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    Working Holiday Studio adds hacienda-style twist to midcentury LA house

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    The founders of LA-based Working Holiday Studio have renovated a midcentury home for themselves and their growing family, transforming the interiors to echo a Mexican hacienda.

    Designers Carlos Naude and Whitney Brown chose to move from their previous ranch-style home to a larger dwelling after having a second child, knowing they would need more space.
    Working Holiday Studio added arched openings and handmade brick floors to the midcentury homeThe couple found another midcentury home built in 1962 in the Granada Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, which they set about remodelling in “an eclectic hacienda style with Mexican and Scandinavian influences”.
    “We renovated the house because it hasn’t been updated since the first owners bought it and was in much need of a refresh,” the duo told Dezeen. “The layout didn’t make sense for modern living and the house felt dark, cold and outdated.”
    Details like iron railings with wavy balusters add a “hacienda vibe” to the interiorsThe biggest change involved opening up the wall between the dining room and kitchen, creating a large space for the family to gather and entertain under the dark-stained, mono-pitched ceiling.

    The kitchen was reimagined with swing-out French doors, dark green plaster across the walls, and warm millwork for cabinets and the central island.
    The kitchen was completely transformed with dark green plaster walls and warm millworkBricks across the floor in this space and the hallways were handmade in Tijuana, Mexico, and imported across the border.
    Together with arched openings that Working Holiday Studio added throughout the home, they add a “hacienda vibe” to the property.
    A formal living room features a variety of sculptural seats arranged around a marble coffee tableBeige plaster walls, iron railings with wavy balusters and various wooden furniture pieces also lend to the contemporary Mexican aesthetic, with hints of Scandinavian minimalism.
    “We always start with a palette of colours and materials,” said Naude and Brown. “We wanted [the interiors] to feel neutral, earthy, and warm with a few pop accents.”

    Los Angeles ranch house becomes Zen Den by Working Holiday Studio

    Also on the ground floor is a space for the family to watch TV together, which features a large cushioned sectional.
    A formal living room off the dining area has a whitewashed brick fireplace in the corner, and a variety of sculptural chairs arranged around a marble coffee table.
    Bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones”We spend a lot of time in the family and TV room because it’s very cosy and comfortable, but love looking into the formal living room because each piece feels like an artwork or sculpture,” the couple said.
    Upstairs, the bedrooms are decorated with natural materials in neutral tones, while the bathrooms are playfully lined with checkerboard or thin straight-stack tiles.
    Playful touches in the bathrooms include checkerboard tilingAcross the exterior, the house was rendered in mid-grey stucco and black-framed windows and doors were added.
    A large covered veranda stretches almost the full length of the building and is used for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming pool.
    The house has a large veranda for outdoor lounging and dining in front of the backyard swimming poolOther properties designed and owned by the couple – the ZenDen in LA’s Woodland Hills and Casa Mami near Joshua Tree National Park – are available as vacation rentals for guests.
    The photography is by Carlos Naude.

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      “I don’t think we should put celebrity designers on a pedestal” says Bobby Berk

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      Queer Eye star Bobby Berk recently quit the hit show to run his interior design studio full-time. In this exclusive interview, he discusses how his TV experiences have shaped his approach.

      Having announced in November 2023 that he would be leaving his role as the Netflix reality series’ interior design expert after eight seasons, Berk has since leaned full-time into work through his eponymous studio – as well as being a Dezeen Awards judge.
      “I think the show really did make me more confident in using colour”
      “Designing for TV is very different from designing for a ‘real world’ project,” Berk told Dezeen. “The timeline is so much quicker [in TV], and you’re also creating a space that has to work in person and translate on screen.”
      Berk described how his work on Queer Eye – which sees the five expert presenters make positive changes to an ordinary person’s lifestyle – required him to adapt his usual design style in order to satisfy the needs of the show’s makeover subjects.

