Welcome back to Design In Focus, our editor-led digest of local design trends. This month, Homes Editor Kelly Phillips Badal considers the materials, styles and creatives that make up Los Angeles' and Southern California's design DNA. From indoor-outdoor living spaces, to the history shaping the homes of yesterday and tomorrow, to the local talent making waves, see what design looks like today across the wondrous West Coast.
Editors’ Note: This story highlights spaces in the Los Angeles region impacted by the January 2025 wildfires. Please consider donating to LA CAN DO and other relief efforts to help the community rebuild.
Defining Design In Los Angeles + Southern California
The region that we showcase in LUXE’s Los Angeles and Southern California editions, which stretches from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego, encompasses bustling cities, laid-back beach towns, desert getaways, mountain enclaves and, well, there’s a lot happening. SoCal is geographically smaller than NorCal but has a higher population—at last count, some 23.76 million people live within the state’s sunny southern end—which translates to an abundance of amazing houses, architectural styles and creative designs to fit every zip code. Los Angeles (alongside its notable connected cities like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Pasadena) is the region’s cultural hub, while destinations like Santa Barbara, Montecito, Palm Springs, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa and San Diego each have their own style, vibrancy and vibe.
SoCal has a history of boundary-pushing architecture that continues to inspire and inform the area’s designers. After all, this is where modern architecture first flourished outside of Europe; today, “California Modern” mid-century homes are synonymous with cities like Los Angeles and Palm Springs—and extremely desirable. This is where bold, futuristic Googie architecture became a signature and a symbol of optimism. This is where Spanish Colonial Revival styles, with their classic red tile roofs and arched windows that nod back to California’s mission history, are as beloved now as they were when they were built in the ‘20s (Orange County counts thousands of them!). And this is where you can just as easily find a traditional Craftsman as a contemporary white cube—maybe even sited side by side.
What unites SoCal is a love of California’s golden light, natural beauty and living well both indoors and out. Indoor-outdoor living isn’t a trend in SoCal; it’s an integrated way of life. And southern Californians are always redefining what that looks like. The importance of the how a home relates to its environment—be it a coastal area, desert, mountain range or inland valley—is a concept that every SoCal design pro deeply considers.
This Colonial Revival in Los Angeles by Georgia Tapert Howe features a sunny screened-in porch for enjoying quintessential West Coast weather.
What Does A Southern California Home Look Like Today?
Seamless transitions to outdoor living areas
Southern Californians crave light-filled open interiors that directly connect to outdoor living and recreational spaces—the more effortlessly, the better. From glass curtain walls to doors that pocket away entirely, erasing the line between indoors and out, homes that organically embrace the outdoors are a SoCal signature. There’s perhaps no more inspiring example than this recently featured hillside Bel Air home imagined by architect Robert Sinclair and interior designer Errol Dejager, which includes a main level central courtyard, with additional stories and courtyards stacked up the slope. What’s especially notable is that the house’s main level becomes a glassless open floorplan at the touch of a button: the doors and windows of the entry foyer, great room, dining room and lounge area all pocket into the walls. Another recently featured home in Corona del Mar by architect Eric Olsen and designer Raili Clasen has a similarly enviable floorplan, with a central courtyard ringed by extensive pocketing doors. Cleverly, one interior hallway even completely “disappears” when all the doors are open.
A courtyard ringed by pocketing doors beckons at the center of this contemporary retreat in Corona del Mar by architect Eric Olsen and designer Raili Clasen.
‘Wow factor’ spaces that are still livable
SoCal natives may have a reputation for leading laid-back lifestyles, but that doesn’t mean we’re not afraid to inject a little drama. But we want jaw-dropping spaces to not exist for show, but be utilized. From statement wallpaper and wall murals to color- and pattern-drenching, Southern Californians crave atmospheric spaces and immersive environments. Check out L.A. designer Peti Lau’s Hollywood Regency-inspired dining room within a Pasadena home, which made a big statement on our May/June 2025 cover. Or, look to a Pacific Palisades home by Adam Hunter, which features an ethereal Caroline Lizarraga mural evoking a cloudy sky across the walls and ceiling of the transportive dining room.
Trees, gardens, green walls, more—thriving inside, too
Who says that trees or gardens are just for the great outdoors? Not Southern Californians. Just check out this Manhattan Beach home by imaginative architect Anthony Laney, which is designed around a tree set into the entry’s light-filled atrium. Or, see designer Summer Jensen’s serene Dana Point project, which includes a Zen garden embedded into the entrance hall, with plants that appear to float right through the front façade’s window. Bringing greenery indoors is not only a way to connect back to SoCal’s environment and enviable Mediterranean climate, but to also enhance a home’s air quality (plants act as purifiers)—an issue of interest to Californians often faced with traffic emissions and wildfire smoke. Of course, SoCal homeowners want beautiful outdoor spaces too; bringing greenery indoors simply creates an even more harmonious conjoined environment.
Want more SoCal design scene news? Check out Pratesi's latest showroom at Bloomingdale’s at the South Coast Plaza here.
An Asian-inspired entry garden nods to the feng shui influence found throughout this tranquil Dana Point residence by designer Summer Jensen.
