Designing with nature

HANCOCK PARK, LOS ANGELES

Photography by Jay Lawrence Goldman Photography

Reimaging this Hancock Park house for an Academy Award nominated producer and his family was a labor of love. The shadows that the sunlight created through the steel-framed windows became a highlighted design feature. Intended to capture that feeling that you get when standing in nature, California-based designer Kim Colwell modernized the 1920’s home with personal touches that were meaningful to the family and respectful to the original architecture.

“We wanted to create an environment that felt relaxed, creatively inspiring, and filled with practical touches throughout,” she explains. Keenly aware that home environments can negatively impact stress levels, Kim implemented sneaky stash spots for each member to effortlessly clear clutter, to lessen everyday overwhelm. A reimagined credenza from Los Angeles-based furniture store Lawson Fenning became a banquette that doubles as a garage for kids’ scooters with doors that open from the bottom. This makes it fun for the children to roll their rides into their nighttime spot, leaving the room clutter-free by night.

A home for a large family can quickly become homogenous and less individualized. To remedy this, Kim put careful thought into creating different moods throughout. Some spaces were intentionally designed as intimate, autonomous areas to encourage inward reflection; others as active areas boost family bonding. And after dark, the adults in the home can effortlessly adjust the tone of the home, turning on a sublime and rejuvenating ambiance. 

There is an underlying sense of both calm and adventure that is captivating. As an added layer, Kim added symbolic features informed by her artistic and intuitive read of the family’s hopes for their life and home. A custom-made atmospheric mural designed by a London textile company conjures a subconscious realm of new possibilities, and reminds everyone who sees it to always remember to dream.