      “Design-wise, my work on Queer Eye often featured much more colour and pattern than I typically use,” he explained. “I wanted to reflect the personalities and desires of the inhabitants, and that often meant going bold.”
      Berk appeared in eight seasons of Netflix’s hit reality show Queer EyeIn contrast, Berk describes his personal style as a “mix of organic, modern, classic, Spanish, and minimal with a mostly neutral colour palette” that leans towards working with natural materials and geometric shapes.
      He cites his LA-based studio, in a recently renovated 1970s Spanish-style home, as the project that most accurately reflects his own style.
      Rooms filled with a palette dominated by black, white, marble and wood detailing house the designer’s headquarters and various home products.
      Nevertheless, he reports that Queer Eye has opened him up to experimenting with bolder tones and patterns.
      “I believe we should let the work speak for itself”
      “I’ve brought in hits of colour in a handful of projects since then, and I think the show really did make me more confident in using colour – especially in wallpaper, unique paint treatments, and murals,” he said.
      Berk argues that his style isn’t definable in a single term or phrase – but acknowledges that certain aspects of his taste were cemented by moving from New York to California, after a childhood spent in the Bible Belt.
      “It really all developed over time, there wasn’t an exact moment my style all came together,” he said. “Rather, I feel all my past experiences and influences blended into a more discernible look and feel when I moved to California.”
      The interior designer says working on TV pushed him to be more confident in experimenting with colourLos Angeles continues to have the greatest influence on his work, ahead of the various locations Queer Eye filmed – including Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Orleans and a spin-off season in Japan – or Portugal, where the designer now lives part-time.
      “Of all the places I’ve lived and travelled, Los Angeles is the city that continues to drive my creativity and help me to see through fresh eyes,” he said.
      “It’s a very inspiring place on many different levels, and there is such a legacy of incredible architecture and design.”

      Five key projects by interior designer and Dezeen Awards judge Bobby Berk

      Design as a tool for improving well-being has remained at the centre of Berk’s work before, during and after Queer Eye, and he explored the theme further in his book Right at Home: How Good Design Is Good For The Mind, published last year.
      “From the very beginning of my career, I’ve known the power that design can have to change your life,” he said.
      “That will always be the throughline of my work, to use design as not just a way to make a beautiful room, but as an invaluable tool for improving wellness and mental health.”
      Berk’s LA office exemplifies his “organic” and “minimal” styleWhile he admits being in the spotlight can be both “challenging” and “flattering”, Berk is keen for his design work to be judged on its own merits.
      “Being cast on a television show has obviously changed my life in incredible ways and afforded me so many amazing opportunities,” he said. “Part of that also means being a public figure and having people be interested in more than just your design work.”
      “Sometimes it’s challenging, sometimes it’s flattering, but it’s what I signed up for,” he added. “I also don’t think we should put celebrity designers on a pedestal or value their work above other working designers who may not have had the same exposure.”
      “I believe we should let the work speak for itself, and give space to anyone that is talented and creating compelling design.”
      The photography is by Sara Ligorria Tramp.
      Dezeen In DepthIf you enjoy reading Dezeen’s interviews, opinions and features, subscribe to Dezeen In Depth. Sent on the last Friday of each month, this newsletter provides a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.

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      BIG opens Los Angeles office in renovated 1920s building

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      Danish architecture studio BIG has opened an office in Santa Monica in a renovated 1928 Spanish revival building designed by iconic Los Angeles architect Paul R Williams.

      The 1928 building was refurbished by the team, many of whom will be joining the freshly minted BIG Los Angeles team – recruited both from the New York office and from the local “talent pool”.
      BIG has opened an office in a 1928 Paul R Williams building in Santa MonicaBIG, the architecture studio established by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, will be anchored in the Californian city by partner Leon Rost.
      For the renovation, the studio kept many of the original Spanish revival details of the original structure including the expressive reliefs on the facade.
      Some of the plaster detailing was kept, but the office largely has an unfinished lookSome of the interior plasterwork was maintained as well. The primary second-floor workspace was opened up, and much of the walls were peeled back to reveal the wooden structure and enhanced mechanical system.