Read More Design In Focus Regional Roundups
Style Watch: Trending Materials + Aesthetics
Organic materials, celebrated for their naturally occurring, wabi-sabi appearances
Blending eras and styles to achieve a collected, timeless aesthetic
Whether it’s a richly veined Calacatta marble, reclaimed wood that bears the marks of history or unpainted textured brick or stone, SoCal designers are celebrating natural materials in their original state. Just check out how the hand-chinked limestone that contrasts with stucco on the facade of this south Palm Springs home by residential designer Stephen Strugala and designer Mark Brunetz—and don’t miss the home’s stunning leathered marble kitchen island, an art piece in and of itself.
Yes, a love affair with midcentury modern homes and Spanish Revival residences is still going strong in SoCal—but the area’s best designers recognize that no one wants to live in a time capsule. Instead, we’re regularly awed by homes that honor history and craftsmanship yet are filled with spaces that feel fresh and relevant. The creation of spaces that feel collected over time—and therefore seem timeless themselves—is something that area design pros masterfully achieve. Case in point: Designer Georgia Tapert Howe’s lively mix of art, furnishings and fabrics within a 107-year old Los Angeles home bridges eras and styles with a total joie de vivre.
Richly veined leathered marble steals the show on the kitchen island in this south Palm Springs home by designer Mark Brunetz.
Designer Georgia Tapert Howe blends a lively collection of art, furnishings and fabrics to imbue this 107-year old Los Angeles retreat with an old-meets-new aesthetic.
Local Talent
The design community is massive in Southern California—this state counts more interior designers within its borders than any other in the U.S.—and there are tons of widely influential interior design pros based here. To name a few of the buzziest:
Jeff Andrews:
Based in Los Angeles, Jeff Andrews’ dedication to interiors that create a sense of livable glamour resonates continuously in Southern California—especially as the vibe he’s going for has nothing to do with “glam” in the Hollywood sense. For this recently featured modernist Pacific Palisades home, he noted, “It’s about surrounding yourself with things that, yes, are beautiful, but have meaning, are comfortable and make you feel luxurious.”
Adam Hunter:
From his West Hollywood studio, Adam Hunter leans into crafting spaces that are transportive backdrops yet also emphasize a warm, soulful “emotional integration,” as he says—with head-turning results that connect with his clients at a deeper level. For this recently featured clifftop property overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway, he shares, ‘you can feel as one in this place—it’s a respite and a retreat. It was about creating a feeling of being wrapped up in something, of being cocooned.”
Brigette Romanek:
In Los Angeles, Brigette Romanek continually captures imaginations with her opulent yet comfortable ethos of “livable luxe”—which is the title of her recent and well-received book debut as well. Read about her celebrated career path here, where she tells us of her philosophy, “it embodies a desire for luxury and function to enrich everyday life, creating home that feel sumptuous yet effortlessly livable.”
Summer Jensen:
Laguna Beach-based Summer Jensen’s unwavering commitment to wellness principles and sustainable design practices has made her an influential leader among eco-friendly interior designers in SoCal—and she doesn’t cut corners. A recent oceanfront Dana Point project of hers showcased not only her commitment to toxin-free finishes and natural, sustainable materials, but also drew from the advice of a feng shui master. As she describes, “I try to never do what’s trendy but rather synthesize easy living with beautiful experiences and timeless design.”
Martyn Lawrence Bullard:
A fixture of L.A.’s design scene, Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s eclectic, globally influenced take on sophistication spaces is in perfect alignment with the city’s stylish yet laid-back love of luxury. Read about his career path and love affair with Art Deco here, where he says, “because I came from a theatrical background—originally, I wanted to be an actor—it’s only natural that I would be drawn to a style so closely associated with Hollywood glamour.”
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Jeff Andrews designed this modernist Pacific Palisades home with a largely monochromatic palette. The bathroom features Ron Dier Design ceramics drifting down the wall above an Aquatic tub.
Californians Come Together To Recover + Rebuild
It’d be a drastic oversight to not mention how concerned Southern Californians are about mitigating fire danger to their homes, now and going forward—a worry that arguably dates back decades yet feels especially urgent after the January wildfires that broadly decimated the L.A. area communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Happily, this is a concern that the Southern California design community has drawn together to address. LUXE has shared resources on how to support the affected communities, as well as spotlighted designer Adam Hunter’s relief efforts through the formation of LA CAN DO (Los Angeles Creatives Aid in Natural Disasters Org) and shared the thoughts of three designers who lost their homes—with more to come in upcoming issues.
There’s so much solution-oriented big thinking in the works that the Southern California design community is driving. One of the efforts I’m excitedly watching is the Case Study 2.0 program—a revival of L.A.’s architecturally pioneering Case Study House Program that kicked off in 1945, commissioning prominent architects (Richard Neutra and Charles & Ray Eames among them) to design experimental, modern, single-family homes, resulting in some of the most iconic examples of midcentury modern architecture. Case Study 2.0 challenges 50 California-based and global firms to play off the same idea for the present day: designing elevated, fire-resilient single-family homes that also aim to reduce build times through standardized plans. Many of the prominent design firms we love to celebrate in LUXE’s Los Angeles and Southern California editions, like KAA Design, Appleton Architects, Backen & Backen, KOVAC, Laney LA, Marmol Radziner, McClean Design and Studio William Hefner are involved—and we can’t wait to see where their work lands and how it reshapes Southern California.
About The Author
Kelly Phillips Badal has been a writer and editor covering home design, decor, lifestyle and travel for more than 20 years. Originally from Columbus, Indiana, and a former New Yorker, she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, photographer Tanveer Badal, and daughters Aria and Sahara. Read more of Kelly's work here.
