The treehouse

LA based French director-writer Julien Magnat (« Faces in the Crowd », and the upcoming « Hotel Mañana » ) started work on an ADU in the back of his West hollywood property during the pandemic. There was one big hurdle to overcome: a huge 15 foot tall Screwpine tree right where the ADU was to be built. Instead of taking it down, Julien asked his friend production designer Steve Bass to help him come up with a floorplan concept that would include the tree. -«The floorplan evolved so that the whole guest house would be built around the tree, making it the heart of this project. It now sits in the center of an outdoor patio and remains visible from every room. » Julien went with herringbone hardwood floor and herringbone bathroom tiles to mirror the Screwpine’s distinct leaf pattern. The tiny house features sliding glass doors that turn the patio into an indoor-outdoor space, making the whole place feel a lot bigger than its actual square footage, as well as a custom, asymetrical floor-to-ceiling bookcase and a kitchen island that doubles up as a work desk. -«I’ve lived in Paris, London, Sydney and Los Angeles and there’s a little bit of these various places in every room, from movie props and action figures that I’ve collected over the years to the moldings in the bedroom that remind me of a Parisian hotel boudoir or the emerald bathroom tiles reminiscent of Victorian London pubs. »