      Unfinished concrete columns are located in th middle of the space, with thick wooden rafters intersected by skylights.
      The office layout is open, with large spanning desks and folded Roulade chairs by KiBiSi, which Ingels is also a partner of.
      The office will help expand the studio’s West Coast presenceAccording to Rost, the studio plans to continue to update the space with samples of technology such as solar panels from the studio’s local projects, many of which are in late states. These projects include Claremont McKenna College Robert Day Sciences Center.
      “We’ve also designed an interior layout that preserves the original interior plasterwork from 1928 and intentionally chose a location that is close to public transport,” Rost told Dezeen.
      “As a Japanese Californian I am excited to root BIG on the Pacific Coast. In the city of storytelling, big dreams and a pioneer spirit, I am certain LA will be a fertile frontier for continued experimentation. You could say BIG – though born in Copenhagen – has always been an Angeleno at heart.”

      BIG unveils twisted skyscraper designed “in the tradition of Flatiron”

      The office is the studio’s second in the United States, after its New York office opened in 2010.
      The studio has a significant presence on the West Coast, and is currently in the process of completing a large mix-used development on an industrial site in Downtown Los Angeles and is working with British studio Heatherwick on a Google headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area.
      The studio will be under the direction of partner Leon RostBIG New York partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann told Dezeen that the move has come from the “considerable” amount of West Coast work the studio has had since opening in the United States.
      “Having also once called Los Angeles home – I attended UCLA in the 1990s – I am super excited to bring ‘Scand-American’ thinking to our future work within the Pacific Rim region,” said Bergmann.
      Other significant projects on the West Coast by BIG include the impressively massed Vancouver House skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada.
      The photography is by Pooya AleDavood.  

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      Apparatus updates Los Angeles showroom to include a “modernist grotto”

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      New York-based studio Apparatus has redesigned its Hollywood showroom with multiple material schemas and a range of its lighting and furniture products to evoke a feeling of “discovery” for visitors.

      The 5,000-square-foot (464 square metres) Hollywood showroom first opened in 2018 in a former warehouse. Apparatus redesigned the interiors – which previously consisted of bold geometric and neoclassical elements – opting for an experience featuring a progression of materials that create distinct experiences for each room.
      Apparatus has redesigned the interiors of its LA showroomIts three adjoining rooms were transformed with distinct finishes and reconfigured displays.
      The first room’s walls and adjoining archways were covered in a coarse rock aggregate. Beds of similar stones fill small recessed gaps between the floor and the walls and a large circular mirror sits behind an installation of the Trapeze light configured as a mobile.
      The entry program features wall with a rough texture”Upon entering, you find yourself in our version of a modernist grotto,” said Apparatus.

      “Here lights are relatively low, allowing you to experience our collections with slightly subterranean undertones.”
      The “grotto”-like room features an installation of the Trapeze chandelierThe pre-existing archways were left intact and lead into the next space, which was finished in a silver-toned plaster custom produced by New York outift Kamp Studios. This surface treatment has a reflective quality meant to contrast the first space.
      It has an installation featuring multiple of Appratatus’ iconic Cloud chandeliers that give the space an airiness when contrasted with the earthy textures of the first.
      The second room has a smooth, silvery finish on the walls”Silvered walls reflect without revealing, giving the impression of being inside a Renaissance coffer,” said the studio. “After the grounding of the first space, this functions as a release.”
      A third room is lined with cork wall panels with intricate grain patterning and includes an unattributed bird-themed tapestry.
      Natural light comes in from overhead windows casting shadows on the double-height room, and includes several products arranged sparsely across the room.

