Marlboro

Location: Los Angeles
Type: Residential
Year: 2021
Sq. Footage: 10,000

For this 1940s house in Los Angeles, the process depended on a melding of expertise with the clients, a couple with children who are avid collectors of contemporary art. Not only did they have exquisite taste, but an expert’s eye for the value of the works acquired. Rather than fitting a design around an existing collection or buying works to fit the scheme, the studio and client worked together to build the home and curate the art at the same time. The resulting project strikes a balance between artistic expression and practicality, between striking aesthetics and livable spaces.

The minimal entrance both elevates the mood and creates the right environment for bold art to stand on its own, including a sculpture by Hank Willis. A new steel front door, fitted with generous glass panels, floods the vestibule with light before Petit Granite Refine floors carry you forward, through a five-foot-deep Ceppo Antico stone portal and up a totally reworked staircase. That same inspired collision between art and design is most evident in the living room. The room fills out with commissioned design objects, contemporary art, and vintage furniture reimagined in matching copper tones.

In the billiards room, the programming hides behind perforated brass panels that conceal a television and bar, creating an atmosphere that is richer and moodier than the rest of the house, but also functional and relaxed. A restored 1970s Le Bambole sofa adds soul and is paired with angular brass sconces by Marz Designs and a hanging light by Michael Anastassiades.

A custom dining table was made in Belgium using Bardiglio Nuvolato marble and given chiseled edges to imbue it with a more casual character. A monumental rubber sideboard by Brian Thoreen with brass accents thematically connects to the patterned fabrics used on the vintage Belgo Chrome dining chairs.

With so much greenery outside the windows of the primary bedroom, natural, earthy tones were chosen for the fabrics and furnishings. A coffee table in bog oak by Vladimir Krasnogorov acts as a focal point in contrast to the vintage Pianura lounge chairs by Mario Bellini. The floor lamp is by Blackman Cruz. The primary bathroom makes liberal use of a Ceppo stone, including a custom tub that was first created in a library. Mirrors were added to the water closet doors, and skylights were added for extra light.