In addition to its architecture and interiors practice, LA firm Simo Design (a member of the Remodelista + Gardenista Architect Directory) has made a business of updating promising houses and putting them back on the market.
Photography by Jessica Sample, except where noted, and courtesy of Simo Design.
Gnatovich and designer Alexi Rennalls chose wisely: the 1948 property had been lovingly cared for, and they were able to reuse much of what was already there.
The existing brick patio courtyard with pool serves as the house’s main entryway.
Inside the house, the living room, library, and master bedroom overlook the pool through expansive windows.
The lounge chairs are from Safavieh, with cushions from Crate & Barrel.
The redwood fence is a custom design, painted in Dragon’s Breath from Benjamin Moore in a semi-solid finish.
“One of the things we loved about the site is how green it was,” said Rennalls.
On another part of the property, Simo added a timber pavilion with built-in sofas of sand-finished stucco with custom cushions and pillows. It’s open to the air on all sides, with a glass roof on top.
Photograph by Berlyn Photography courtesy of Simo Design.
Said Rennalls of the pavilion site: “When we first saw the house we knew we had to make that area a special destination.” It’s sited on the edge of a lush and private garden that was “well-maintained but underutilized,” partly because it overlooked the driveway.
Simo added an adjacent outdoor dining area and bocce court, and installed a low field stone fence with tall ficus trees to border the pavilion and hide the driveway.
Photograph by Berlyn Photography courtesy of Simo Design.
Before
The previous pool and patio were well-kept, but the style was dated.
The house’s front door was formerly tucked under the covered porch.
The site plan shows the pool at the entrance to the house.
Said Rennalls, “It’s a hard thing to describe, but the property is wide open and sprawling and at the same time completely private and secluded.”