      Apparatus designs Interlude furniture for “imagined, modernist concert hall”

      “It’s about feeling discovery and moving through layers,” said Apparatus founder Gabriel Hendifar.
      Throughout, light fixtures are hung low to emphasize a dream-like characteristic of the reimagined space.
      As in Apparatus’s other showrooms in New York and London, the gallery’s interior design resembles the composition of famous paintings and historical architectural styles. Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico’s Surrealist works were referenced for this room.
      The third space features cork-lined walls and a double-height ceilingAccording to the company, the space was also redesigned based on a creative narrative of a hypothetical person: a woman living in New York City during the 1960s.
      The hypothetical person in this case experiences the cultural tensions of the time, between old world conventions and big changes in society, such as the moon landing, embodying the “tension between modernity and the arcane”.
      “What would happen if this woman moved to Los Angeles a decade later to find herself? Our Los Angeles gallery is the answer,” said the studio.
      The rooms were ordered to evoke a sense of discoveryApparatus has displayed its full suite of products in this immersive setting. Collections on view include the Cloud pendant lamp and the Episode Settee sofa.
      Other recent showroom designs include the London Camper store by James Shaw and Malbon Golf Coconut Grove store by 22RE.
      The photography is by Matthew Placek.

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      Crosby Studios creates office-themed installation in LA for The Frankie Shop

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      New York-based Crosby Studios has piled office equipment around a long metallic table as part of a pop-up installation for fashion brand The Frankie Shop in Los Angeles.

      The month-long installation titled The Office was launched to coincide with LA Art Week and the Sag-Aftra film festival and marked the New York label The Frankie Shop’s first presence in the Californian city.
      A long, metallic conference table formed part of The Office installation created by Crosby StudiosThe brand’s founder Gaëlle Drevet and Crosby Studios creative director Harry Nuriev met at his studio, talked for 2.5 hours and decided to work together.
      The resulting installation occupies a trapezoidal building on Sunset Boulevard wrapped in metallic film on all sides.
      Equipment like printers, office chairs and water coolers were arranged around the perimeter of the spaceInside, the warehouse-like space features a long table also covered in a reflective material, with matching cube-shaped stools set along either side.

      Articulated desk lamps, microphones and bottles of water were arranged on the table as if set up for delegates at a convention.
      The central table featured microphones and water bottles as if set up for a meetingAround the perimeter, Nuriev placed recycled office equipment, such as a large printer, a stack of binders and a pile of plastic-wrapped office chairs.
      A row of water coolers was lined up along one end of the room, encircled with glowing light boxes to create sharp silhouettes of the equipment in front.
      Light boxes that encircle the space create sharp silhouettes of the office furniture placed in front”It’s not really about the office, it’s more about what happens after the office,” Nuriev told Dezeen. “I was thinking it’s time to officially move on from the office and consider the future. However, in this project, we’re uncertain about what the future holds exactly.”
      A selection of apparel by The Frankie Shop is interspersed among the vignettes, while a “storage” area in the back serves as a fitting room.
      Some of the furniture is plastic-wrapped, appearing as though just installed or ready to be shipped awayTogether, the industrial style of the building, the silvery materials, the lighting and the equipment served to highlight the brand’s reinterpretation of businesswear.
      “The pop-up design blends a dynamic combination of fashion and nostalgia, where the power suits of the past seamlessly align with the modern attitude of The Frankie Shop,” said the team.

      Crosby Studios looks to the “signature red” of David Lynch for Silencio New York

      Metallics are commonplace in Nuriev’s interior projects, appearing prominently in a Berlin jewellery store, a Moscow restaurant and his own New York apartment amongst others.
      However, he is vague about the reasons or intentionality behind this recurring theme.
      The exterior of the building on Sunset Boulevard is also covered in reflective film”I don’t really think about ‘why’; it’s just my instincts, and I prefer to follow my feelings,” said Nuriev. “For this project, I had a vision of silver, and I think it works perfectly.”
      Originally from Russia, the designer founded Crosby Studios in 2014 and is now based between New York and Paris.
      The month-long installation marks The Frankie Shop’s first presence in LA and was timed to coincide with the city’s art weekHe recently completed the interiors for New York nightclub Silencio, based on the original location in Paris designed by film director David Lynch.
      Nuriev frequently collaborates with fashion brands, on projects ranging from a virtual sofa upholstered with green Nike jackets to a transparent vinyl couch filled with old Balenciaga clothing.
      The photography is by Josh Cho.
      The Office is on show in Los Angeles from 23 February to 24 March. For more events, talks and exhibitions in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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      Gensler redesigns its own LA office to have “warmth and comfort” of home

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      The team at global architecture firm Gensler’s Los Angeles office has redesigned a floor of its workspace with a hospitality approach, as a pilot for the remaining spaces.

