen to this city in years.

The best homes, the best art, and the best communities are all built the same way. With care, with specificity, and for the right person. This week had all three. We will see you at the gallery.

xx. Diana

Westside Market Report

Third Week of September 2026 | Single Family Homes

City Spotlight: Mar Vista

Inventory: 71

Median List Price: $2,350,000

Median Days on Market: 49

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