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Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.

The dining area is located in what used to be the passageway between the house and the barn. A Moon luminaire by designer Davide Groppi hangs above the table, with tall, sliding glass doors extending the space to the enclosed yard.

The deep soaking tub and rain shower in the primary bedroom suite offer a view of the woods.

The kitchen floor can be used as a substrate in the future if the homeowners choose to make additional renovations.

A modern addition to an old London home offers ample space for a growing family, as well as a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf situated under a skylight.

A trio of Schoolhouse ‘Isaac’ sconces flank the kitchen wall, and Heath Ceramics Little Diamond tiles create the striking new backsplash.

An open vertical steel divider, custom-designed by Tom, replaces a solid dividing wall. The steel screen spans from floor to ceiling, with randomly placed openings allowing light to freely pass through. “Being open, it maintains sightlines from the kitchen through the living space,” says Tom, “[and] it sometimes acts as shelves for items – phone, keys, wine bottles, pinecones.” A Sculptural Glass Globe Pendant from West Elm hangs dramatically from the top of the screen.

Wood shelves lend a warm note in the otherwise all-white bathroom.

The upstairs master bathroom is teeming with light thanks to its skylight and windows, and looks more luxurious than it is thanks to marble-like ceramic tile and walnut-faced plywood cabinets.

Tight confines meant only a few feet of foyer before giving way to the stairway and kitchen, yet the small footprint (and a glass door) helped fill the home with natural light.

The island bar in the kitchen features white Arcilla Field tiles by Ann Sacks that match the turquoise tiles used in the guest bathroom. The lights above the bench are classic VL45 Radiohus pendants, which were originally designed in the 1940s by Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen for Louis Poulsen for the construction of the Radiohuset building in Copenhagen.