      The Gensler LA team’s renovated its space to give it more of the “warmth and comfort” that its staff became used to during its time working from home.
      The team at Gensler LA redesigned the third floor of their offices to better suit their current workplace needsThe studio’s return to the office post-pandemic came seven years into a 15-year lease of its spaces in Downtown Los Angeles, the firm had converted from an empty bank building in 2011 then expanded to two floors in an adjacent, connected structure.
      With a growing workforce and a desire to rethink the layout, functionality and appearance of the office, a group of the studio’s “next generation” of designers and strategists led an effort to redesign the interiors of the third floor.
      The pilot project incorporates several products from Gensler collaborations, including open shelving and communal tables”The look and feel of our space, though contemporary, lacked the warmth and comfort of the hospitality touches we integrate for our clients’ workspaces and that we had become accustomed to while working from home,” Gensler senior strategist Sarah Koos told Dezeen.

      “Coupled with the changing nature of hybrid work, the space necessitated a transformation that would support a renewed sense of a work-lifestyle.”
      A warm aesthetic that captures the essence of Los Angeles was chosen for the interiorsThe group spent a year listening and learning from surveys, workshops and feedback sessions in which each of the 500-plus employees was able to have a say about their future work environment.
      Many team members had been highly mobile even before hybrid working became popular, so the previous dedicated desk system seemed redundant.
      “Working from home for two years effectively rewired peoples’ expectations of their work environments, a sterile, single-use corporate office no longer spoke to the warmth, variety, and comfort they were afforded in their own homes,” said Koos.
      Plenty of lounge areas with comfy seating were created for employees to useThey therefore set about redesigning the offices with a focus on flexibility, communal work areas and presentation spaces.
      “Rather than confine our designers to a desk or a conference room, we developed a kit-of-parts inclusive of typical sit-stand workstations, communal tables, focus pods, booths, material layout islands, and more,” said Gensler senior designer Kirk Bairian.
      “Gensler is built on a studio system which is critical to our design culture, and each studio was able to use this kit-of-parts to customise their space to reflect the specific ways in which they work.”
      The team devised a “kit of parts” for the different studios to customise their own workspacesA warm, hospitality-forward aesthetic that mirrors the “informal but elevated, casual but curated” essence of Los Angeles was chosen.
      Materials including maple plywood, blackened metal and subtle textiles provide a backdrop for more colourful additions in the form of ever-changing pin-up display boards, styled shelving, artwork by local students and books from local creative businesses.

      Eight interiors and architecture projects by Gensler

      Lounge-style furniture and jewel-toned textiles are placed in the co-working areas to evoke a hotel lobby or coffee shop vibe.
      Several of Gensler’s furniture and fixture collaborations were also introduced, among them the communal tables and open shelcves from a product line created with Fantoni and custom focus pods from a partnership with Tangram’s Studio Other.
      Traditional conference rooms are available alongside more flexible spaces for group workSince the project completed in 2023, the data from badges suggest that employee office attendance has increased by 35 per cent for the studios located in the renovated pilot space, according to the firm.
      “Studios in the new space shared that they felt that working in the renovated space made them more productive, enabled more effective collaboration, and overall, greatly improved their in-office experience,” the team added.
      Maple plywood and blackened metal were among the materials chosen to give the space more of a hospitality feelGensler is the world’s largest architecture firm and has locations 53 locations globally. Its European head offices in Wapping, London, was longlisted in the business building category of Dezeen Awards 2020.
      In 2022, co-CEO Andy Cohen told Dezeen in an exclusive interview that architecture should abandon “top-down” management to improve working conditions.

