Inside A 1930s Laguna Beach Bungalow With Contemporary Updates
Custom sofas from The Future Perfect upholstered in Kettlewell Collection plaids anchor the living room. The vintage stool and marble-and-walnut coffee table are 1stdibs finds, while the rug is from Lawrence of La Brea. Sliding doors connect out to the verand
At first glance, this 1930s-built bungalow in Laguna Beach gives the impression that it has sailed through the decades with barely a scratch. Filled with examples of classic millwork, from wall paneling to wainscoting, plus period-appropriate hardware right down to the door hinges, the interior architecture appears meticulously—perhaps miraculously—well-preserved. But here’s the big secret this nearly 100-year-old beauty hides: Its internal structure is brand new.
Despite what is now a seemingly untouched appearance, when its current owners first spotted it, the house had been tampered with—a lot. Over the years, it had been subject to dozens of nips, tucks and tweaks. “It had been remodeled and then remodeled and then the remodeling was remodeled,” recalls architect Michael Blakemore. “It was a nice house but, from a floor plan standpoint, nothing was working as well as we felt it could.” Interior designers Lisa Berman and Melissa Rohani were in complete agreement. “It needed a true facelift, not fillers and Botox,” quips Berman. As the architect and designers had both worked with the clients on their previous home, they happily joined forces again alongside general contractor Peter Logan, one of Blakemore’s regular collaborators.
The square footage was ideal for the couple and their grade-school-age children, plus the lot was large and included an office structure, casita and pool. Given the updates the main home sorely needed, though, the project quickly became a down-to-the-studs gut renovation with slight extensions to the existing footprint. All with one key directive: paying homage to the spirit of the original home. “There was a lot of discussion of how to bring it up to date while still honoring the time period and the architecture,” explains Rohani. “We pored over every single detail.”
The layout was reworked for contemporary living and more connection to the exterior. Take, for instance, the main kitchen, where Blakemore added square footage for a prep area and a sliding door to seamlessly link the living space with the veranda. The family room was widened to include space for a game room. And overlooking the pool, a wall was pushed out to create the window-lined curve of the sun room, now one of the home’s brightest and most inviting spaces. Directly above, following the same curvature, the windows of the primary bedroom’s bathroom command an ocean view, with pale blue tiles seamlessly merging sky, sea and a half-circle shower. All the upstairs bedrooms and closets were resized and recast as well, and the architect transformed what was once a partial basement into a fully finished space with a guest suite, spacious laundry room and storage area. Rounding out the remodel, the pool was replaced, the casita updated and even fresh exterior siding was added. “For all intents and purposes, this is a brand-new house,” states Blakemore.
Home Details
Architecture
Michael Blakemore, Michael Blakemore Architects
Interior Design
Lisa Berman and Melissa Rohani, Studio Gutow
Home Builder
Peter Logan, Logan Construction
Styling
Lisa Rowe
A light fixture from The Urban Electric Co. hangs over a custom white oak table flanked by Nickey Kehoe’s Spindle Dining Chairs in the dining room. When open, the room’s sliding doors completely remove the barrier between indoors and out, leading to an exterior dining area and pergola.
The sun room mixes a vintage Danish Cabinetmaker sofa in a Claremont fabric, a Stahl + Band swivel chair and a vintage Guillerme et Chambron armchair around an antique French oak coffee table. The pendant is from The Urban Electric Co.
For the kitchen’s bar area, walnut upper cabinets with reeded glass fronts hang above lower cabinets washed in Farrow & Ball’s String. The brass hardware is from Armac Martin.
Thomas Hayes Studio counter stools line a walnut island topped with Calacatta marble in the kitchen. Hand-painted terra-cotta tiles from Ann Sacks cover the backsplash. The ceiling lights were found at The Urban Electric Co.
Just off the same space, architect Michael Blakemore added a prep kitchen visible through a doorway. Farrow & Ball’s String coats the cabinetry in both areas. The runner is from Lawrence of La Brea.
Walls painted Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke create an immersive atmosphere in the family room. The custom sectional is joined by an antique coffee table from Nickey Kehoe. Hollywood at Home vintage chairs ring a custom gaming table.
For the same bedroom’s seating area, comfortable swivel chairs and an ottoman, all from A. Rudin, face out toward the ocean. The side table, sourced via 1stdibs, is by Charles Dudouyt.
Leopard Palm wallpaper from These Walls prowls across a powder room alongside a lighting fixture from The Urban Electric Co. The mirror and walnut vanity are bespoke pieces.
The daughter’s bedroom includes a custom upholstered bed with a Chelsea Textiles nightstand, Workstead sconce and Orange Furniture stool. A Temple Studio rug brings in additional pattern underfoot.
Near the front edge of the property, an aged fire pit from Molly Wood Garden Design creates a gathering spot. Nickey Kehoe’s Metal Spindle Back Viewing Chairs, upholstered in an outdoor fabric from Zak+Fox, invite lingering.
An Apparatus sconce with natural stone accents and a nightstand from Disc Interiors flank the homeowners’ bespoke bed in the peaceful retreat of the primary suite. The woven bench is from Lucca Antiques.
Despite these profound updates, however, and per the owners’ wishes, the overall effect isn’t that of a contemporary redo. Instead, Berman and Rohani made certain that this “new” home should look its proper age. “Every wall, every ceiling, every door, every cabinet has a treatment,” Berman points out. “We wanted to add features—wall paneling, wainscoting, crown molding, intricate staircase banisters capped with carved newel posts—that would be an updated version of what might have existed when this house was built.” The resulting millwork, executed by project supervisor Patterson Bandy and carpenter Laszlo Kurucz of Woodworking Specialties, elegantly hews to the home’s ’30s origins.
The furnishings, in contrast, are a true mix of modern and traditional. “Fun” became a keyword in the overall design scheme and the owners didn’t shy from Berman and Rohani’s bolder choices, like the sun room settee’s eye-catching floral upholstery, the scaled-up wallpaper in the powder room or the use of moody green paint to envelop the family room. “This house is more detailed, with so much more color than their previous home, which was fairly minimal,” comments Berman. “Our clients are neat and they like things clean, but here they really leaned into the collected feeling we like to create.”
In the end, what the design team strived for—and achieved—was to give an aged bungalow a more timeless beauty. This time around, the changes are skillful and subtle. As Berman concludes, “The owners really respected the spirit of the original house, so this was a true labor of love.”