TORRANCE, Calif. — From the moment you walk in, you're struck by the exquisite opulence of 86-year-old Dominic Laferla's Torrance home. He spent decades handcrafting it into a masterpiece. The details inside have been compared to the decor of Hearst Castle and the Palace of Versailles.
His house has been a part of South Bay history, drawing visitors from all around the world.
"Before the epidemic, we were getting a large [number] of people through here," Laferla said. "The epidemic slowed it way down."
Laferla is hoping that the start of the COVID-19 vaccine means tours can resume. He doesn't charge anyone for touring his house. He does it for the love of sharing his work.
Everywhere you look, there's another detail with a story behind it. Laferla showed us his plasterwork, his hand-carved columns, and all nine of his ceiling domes.
The domes are not only a work of artistry but also physical strength.
"There aren't many people who carve over their head," Laferla said. "That's a hard thing to do."
And he even taught himself engineering.
"I left school in seventh grade. I lost a lot of big jobs because of it. I don't have a degree or an engineering degree. But I know how to engineer. If there [were] an earthquake, this dome would never fall because it's locked in and hanging with special wires," Laferla said.
In an old video of him, he makes a ceiling dome by using a large spinning knife contraption that shapes the plaster. He came from a family of plaster workers but didn't know he had a passion for art and design until he was doing a plastering job for a woman's home, and she asked for roses. So he carved them for her and hasn't stopped since.
The house serves as a showroom for the work that has taken him 50 years to complete. And he's still not done. He has plans to add a tenth ceiling dome.
"I destroyed this house three times," he said.
He lives in another structure on the same lot as the showroom, which he purchased in 1966 for $8,000. He creates most of his work in his garage.
Laferla said when he first started, his family wasn't exactly supportive of his interests, and neither were his colleagues in the building industry.
"I told people what I wanted to do, and they all laughed at me. My dad was one of them. He'd say 'In your dreams' all the time," Laferla said.
He found success working on many high budget projects, including the famous Hacienda De La Paz in Rolling Hills, where Laferla helped build a Turkish bath and underground tennis court unlike any other.
Since then, he's turned down many jobs, preferring to be semi-retired so he can do his art for its own sake.
He said one day he wants his showroom to be an official museum where his life's work will outlast him and touch the lives of others for years to come.