A real estate listing once described this Studio City house as “Chateau Marmont meets The Ivy,” evoking the sun-soaked glamour of the famed Los Angeles hotel and restaurant. Indeed, vines climb the home’s white exterior walls and the interior features tile floors and classic casement windows.

“It definitely has this chateau cottage-y feel on the outside,” says interior designer Sarah Zachary. The owners, a pair of actors with an infant daughter, “really love how it’s not really an open-concept house. There are these little nooks and crannies that make it feel cozy and special.”

Zachary was approached by the owners to help improve the home’s less-than-desirable aspects, which included some basic builder modifications that had rendered the interior too bland. “It was meant for the generic buyer,” says Zachary. “We just wanted to bring a lot of character in.”

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Shop the Look

Rather than gutting everything and creating a blank slate, which would have been out of budget, Zachary endowed each room with a thoughtful blend of new and old items to achieve the owners’ desired look. Structural components were kept intact, and the designer reused existing elements, like the counters and cabinets in the kitchen. Zachary also incorporated many of the owners’ furnishings and their art collection.

Before: Dining Room

After: Dining Room

The redesign required an incisive approach—with Zachary suggesting what to take away, what to add, and where to put the focus in each room. The result is a much more cohesive and collected scheme that fits the home’s vintage vibe—that old L.A. charm evoked by the Chateau Marmont and Ivy—as well as the homeowners’ personalities. “They didn’t want everything to feel brand new and totally perfect and redone,” says Zachary. “I think they wanted it to feel more naturally evolved.”

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

Before: Bathroom

After: Bathroom

Before: Bedroom

After: Bedroom

Before: Den

After: Den

More Before & After:

A Creative Couple Update Their Midcentury L.A. Home With Custom Furniture

Big Color and Pattern Give a Drab L.A. Midcentury a Major Glow Up

A Remodeled L.A. Home Dazzles With Fresh Materials and Color

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Sarah Zachary / @sarahezachary

Photography: Sara Tramp

Stylist: Emily Bowser

Appears In

Before & After: Thoughtful Tweaks Rescue an L.A. Villa From Builder Blandness