Well-versed in buying and flipping houses, Galerie Design + Build was on the lookout for a project in need of an update but full of potential and landed on a peculiar 1950s two-bedroom ranch in Los Angeles. It was sprawling, but its dysfunctional floor plan completely misused the space with features such as a 24-foot-wide walk-in closet and 30-foot-long primary bedroom. The design studio’s principals, Martina Biegel and Jackie Kosnett, set out to rejigger the entire plan to convert the home into a family-oriented four-bedroom property with an open-concept kitchen.
Making Moves
“One of the reasons we chose this house was because it was centrally located in one of the hottest neighborhoods for young families, Mar Vista,” said Biegel. While the home was a perfectly preserved grandma-chic house, it was extremely dated with a country-style makeover the house had likely seen in the early aughts. That styling was unfortunately played up in the kitchen.
According to Biegel, it had maroon rooster wallpaper, a rooster chandelier and rooster hardware and wall hooks. Foghorn Leghorn aesthetics aside, the room felt closed off and dark. Its layout of vast, empty space in the center and broken-up granite counters with prefab cabinets along the perimeter was at once visually unappealing and impractical.
As part of their solution, the team relocated the kitchen to the home’s existing sunroom where it could enjoy more natural light; moved the living room adjacent to the new kitchen; and tore down most of the decorative posts between the two to open sightlines. Having envisioned this project as a home with kids, since the neighborhood is known for its enviable school district, the designers felt these moves were key. From its new location, the kitchen offers a vantage point to the existing backyard and swimming pool, and flows right into the living room, ensuring the parents can cook dinner while monitoring kids playing both inside or outside.
From Italy, With Love
A recent trip to “The Boot” country influenced the designers’ choices both in the kitchen and throughout the home. The selected some of the same materials used to create the historic buildings in Italy, including real marble, limestone and white oak. They tend to avoid manmade materials like laminates, porcelains and quartz. For the kitchen and bathroom countertops, the team used quartzite, a natural stone that is hardwearing and resistant to staining. Inspired by plasterwork during their European travels, the designers opted for hand-troweled Marmorino plaster walls and backsplash instead of tile.
“It’s a beautiful, living finish full of movement, yet you can simply wipe it down with a sponge,” said Biegel. Marmorino, who said it dates back to ancient Roman times and is waterproof and antimicrobial, to boot.
The same finish covers the range’s custom hood, while a matching paint color coats the raftered ceiling above, an original detail the designers preserved.
Custom millwork in natural-finished white oak encompasses a line of base cabinets and the paneled fridge along the sink wall, floor-to-ceiling storage and pantry cabinets along a perpendicular side wall and a 3-by-8-foot island at the room’s center. The designers made sure to include an appliance garage within the casework to keep the countertops clear. The result is a bright, airy and clean-lined space that feels tranquil and timeless.
Serenity Now
Ensuring design continuity and cohesion, the team carried this same aesthetic throughout the renovation, particularly in a new primary bath. While it sat in its original location, the space gained square footage from a disused “pool bath” that had previously – and awkwardly – cut into the primary bedroom. Like the old kitchen, the bath had all the makings of a dated granny-chic home, from a jetted tub with a tiled surround to a tacky floral wallpaper and shiny brass elements.
In place of wallpaper and wall tiles, Marmorino plaster helps create a soothing and soft spa-like environment homeowners crave today. Instead of tiled floors, the designers specified white oak to create a more seamless transition from bedroom to bath.
“We love the look of a primary bath with wood floors,” said Kosnett. “If you look at old homes in England, many of the bathrooms have wood floors.”
As in any other wood-floored space, she added, a little water from exiting the shower doesn’t hurt – as long as it’s not a bucketful and doesn’t sit there for too long.
Another touch of luxury, an ovoid freestanding tub sits beside a large picture window and below a vintage linen-shaded pendant. There was plenty of room left over for a double vanity and enlarged shower since the space absorbed the old pool bath. Here, quartzite is repeated but in a more refined way. Rather than a simple slab countertop, for instance, it forms the vanity top with its integrated sinks as well as a monolithic block outside the shower. The quartzite continues inside frameless glass walls to morph into the shower bench while also creating the illusion of a dissolved barrier.
The natural Italian-inspired palette, crisp clean lines and soft notes here, in the kitchen and the rest of the house brought this home up to date and caught many a homebuyers’ eye. The designers said they received multiple offers in less than a week.
Sources
Interior Designer: Galerie Design + Build General Contractor: Ayon Construction Photographer: Tessa Neustadt KITCHEN Dishwasher & Range: Bosch Faucet: Brizo Flooring: River Oaks Hardware: Alno Refrigerator: JennAir BATHROOM Fixtures: Phylrich Plumbing Flooring: River Oaks Hardware: Yester Home Mirrors: Zara Home Pendant: Vakkerlight Tub: TOTO Wall Sconces: Human Home
