The February 1939 Sunset magazine featured an article titled “Here’s A New Way to Plan A Home! Three hundred women from the Berkeley Women’s Club collaborated with an architect (John B. Anthony) to make the perfect home. The women had made a list of “must haves” and “don’t wants” that were incorporated into the house design which is shown above. That same year, the Amelia Bixby Tract opened for sale in Los Cerritos and Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Reese bought a lot at 3860 Country Club Drive. Using the plans from Sunset magazine they proceeded to construct the house.
So what does the perfect home have? A covered entrance, windows of uniform height, access from the garage to kitchen, plenty of closets and, of course, a terrace for sunbathing. What does the perfect home not have? No raised hearth, no corner fireplace, no steps between rooms, no rooms used as passage ways, no stairway in living room, no peep holes in front door, no wrought iron and of course, no phones in the closet. When finished in 1940, the Reese’s home at 3860 Country Club looked exactly like the home in Sunset magazine. 
My thanks to current owner, Mary Marks, for a copy of the 1939 Sunset magazine article and her photos.
