Inside a Richly Layered, Family-Friendly Colonial Revival in LA
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On the West Side of LA, a riot of dusty pink desert willows, crimson flowering silky oaks, and tangerine carrotwood seeds burst along a leafy boulevard, where wrought-iron gates lead up to a Colonial Revival built in 1931. When the couple bought the property in 2021, they knew just who could transform its all-white interiors into a moody, richly layered oasis that felt transporting but also practical for their two young sons. They immediately called AD PRO Directory member Kate Driver, the founder of LA design studio West Haddon Hall, who had designed their two previous homes (first a loft, then a modernist house). Driver had been curating their growing collection of art and furnishings since 2016, and as a mother of three, she understood their desire to create child-friendly spaces with playful yet durable fabrics that didn’t compromise when it came to design.
“They had a razor-sharp sense of what they were drawn to but also knew what they didn’t want—namely, we used nothing designed before 1920,” explains Driver, who hunted down midcentury Swedish antiques and Art Deco accents to imbue age, patina, and character into the space. “Whenever I’m traveling or trawling for vintage finds, I collect pieces for them as if I were decorating my own home,” she adds.
Alvar Aalto tank chairs reupholstered in dark cumin and pistachio fabric anchor the living room, where 1970s Murano glass lamps by Gae Aulenti find balance in grounding accents like geometric wooden divider screens and chestnut woven chairs with river reed caning. Driver recovered an old bolstered bench that belonged to the clients in Liberty of London’s Faria Flowers velvet print, while 1960s Scandinavian teak shelves and case pieces were embellished into custom wet bars with vintage wallpapered doors. Down the hall, they wanted to honor the original 1930s millwork in the smoking room, but rejuvenated it with Benjamin Moore’s Northampton Putty: “a color that completely changes depending on the light throughout the day,” Driver says. Glass bookcases surrounding the fireplace showcase a vast library—they’re always reading Hollywood scripts as well as novels and memoirs—where a Derrick Velasquez wall sculpture (which once hung in their son’s room at their old house) now floats above their collection of Oaxacan red metal vessels, Chinese candleholders, and Indian bowls lining the mantel. Club chairs covered in salt and pepper cowhide flank a midcentury Japanese table inlaid with tile, wood, and mosaic, while a kidney-shaped desk and Ettore Sottsass armchair create an office nook overlooking the azure pool and trellised gardens below.
The original dining room was turned into a sitting room—where Pierre Frey’s Tarangire Sienne peach-patterned wallpaper now covers the walls and the trim is painted a butternut squash color, popping against an eye-catching cobalt blue rug. Upstairs, a second office painted in jade features a 1970s cowhide screen that Driver found at Marche Paul Bert in Paris and a Nike Schroeder diptych, which was the first piece of art Driver purchased years ago for the clients’ first home. But they brought in some new art too: Pastel botanical lithographs were commissioned by artist Larissa Lockshin for the primary bedroom, where an oversized paprika velvet headboard riffs off of the corals and apricots of Swedish flat woven rugs.
The couple entertains frequently, hosting large gatherings of friends, coworkers, and toddlers for pool parties, barbecues, and movie screenings. Guests typically gravitate toward the first floor family room, which opens out into the gardens and backyard, so an array of seating options was essential—from the sectional covered in Pierre Frey’s Limpopo Pistache to Charlotte Perriand pine benches and built-in banquettes that Driver tailored to the space’s exact dimensions. (The family room and kitchen were the only areas that required any actual construction, says Driver, adding that she removed the aughts-era cabinetry and installed a new stone fireplace. Driver worked with Slater Construction & Development, Inc. for work on the interior and exterior of the home.) “I was very thoughtful about how to live with kids in the space, opting for sophisticated prints that could withstand fingerpaints, Play-Doh, and spilled juice,” she says. “In the wine room downstairs, I added our sheepskin Sullivan armchairs because they sure can take a beating.”
Moody painted hues, patterned upholstery, and layerings of rich textiles soften the ambiance by injecting edge and patina, while also accentuating and bringing new life to the house’s original detailed moldings, which depict everything from strings of garlands to carved sundials. “The underlying idea was to nod back to the archival history of the house during its Hollywood heyday,” Driver explains. “That narrative felt like it deserved to be dictating the design.”
