Favorites

The house's interior includes custom millwork in nearly every room, courtesy of general contractor Green Compass Builders.

The redesign lifted the roof plane to increase the height of what had been merely seven-foot-high ceilings.

Custom built-in storage was a splurge Michelle and Haden were willing to spend on. In the laundry room, Fireclay tiles were another high-spend choice. "It was out of our budget," Michelle says, "but it was so dramatic, and we saved so much by using inexpensive white tile in the bathroom.

Olive-green Fireclay tile creates a spa-like experience in the bathroom and fluctuates in tone throughout the day.

A wall of built-in storage cubbies, shelving, and a bench anchors the bright white-painted bedroom, which features a walk-in closet.

After: "We don't believe in the hierarchy of materials,

Updates to the backyard included areas for lounge and play.

A dip of grey paint on the stair hints at the updated spaces above.

The couple took advantage of numerous municipal programs when landscaping the backyard. Mandy recently completed a free course through LADWP, who also promotes resources for the SoCal Turf Replacement Program, to become a certified California Native Plant Landscape: “There is an amazing amount of knowledge and resources for transitioning yards with more native/drought-tolerant plants through LADWP and the Theodore Payne Foundation,” says Mandy.

A healthy budget for landscaping allowed Leah to achieve a natural, wild look with plants. “I wanted to look out and see just lush plants growing wild,” she says. The collage of native vegetation was also used to soften the transitions between surface materials and backyard zones.

Wood adirondack chairs surrounding a stone firepit.

The simple wood deck features innovative cutouts that allow full-grown Yucca trees to peek through.

In another bathroom, a polka dot wallpaper print creates a playful atmosphere while the dark-toned vanity adds a more serious contrast.

Relocating the front door helped create more usable rooms on the home's lower level. A new custom door was designed to match the original, with colored glass salvaged and reinstalled in the new door. An antique Indian credenza sits aside the main entrance.

A new second-floor deck was wrapped in 2020, and at $25,000, a sizeable chunk of the budget. But worth it, considering it makes for a serene spot to sit and soak up the river and forest views. “The sound of the river rushing can’t be beat,” says Devlin.

The downstairs bathroom was also dramatically redone for a total of $18,121.

The sophisticated white motif of this bathroom capitalizes on its natural light.

The new kitchen features ceiling-to-countertop tiles in a grid pattern, which reappears throughout the home. The globe flush mount overhead is from Anthropologie, while the hardware is from Altas Homewares and Alno Hardware.