Renovation in Los Angeles
Originally designed by the virtuoso scenographer Austen Pierpont, this Tudor-revival house was once the home of the stage and silver screen luminary Mary Martin. Despite a substantial renovation undertaken by its last owners, it lacked many of the features that one would expect in a high-end family home.
Taking care to preserve the charm and quirkiness of its existing character, we made substantial improvements and additions—most significantly to the second-floor bedrooms and baths. Whereas Tudor homes on the East Coast typically feel dark and heavy, the house has been made light and airy thanks to interventions both inside and out, and to interior finishes and furnishings by David Netto.
On the main floor, a new kitchen and repurposed dining room opening onto an expansive screened porch invigorate the center of the house with everyday life; a winding stair leads to a game room below, and an octagonal breakfast room with windows on three sides breaks off the kitchen as a cozy nook.
Panels under the stairs to the second floor were stripped back to the original wood grain and replicated in the stairway behind them, adding character and emphasizing the space’s verticality.
Latter improvements to the living room were removed and Pierpont’s original playfulness shines through, bolstered by white painted timber beams and restored windows.
Collaborating with landscape designer Deborah Nevins, we established a more gracious sequence of hardscape and plantings linking the main house to a new pool located on the property’s upper reaches. Whitewashed wood-plank walls and a pitched ceiling transform the outwardly modest pool house into a light and airy retreat. A screening room on the lower level doubles as a working space for the owner.
Taking care to preserve the charm and quirkiness of its existing character, we made substantial improvements and additions—most significantly to the second-floor bedrooms and baths. Whereas Tudor homes on the East Coast typically feel dark and heavy, the house has been made light and airy thanks to interventions both inside and out, and to interior finishes and furnishings by David Netto.
On the main floor, a new kitchen and repurposed dining room opening onto an expansive screened porch invigorate the center of the house with everyday life; a winding stair leads to a game room below, and an octagonal breakfast room with windows on three sides breaks off the kitchen as a cozy nook.
Panels under the stairs to the second floor were stripped back to the original wood grain and replicated in the stairway behind them, adding character and emphasizing the space’s verticality.
Latter improvements to the living room were removed and Pierpont’s original playfulness shines through, bolstered by white painted timber beams and restored windows.
Collaborating with landscape designer Deborah Nevins, we established a more gracious sequence of hardscape and plantings linking the main house to a new pool located on the property’s upper reaches. Whitewashed wood-plank walls and a pitched ceiling transform the outwardly modest pool house into a light and airy retreat. A screening room on the lower level doubles as a working space for the owner.
