This Los Angeles Condo Offers A Master Class In Mixing Contemporary Art and Furnishings

November 18, 2016

Custom Linen-Upholstered Sofa with Earthtone Touches and Horse

One of the first things the homeowner asked for was a restrained palette. “We absolutely love color; it’s a major force of inspiration for us,” Rummerfield says. “But Amir established early on that he wanted something more neutral.”

In the living area, Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield established a feeling of lightness while adding a glam note with a custom linen-upholstered sofa, rectilinear brass-and-glass coffee tables by Worlds Away from Bassman Blaine and a pair of open metal-frame armchairs with buckle details.

The designers responded to the homeowner’s request for a restrained palette by selecting mostly creams, browns, grays and dark blues that evoke Amir’s penchant for understated style. "Layers give an interior life,” interior designer Ron Woodson says. “Without them, spaces fall flat.” In keeping with this philosophy, Woodson and Rummerfield added vibrant hues and prints in small doses.

Paintings by Gregory Siff in the dining area defined by strokes of brilliant color become the focal points for the space. “Los Angeles has a leading edge in art right now,” Rummerfield says. “The works by Siff and street art in general are very influential. It’s a special time where if you can snatch up pieces like this, you should. Amir commissioned these paintings because he’d worked with Siff on a project. They’re among his most recent acquisitions and his most prized.”

In the living room, Woodson and Rummerfield punctuated the custom sofa upholstered with ivory linen with a selection of pillows wrapped in fabrics from South America that showcase graphic details. “The botanical print and an antique Aubusson rug in reddish brown and cream, along with the primary colors and geometric patterns of vintage pillow fabrics from South America, have heritage and provenance and add boldness,” Rummerfield says. The twin brass-and-glass coffee tables contribute a glamorous touch. The windows are dressed with custom billowing cream-colored linen draperies.

The designers selected an antique Aubusson rug for the living room. The two-level coffee table holds a large seashell and a carved-wood sculpture— objects that reflect the client’s penchant for travel.

Idiosyncratic Accessories: Gourd, Zebra and Turtle

In the master bedroom, a table with a glass top and a geometric base displays a collection of idiosyncratic objects that include a gourd-form ceramic vase and a sculpture of a turtle. A zebra rug adds elements of pattern and contrast to the space.

Woodson and Rummerfield outfitted the kitchen with black-and-gold marble from Royal Stone, using the material for the countertops and applying it to the backsplash. Wenge-wood bar chairs pull up to the island, which is lit by Tom Dixon-designed hammered-metal pendants from Twentieth.

Muted Palette with Colorful Artwork to Balance

Sticking to a muted palette, the designers incorporated color via artwork. An abstract painting from the 1960s with a metal frame hangs above a vintage brass-and-glass bar cart in the dining room. The marble- and-brass lamp continues the fashionably understated scheme.

A guest room—the single exception to the rule of small doses—gave Woodson and Rummerfield a chance to display their passion for color. They used a Designers Guild wallcovering that resembles blue-and-white tile designs and scattered pillows in a variety of textures and patterns. Gauzy linen draperies—a detail consistent through the home— frame the windows. A massive color photograph of a city street by Kjeld Gogosha-Clark hangs in the corner of the guest room.

Intimate Terrace with an Iron Table and View

“People in Los Angeles want effortlessness.” The residence—in a coveted skyscraper with cinematic views and impressive amenities—offered Amir the lifestyle he was looking for. “It’s the best of everything,” the owner says. “It’s a beautiful building that gives the feeling of home.”

Offering sweeping views of the city, an intimate terrace holding an iron table and klismos chairs, both from RH, is the perfect spot for alfresco dining. The planters and plantings offering touches of green are from Inner Gardens.

Peaceful Master Bedroom with Orange Octagonal Mirror

Woodson and Rummerfield placed two generously proportioned tufted roll-back slipper chairs at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom, where wave-front chests with burl-wood drawers flank a tailored linen-upholstered bed with nailhead trim. “The master bedroom was meant to be chic, comfortable and masculine all at the same time,” Woodson says.

From Century Furniture, tufted slipper chairs, burl-wood side tables and a bed sporting nailhead trim and upholstered in linen by Carleton V make a stylish statement in the master bedroom. The octagonal mirror above the bed is from Bassman Blaine.

Gold and White-Stone Master Bathroom with Thoughtful Accents

The designers kept the master bath’s existing gold-and-white stone and accented the space with thoughtful details. By the tub, an antique Chippendale-style armchair and a small drum table counter the sleek surfaces and create an inviting vignette.

Los Angeles is nothing if not complex. Amid a landscape of ocean and mountains, there’s a famed entertainment industry, plus a thriving art scene, iconic architecture and a vibrant history of progress and individuality. So it makes perfect sense that the work of Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield—the dynamic design team who have lived and worked in Los Angeles for more than a dozen years—is as richly layered as the city that surrounds them.

“Layers give an interior life,” Woodson says. “Without them, spaces fall flat.” Woodson and Rummerfield’s recent design for a residence in a Century City high-rise is no exception. “It’s an intricate composition,” Rummerfield says, “a thoughtful and well-edited balance of color, pattern, form and texture.”

The personality of Woodson and Rummerfield’s client—entertainment entrepreneur Amir Ahdoot—is as balanced as the design he commissioned them to create. “Amir collects fine art and likes fashion,” Rummerfield says. “He’s in Yves Saint Laurent almost every day. But it was important to him that his condo be incredibly comfortable, too. Stylish doesn’t have to be stuffy or rigid.

Amir chose the aesthetic of Woodson and Rummerfield for practically the same reason. “Their designs are just so well put together,” he explains. “They’re elegant but relaxed. That mix is highly attractive.” Much of the art that hangs throughout the residence is work that Woodson and Rummerfield helped Amir select. “He started collecting fairly recently and likes modern and contemporary pieces,” Rummerfield says. “That’s where more edge and color comes in.”

Like the art, the furnishings are a combination of modern and contemporary styles accented by traditional pieces, all incorporating a variety of forms and textures. “A mix creates timelessness and gives a space soul,” Woodson says. “More and more, Los Angeles is becoming a vertical city,” Rummerfield says. “This project breaks the boundaries of what one might think living in a condo is like. It has a grand feeling and sweeping views from the ocean to downtown and to Beverly Hills and the Griffith Observatory.”

It’s a place where the homeowner can appreciate different vistas of the landscape, but also one where Woodson and Rummerfield’s layering of elements creates an interior scene of constant discovery. “I sit in my home and look at different things around the rooms, and each individual item brings me happiness or gives me new thoughts and feelings,” Amir says. “It’s a never-ending story.”

—Laura Mauk

Related Stories...

Sign up for our newsletter