Art: Adriana Carambia/Diderot Art Gallery1/11A Maralunga Sofa by Vico Magistretti recovered in Fabricut’s premier velvet and a quartet of reupholstered Alvar Aalto’s 400 Tank armchairs anchor the living room, while a round floral 1970s wall hanging and vintage sconces by Maison Arlus frame the fireplace. Terrazzo and walnut side tables circa 1960 by Harvey Probber and a teak room divider add a palpable sense of geometry.
2/11“In the kitchen, we reworked the layout, installing a new island and removing a former service window,” Driver explains. “We wanted to honor the original millwork as much as possible, adding just a subtle two-toned green paint scheme.” The kitchen walls are Vert De Terre and the millwork is Mizzle, both by Farrow & Ball. The island base paint is Benjamin Moore’s Coffeehouse Chocolate. The conical pendant fixtures are Louis Poulsen.
3/11“The dining room had previously been siloed off in the sitting room by the front door, so we moved things around to create a better sense of flow throughout the floor—and now it overlooks the double balconies facing out to the backyard’s pool and trellised gardens,” Driver says. Isamu Noguchi’s Akari 15A light sculpture hangs above a round wood table encircled by Stahl and Band’s Loc dining chairs upholstered in rust linen. Ceramic vases surround vintage brass candleholders holding green tapered Nickey Kehoe candles.
4/11A 1950 French ceramic foliage mirror, kidney bean–shaped desk custom made by Driver for West Haddon Hall, and a fuschia Ettore Sottsass postmodern chair create the office area of the smoking room. The green table lamp featuring a marble base and glass diffuser is a 2003 update on Achille and Pier Giacamo Castiglioni’s 1967 Snoopy Lamp by Flos.
5/11“We wanted the house’s 1930s history to really come alive in the smoking room, my favorite spot,” Driver says. “The atmosphere changed completely when we repainted the formerly white walls in this rich neutral tone. The owners are big readers, so this room is an escape from the rest of the house—as well as from LA.” Classic club chairs upholstered in Schumacher’s Salt & Pepper cowhide and a vintage mosaic Japanese table from the 1960s flank the original fireplace, where Derrick Velasquez’s vinyl and maplewood Untitled 195 sculpture sits above a collection of vessels, vases, and candlesticks found during various travels through Mexico, China, and India. Walls, fireplace surrounds, and paneling are painted Northampton Putty by Benjamin Moore. The 1960s Swedish flat-weave Rollakan carpet is Ingegerd Silow.
Art: Luiz Zerbini6/11Vivid textures and eclectic colors play off one another throughout the family room, where an arsenic green cast-resin side table from West Haddon Hall sits alongside Driver’s custom banquette with raspberry velvet bolsters and peregrine paisley velvet seat cushions by Mulberry. “Each print is intentionally kid-friendly and can handle the wear-and-tear when they’re hosting work events or family get-togethers,” Driver says.
7/11In the primary bedroom sits a custom bed in velvet with walnut feet. The hand-knotted wool rug with a tasselled fringe is by Armadillo, while Driver found the vintage Alvaro table lamps at Gallery L7. A vintage biomorphic tessellated stone mirror hangs above the fireplace.
8/11Klaus Haapaniemi & Co.’s Iceflower Blue botanical wall coverings combine with trim and wainscotting painted in Benjamin Moore’s Deep Caviar to imbue a downstairs powder room with an otherworldly vibe. The vintage-inspired concrete bucket sink finished in a dark blue is by Concretti.
Art: © Ghada Amer/Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspe9/11George Nakashima grass-seated chairs flank a 1969 Charles Pollock leather executive chair for Knoll, creating a space for work-from-home meetings in the upstairs office. Driver found the vintage cowhide screen in the stalls Marche Paul Bert in Paris, while the Swedish brass and glass Prior chandelier is by Hans-Agne Jakobsson. The walls are Goodwin Green by Benjamin Moore.
10/11“We wanted to amplify the calming sense of serenity we found in the periwinkle-hued bedding, so we matched the color of the walls to echo the exact shade in the guest bedroom. Then we repurposed a set of marigold linen drapes that hung in their old house,” Driver adds. The wall hanging above the bed is a 1960 Jean-Claude Duprez handwoven French wool and cotton tapestry depicting autumn leaves.
11/11In their older son’s room, a cypress wood pendant fixture creates a grounding, earthy vibe alongside an array of pillows from Clarence House made with African Kuba cloth. A parrot nightlight and elephant print create a jungle-like menagerie.
