Between the mountains and the sea the Lowe family home
The Portuguese Bend Craftsman and California Coastal designed home is situated between two vacant lots where the family hides Easter Eggs during the spring holiday.
Thomas Lowe, M.D. and Melody Lomboy-Lowe grew up in Sierra Madre and met in high school when both were city lifeguards. Melody had been diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of six.
While a senior at Pasadena Polytechnic school, Thomas was assigned a senior thesis project of his choosing. He chose to interview Robert Rosen, M.D., the City of Hope oncologist who had saved Melody’s life after she was diagnosed with leukemia at age 6.
“I became part of a cancer treatment trial with a group of other kids who also had leukemia. In the end, I was the only one of our group who survived,” she said.
Aidan, Daniel, Koa, Fluffy and Melody.
Thomas spent the majority of his senior year at the City of Hope and was so inspired by the experience that he decided to pursue oncological medicine as his career. After high school, he attended U.C. Irvine and then UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at UCLA. A fellowship followed at City of Hope and Harbor-UCLA.
Thomas Lowe, M.D. is an oncologist and hematologist at Cancer Care Associates of the South Bay, who was inspired by his wife’s story to pursue a career in medicine.
“His job was stressful, oftentimes dealing with difficult decisions, families in crisis and sometimes end of life — all of this is around the clock,” Melody recalled. The two of them wanted to find a home by the ocean that was close to where they worked, but would feel like it was worlds away from the frenetic pace of hospital life.
The couple married in 2002 and started a family in 2005. They continued to live in Sierra Madre until 2013, when they found a craftsman style, coastal home for $1.7 million, in the gated Portuguese Bend neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes. This was an enclave that they had never known existed. The home was newly built by Redondo Beach contractor Chris Smith between two vacant lots (only one of which was buildable). It had an ocean view and a coastal interior design that fit the Lowe’s lifestyle.
The Lowe’s liked this original artwork by Heather Brown because it reminded them of their three sons and Hawaii.
“There’s a calm feeling here. We are in Los Angeles, but don’t feel like we’re actually in L.A. The one-half acre backyard sold me. We have a play structure for the kids and our dog and we have ample room to be outside. Our favorite place is Hawaii and our second favorite place is Sierra Madre. Palos Verdes is the perfect combination of the two,” Melody said.
Much of the family time is in the kitchen, featuring a Carrera Marble slab island with a touch of the Hawaiian Islands, seen in their choice of rattan barstools.
The 3,800 square foot home has built-in bookshelves and desks, a butler’s pantry and custom designed etchings of ocean waves and Sago Palms on the bathroom vanities. The family room opens up to the kitchen, which opens up further to an art and study area with high ceilings and wide, espresso-colored wood floors. The colors are light and bright with white marble countertops in the kitchen and white cabinets and drawers.
“Our sons Koa and Aidan have bunk beds and share a bedroom. Our other son, Daniel has his own bedroom. They all share a perfectly situated Jack and Jill bathroom,” Melody said.
The Art and Study area has built-in wall-to-wall desks with ample cabinetry and storage.
Outside, this craftsman/coastal residence has composite wood style siding and Palos Verdes stone walkways. Floor to ceiling glass sliders open up to an long porch or “lanai” along the front of the house. The view is of a wide open space, natural topography and the ocean, all unchanged through the centuries.
There is some whimsey and history out front of this newer home comprised of three vintage street signs tucked underneath a lattice with a seating area. Melody’s mother purchased them on the ap Nextdoor. They are a faded yellow with green writing. The City of Sierra Madre had decided to replace their “Mayberry” street signs with a more updated look. The Mariposa Ave sign is from the street Thomas grew up on and the Carter Ave sign is from the street Melody grew up on. Sycamore Place is where the newly married couple built their first house in 2003.
The vintage street come from the Sierra Madre Streets where the couple spent their childhoods and early married years.
The three-car garage includes a gym and the backyard brims with fruit trees. “I’m half Filipino and half Italian.” Melody said. “My father likes to bring us plants from the Philippines like Dragon Fruit, papaya, mangoes and bananas. We also have boysenberry plants, lemon and lime trees. Thomas, who is half Chinese and half Caucasian, is responsible for the plum trees, which are popular in China.
“We call ourselves “Hapa” which means “half” in Hawaiian,” Melody said.