SoCal Neoclassical
West Hollywood, CA
Originally built in 1937 as a SoCal neoclassical residence, this home provided a formal framework for a richly layered and highly personal transformation. The owner, an interior designer and avid collector of historic textiles and antiques from around the world, envisioned a home that would reflect his travels — with strong influences from the Caribbean, West Indies, and Asia. What began as an interior architecture commission evolved into a careful study in balance: integrating these sensibilities into a traditional structure without sacrificing cohesion or architectural integrity.
Throughout the home, the design weaves together historic character and eclectic references through proportion, materiality, and detail. The most significant impacts might be seen overhead. Previously unremarkable ceilings were reimagined into vaulted, barrel-vaulted, and cathedral ceilings with dormer windows high above distinctive millwork or reclaimed beams. An elliptical ceiling sash now draws daylight down the curving stair and an elliptical fanlight now crowns a dining room door.
Another breathtaking transformation stripped the kitchen of its trendy range niche, marble-topped island, and relentless wall cabinets, adding warm wood open shelves and cabinetry, painted wainscot, and vivid wallpaper. The primary bath was reinvented using matching antique vanities, a freestanding tub, paneling everywhere, and a glorious glass-enclosed shower. Thoughtful details abound, with painted checkerboard wood floors, antique fireplace mantel and vintage tile. A new window in the children’s bedroom is the centerpiece of bookcases topped with ogee arches. Small bedroom windows were replaced with french doors and wrought iron balconies, and new french doors from the library and kitchen now open onto the expanded brick terrace. The new dormer windows in the vaulted ceilings now perch high on the roof.
The result? A “Caribbean Colonial” home; and a cohesive and transportive residence — one that feels at once grounded in tradition and shaped by a life lived around the globe.