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      LG OLED and Shepard Fairey present digital street art at Frieze Los Angeles

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      Electronics brand LG OLED has collaborated with American street artist Shepard Fairey to exhibit digital versions of his artworks in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen.

      Called Peace and Justice, the installation is being presented at Frieze art fair in Los Angeles and features select works by Fairey that address global issues while advocating for positive change.

      Dezeen has produced an exclusive video for LG OLED
      Fairey was directly involved in the design of the installation space, which features a reimagined version of his 2018 piece Damaged Wrong Path Mural.
      Other works presented at the exhibition include Fairey’s 2023 Swan Song print, a reflection on the state of the environment, as well as a piece titled Make Art Not War, echoing the 1960s anti-war slogan “make love, not war.”
      The video explores artworks reimagined by Shepard Fairey for Frieze Los AngelesFairey is the founder of OBEY Clothing and is widely known for his Hope portrait of Barack Obama – which was widely circulated during the 2008 US presidential election campaign – as well as a series of posters called We the People that were released the day before the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017.
      The LG OLED Art initiative invites artists to exhibit digital versions of their works using LG OLED TVs.
      The exhibit includes Fairey’s Damaged Wrong Path Mural with added digital elementsEach pixel in the OLED TVs emits its own light and can be controlled individually, creating an emissive display that was designed to produce accurate colour reproduction.
      The LG OLED TVs currently on show at Frieze Los Angeles aim to accurately express the prominent red tones in Fairey’s artwork.
      The LG OLED Art installation is on display at Frieze Los Angeles until 3 MarchLG OLED Art has collaborated with over 27 artists from around the world, including Anish Kapoor, Barry X Ball, Damien Hirst, the late Kim Whanki and Kevin McCoy.
      The photography is by LG Electronics.
      Frieze Los Angeles takes place from 29 February to 3 March 2024 at Santa Monica Airport. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      Partnership content
      This article was written by Dezeen as part of a partnership with LG OLED. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      Standard Architecture refreshes interiors of pink Paul Smith store in LA

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      British fashion label Paul Smith’s iconic pink store in Los Angeles has received an interior makeover from Standard Architecture.

      Standard Architecture collaborated with the Paul Smith design team to reimagine the 4,740-square-foot (440 square metres) store on Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood.
      Standard Architecture and the Paul Smith team reorganised the LA store to better define the brand’s different collectionsThe studios also created a new VIP entrance patio for the building, which is notorious for its bright pink exterior that has become a pilgrimage spot for amateur photoshoots.
      “The primary goal was to enhance the overall customer experience within the store, which was achieved by creating a more cohesive and immersive shopping environment across the different brand departments,” said Standard Architecture.
      Stone-clad partitions help to define areas, but don’t reach the exposed timber ceilingThe entrance to the store – the only opening in the giant pink wall that faces the parking lot – leads shoppers through a glossy red metal vestibule into the main retail space.

      Clearly defined yet interconnected areas for the menswear, womenswear and homeware collections help with navigation around the store.
      Long brass rails are used to present tailoringPartitions clad in dappled beige stone frame these zones, but don’t reach the exposed timber ceiling, to retain the sense of openness.
      In places, the stone walls are inlaid with mosaic-style artworks depicting abstract flora, which add splashes of colour to the warm-toned surfaces.
      Paul Smith’s collaborations with Gufram and Anglepoise are among the pieces on showBlack track lighting is suspended from the rafters, spotlighting the various clothing displays and lounge areas furnished with midcentury-style sofas and armchairs that are dotted around the store.
      Long brass rails that appear to be suspended in midair are used to display suit jackets, which are carefully arranged by colour.
      Shoes are presented on stepped white ledges that resemble bleacher seatingIn an area dedicated to accessories, the shoes and bags are lined up on stepped white ledges that resemble bleacher seating.
      Walnut is used for accents including shelving, door frames, and podiums, as well as for a large open storage system with compartments for presenting individual products and a row of sculptures by Alexander Calder.

