Kate Brien Kitz and David Kitz had braced themselves for Los Angeles’s overheated housing market when they set out to buy their first home together. But after purchasing a 1,600-square-foot 1950s bungalow in Mar Vista in 2019, Kate, a stylist, and David, a photographer, soon found themselves renovating in a pandemic, which delayed demolition and hit them with skyrocketing costs for materials.

So the couple practiced restraint, working with architect Andrew Hall of AHA Design to rework the low-slung home and its Japanese-inspired features for themselves and their sons, Felix and Sebastian. Here, they recount how that strategy paid off, explaining where they compromised and where they held to their original vision to create a contemporary but timeless family home.

LaFayette Studio, which helped with the interiors, selected a Holly Hunt fabric for built-in sofas in the new living room, which also features a rug from Rush House, a sconce by Brendan Ravenhill Studio, and a Swift ceiling light from Cedar & Moss." layout="bleed" credit="Photo by David Kitz" photoUserId="6837742429864775680"/>

Finding a Fit

David: When we were first looking at houses, we saw a lot of finished homes. We’re both creatives, and one day we said, “Why pay for someone else’s vision? We could probably do a great job designing our own thing and taking on a renovation.”

Kate: We knew immediately that this was our house. It felt Craftsman-y and a bit Japanese. The former owners, who were Japanese, had a traditional tokonoma in their living room and rice paper window coverings.

David: But it was really dark. The living room, which is now the dining room, was dim at all times of day. That was an architectural problem that needed solving. The new skylight over the stair really makes a difference.

A Shared Vision

Kate: We reached out to a few architects, but what we loved about Andrew Hall was that he totally understood what we saw in the house.

David: In every meeting, we told him, “We don’t want it to be too fancy.” We wanted a family home that really sat in the neighborhood.

Kate: We were looking to change some materials, knock down a few walls, add a main bedroom suite, maybe expand the footprint, and not have the backyard be a driveway. We love older homes, so we wanted to keep whatever we could. The hardwood floors in the downstairs bedrooms are the original oak. We didn’t use a lot of materials: concrete, oak, Douglas fir, drywall, and tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. And we sometimes chose the more utilitarian options, like polished chrome fixtures instead of brass.

David: It was important to us to avoid trends. We really value this idea that any of the rooms could have been built in any decade. It doesn’t feel very “now.”

Building Challenges

Kate: We started designing in August 2019 and applied for a permit that December, but we couldn’t start demo until the end of May 2020 because of Covid.

David: Then there were also delays with materials, like the wood for the ceiling in the new living room. Our contractor, Todd Mallis of Mallis Workshop, said it would normally take 24 to 48 hours to source the wood. We waited six weeks.

“The interior is a celebration of Douglas fir. It has a warm, orangey richness to it that feels welcoming.”
—Andrew Hall, architect

Kate: We’d considered doing the staircase to the new main bedroom with Japanese joinery, but then material got really expensive. I’d been staring at this white wall and the light from the new skylight above, and it was so pretty. I said, “What if we just do it in drywall?” And Todd was like, “Well, that would cost us about half as much—and save us a little time.”

A Moment of Reflection

Kate: This house was a team effort with Andrew and Todd and us. People say if you go through a renovation with someone, you can do anything. David and I really see eye to eye, aesthetically speaking, and we trust and respect each other. If one of us didn’t like something, it was totally off the table. But there’s a lot of pressure when you’re designing something yourself.

David: Even up to the point of moving in, we said, “We know it’s beautiful. It’s what we envisioned. But is it going to feel like home?” Now that we’re living here, it feels better than we could have imagined.

Kate: There’s a warmth to it and a stillness. Considering that we have two little kids, it still feels…

David: …peaceful.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Andrew Hall Architecture (AHA)

Construction: Mallis Workshop / @mallisworkshop

Structural Engineering: Taylor & Syfan

Interior Decorating: LaFayette Studio / @lafayette__studio

Landscape Design: Mary Lange and Molly Funk

Cabinetry Design: AHA and Mallis Workshop

Landscape Installation: De La Luz Landscape & Gardening

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Construction Diary: A Stylist and a Photographer Reenvision a 1950s Bungalow