THIS IS SANCTUARIES LA
On homes, hillsides, and the quieter side of Los Angeles
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Welcome to Sanctuaries LA, a publication about the places and people in Los Angeles that offer refuge: including homes, shared spaces, neighborhoods, and the people who shape them.
I moved to Los Angeles in 2019. Like many people, my relationship to the city changed in 2020. With daily life narrowed, attention shifted closer to home. Nature became more present. Walks replaced plans. What stood out wasn’t just how big LA is, but how many quiet, peaceful places exist within it, waiting to be discovered. I fell deeper in love with this city as I peeled back the layers and discovered more and more hidden sanctuaries, day by day.
Los Angeles has long been shaped by those who arrived seeking safety, possibility, and a place to build a life. Its very name speaks to layered histories and migrations, and its identity has been formed by generations of newcomers who have contributed to its culture, neighborhoods, and shared spaces.
To think about sanctuary here is not abstract. It’s rooted in the idea that a city can offer refuge and dignity, and that communities are strongest when they protect and care for one another.
This is an ever-evolving exploration to all of the peaceful, slower side of Los Angeles. Expect one to two features per week including home tours, deep dives on shared sanctuary-like spaces, profiles of architects, designers, and makers, and neighborhood guides from your favorite LA creatives. With a focus on:
HOMES & ARCHITECTURE
Los Angeles resists uniformity. Architecturally and geographically, it’s layered and inconsistent by design. You can walk through a single neighborhood and see decades of ideas side by side: houses tucked into hills, hidden behind trees, shaped more by climate than trends. Many of the most interesting ones aren’t immediately visible.
Sanctuaries LA is a way of slowing down and looking more closely, going behind the immaculately manicured hedges or wild oak groves to learn the stories and philosophy shaping the homes and shared spaces within.
We’ll share individual home tours, in-depth conversations with architects and designers we admire, and thoughtful explorations of Los Angeles’ architectural history.
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Los Angeles is held together by the people who build things here, sometimes literally. The city’s character isn’t only shaped by architecture, but by the designers, artists, gardeners, small business owners, and neighbors who decide to invest their time and care into their local community.
This section will spotlight those individuals and collectives: the creators restoring old storefronts, hosting gatherings, launching studios, tending native gardens, or rethinking how we live and work. Not as profiles for the sake of promotion, but as a way of understanding how community actually takes shape in Los Angeles: through sustained effort, collaboration, and shared experience.
NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES & SHARED SPACES
Los Angeles functions less like a single city and more like a collection of neighborhoods, each with its own rhythms and loyalties. People love where they live, often fiercely, and your experience of LA can look entirely different depending on where you’re rooted.
I’m no exception. I’m deeply attached to my corner of the city — the intersection of Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Mount Washington, and Glassell Park — and I spend a lot of time further east as well, in places like Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and across the San Gabriel Valley. For that reason, this publication will begin with an Eastside focus.
Along the way, we’ll feature neighborhood guides from our favorite creatives and Angelenos, highlighting the shared spaces like cafés, parks, studios, and shops that quietly anchor community life.
NATIVE LANDSCAPES & ECOSYSTEMS
It’s also about land and ecology. Over the past few years, I’ve spent time learning about native plants and ecosystems, taking classes at Theodore Payne Foundation and volunteering at Hahamongna Native Plant Nursery. That education reshaped how I understand stewardship at a neighborhood scale & what it means to live somewhere rather than simply occupy it.
Alongside home tours, community highlights, and neighborhood features, you’ll find practical guides: introductions to native plants, and notes on how to live thoughtfully alongside the wildlife that already calls this place home — coyotes, hawks, crows, and others.
WHAT’S NEXT
Next up, I’ll begin by writing about my own home, what I’ve learned about its history, and how it inspired Sanctuaries LA.
This publication is built by me, but it’s also built by you. My inbox is always open for tips: homes, architects, makers, secret spots or spaces that feel like home.
Drop me a line at shelby@sanctuaries.la.
I’m so glad you’re here. Please share this newsletter with five of your favorite friends in Los Angeles. Let’s explore together.