      Standard Architecture creates minimal Hollywood showroom for Helmut Lang

      Founded by fashion designer Paul Smith in 1970, his eponymous brand is synonymous with the brightly coloured stripes applied to many of its apparel products and other collaborations.
      Many of these appear throughout the store, including a colour-tinted Anglepoise desk lamp and a striped version of Gufram’s cactus-shaped coat stand.
      Entry to the store is via a vestibule wrapped in glossy red metal”Overall, the design reflects a deep understanding of the brand’s identity, which places a strong emphasis on the use of colour and attention to detail,” Standard Architecture said.
      Paul Smith retail spaces around the world are equally playful. On London’s Albemarle Street, its boutique has a patterned cast-iron facade by 6a Architects, while the shop in Seoul is encased in a curving concrete shell by System Lab.
      The store on Melrose Avenue is an icon in Los Angeles thanks to its bright pink facadesStandard Architecture was founded by Silvia Kuhle and Jeffrey Allsbrook, who discussed their work with Dezeen during our Virtual Design Festival in 2020.
      Past projects by the firm include a Hollywood Hills residence with a cantilevered swimming pool and a minimal showroom for fashion brand Helmut Lang – which was located just a few blocks from the Paul Smith store before it shuttered.
      The photography is by Genevieve Garruppo.

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      Lovers Unite revives interiors of mid-century Silver Lake home

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      California design studio Lovers Unite has reinvigorated a 1950s home with sweeping views of the Los Angeles hills, turning an unused balcony into an extension of the indoor social space.

      The wooden dwelling in LA’s Silver Lake neighbourhood belongs to production designer James Chinlund and artist Clare Crespo.
      Lovers Unite renovated the home for a creative couple in Los AngelesA “previously a boring, nondescript mid-century house”, according to Lovers Unite, the property required some imagination to bring its interiors up to par with its setting.
      Therefore, the studio “introduced a few carefully plotted architectural interventions and material shifts to completely reimagine the interior of the home and take full advantage of its prime site”.
      The house has expansive views over the city’s hillsThe most impactful of these interventions was to bring an underutilised balcony at the back of the house into the envelope, extending the open-plan living and dining area by several feet.

      Beneath the large windows that were installed to fill the gap, Lovers Unite placed built-in seating with teal-upholstered cushions for relaxing and enjoying the panoramic vista.
      Plenty of wood was used throughout the home, particularly in the kitchen”With a large window wall and generous built-in banquette, the room finally celebrates the expansive views that had always been there,” the studio said.
      In the kitchen, dark green soapstone used for counters and the backsplash contrasts with the honey-toned cabinetry, and a shiny copper range hood matches a panel installed at the back of a bar area on the opposite side of the room.
      The honey-toned wood contrasts with soapstone surfaces and a copper range hoodElsewhere, colourful furnishings, collectible design pieces and bold artworks stand out against the predominantly wood interiors.
      A timber-lined lounge area features the classic modular Togo sofa system by Michael Ducaroy, which is wrapped in yellow corduroy fabric.

      And And And Studio lifts Silver Lake Tree House above Los Angeles site

      Meanwhile, in the den, a purple armchair is positioned beside a giant chair that Chinlund used as a prop for a shoot by Italian fashion outfit Roberto Cavalli.
      Wood slats were employed to partially screen the staircase opening on the upper level, next to a central fireplace with a raised hearth.
      As part of the renovation, an unused balcony was incorporated into the social space and a long window seat was installed in its placeOther decor items like vintage rugs, embroidered cushions and plenty of art and design books add even more character to the spaces.
      “Ultimately, the mood of the home reflects the spirit and talents of the estimable homeowner,” said Lovers Unite, noting that Chinlund has worked as a production designer for the Avengers movie franchise.
      Colourful furniture and set props are scattered through the different roomsSilver Lake is home to a variety of architectural gems, many built on dramatically sloping sites, including residences designed by notable mid-century architects like Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler.
      Led by Karen Spector and Alan Koch, Lovers Unite is based close to the neighbourhood, and has previously wrapped a bar and restaurant in Pasadena with expressive drapery.
      The photography is by Chris Mottalini.

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