With Dizzying Views and ‘Deco Modernist’ Styling, This Hollywood Hills House Is Ready for Its Close-Up
“More is more” is the simplest phrase that the Los Angeles– and New York–based interior designer and architect Luis Fernandez can come up with to describe one of his latest projects in the Hollywood Hills. That’s not to say he’s talking solely about the overall interior styling or his client’s aesthetic—it also speaks to the physical addition of a second level that helped make room for an opulently appointed entertaining space befitting one of Tinseltown’s Golden Age movie moguls like Louis B. Mayer or Jack Warner.
“As with all good projects, the initial scope was [one thing], and my involvement ended up being three times that,” explains the ELLE DECOR A-List talent, who served as the house’s designer and interior architect. “Spaces kept getting added and, because it included an addition and renovation, there were some parts that were demoed unintentionally during foundation work that we had to rebuild.”
And his client, a human rights lawyer, burgeoning screenwriter, and father to a 14-year-old son, embraced the emerging challenges like the leading man in one of his own scripts. At just over 3,000 square feet, the four-bedroom, four full- and two half-bathroom home—with its soaring views of the San Fernando Valley—is a mix of Art Deco and Italian Modernism, with all the grandeur of heavily veined marble, wood paneling, geometric custom brass stair railings, and vintage lighting indicative of the two-period mashup.
“I’m more of a minimalist, so it was really about reconciling all of those elements,” Fernandez says. “There was definitely a collaborative push and pull, so it was a big exercise in restraint and filtering to get the ‘more is more’ look in a way that feels elegant but not excessive.”
That restraint is evident in the interior styling and juxtaposition of materials and furnishings. The living room, for instance, is partially divided by a curvaceous fireplace clad in a custom-designed ribbed walnut surround and Azul Imperiale marble. A pair of petrol blue armchairs by Gerrit Rietveld and a contrasting vintage armchair by Nello Pini for Noverredo are placed around a teal lacquered cocktail table by Charlotte Perriand. Above is an aged brass pendant from Apparatus; a metal-and-walnut media unit on the back wall has been designed by Ornare as a tie-in to the fireplace. “We played a lot with forms and color in the furniture but kept them softer and less eccentric, because you do see the pool deck and valley views through the [retractable] window wall,” Fernandez explains.
What his client refers to as the “gem box” screening room, however, is an entirely different matter. “It’s a space that’s super dark and moody with more colorful furnishings to offset the very monochromatic blue-on-blue shell,” he says.
And the cinematic design couldn’t be more apropos given the room’s intended purpose: The “Deco-modernist” paneled room features a custom dark red sectional and a 1970s burlwood and smoked-mirror cocktail table by Pierre Cardin; it is doused floor to ceiling in a deep navy blue. “In a room so serious, elements like the vintage coffee table and custom L’Atelier Paris bar add warmth and character,” Fernandez notes.
Taking its vibrant, multilayered cues from two design movements that simultaneously embody rich materials and luxurious finishes, this hillside retreat straddles the line between silver screen siren and film noir femme fatale for a decidedly epic world premiere.
Foyer
A glossy blue Cassina Hayama console by Patricia Urquiola and a vintage frosted-glass Star pendant by Kalmar—a find on 1stDibs—create a “welcoming composition of jagged angles and soft curves,” according to designer Luis Fernandez.
A mirrored-steel Julian Mayor sculpture from Twentieth Gallery sits opposite a painting by Wes Aderhold. On the console is a 1970s chrome and brass pyramid lamp and a bronze sculpture from 1976 titled The Couple by Charna Rickey, and above it hangs Andrew Farris’s Heaven in Blue from Tappan Collective. The wool and silk Geode rug by Temple is also from Twentieth Gallery.
Living Room
In one of the home’s more restrained but no less glamorous spaces are a pair of Utrecht armchairs by Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld and a Mexique cocktail table by Charlotte Perriand, all for Cassina, along with a 1959 reclining Oscar armchair by Nello Pini for Novarredo from Curio. The Synapse pendant is from Apparatus.
Living Room
The living room is partially divided by a fireplace clad in a custom-designed ribbed walnut surround and Azul Imperiale marble.
Powder Room
The bold-veined custom Azul Imperiale marble sink and cabinets from Tristone & Tile complement glossy gray pillowed Context tile by Ann Sacks. The Lipsticks wall mirror is by Seletti, the blue textured steel Malevich Vase CSL5 by Kateryna Sokolova for Noom is from MASS Beverly, and the 1970s handblown glass pendant by Glashütte Limburg was sourced from 1stDibs.
Screening Room
For Fernandez’s client—an attorney with screenwriter street cred—there is no more inspiring space to conjure up visons of Billy Wilder’s iconic character Joe Gillis from Sunset Boulevard and get his own creative juices flowing.
The wall and ceiling panel inserts surrounding the room are covered in Phillip Jeffries’s Savile Suiting Londons Navy wool wallpaper. The deep red sectional is custom and the rust-colored channeled velvet swivel chairs are from CB2. The light fixture is by Gaetano Sciolari, the 1970s burlwood and smoked-mirror floating cocktail table is by Pierre Cardin, the Pallas rug is by the Rug Company, and hanging on the back wall is a Charles Ashburne painting, I-Beam, from 1969, acquired through JF Chen.
Screening Room Bathroom
Continuing the nod to Art Deco found in the screening room, a custom marble sink is offset by an oversized geometric print wallpaper and glazed terra-cotta tile by Ann Sacks. The 1970s crystal sconces by Kinkeldey were another find on 1stDibs. The Henry faucet is by Waterworks.
Kitchen
“This was mostly a very light renovation of what already existed, but it was a huge transformation,” Fernandez notes of the cooking space. All of the cabinets have been painted a dark steel gray “with a lot of blue in it,” and Fernandez also changed out the countertops and backsplash for the modest facelift.
The custom fabricated marble and stainless sink is by Blanco SteelArt, and the countertop is Super White Calacatta marble form Tristone & Tile. On the counter is a malachite Cave vessel by Vince Palacios from Tappan Collective.
Stairwell
One of the designer’s favorite spaces in the home, this stairwell showcases a custom-designed geometric railing conceived by Fernandez. The sculpture is by New York–based artist Rogan Gregory.
Primary Bedroom
With its marble slab flooring, walnut paneling, two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, and expansive San Fernando Valley views, this room is about as close to nature as you can get. The Husk bed is by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia, the bedding is a mix of Ralph Lauren Home and Frette, and the linen curtains are by Heritage Workroom Los Angeles. The Tibetan wool and silk Enigma rug is by Modern Rugs Los Angeles, and the artwork over the bed, Night Plume, is by Colt Seager from Tappan Collective.
Primary Bedroom
Next to the window is a seating vignette of a chrome and teal bouclé Franco Albini lounge chair from Cassina, a pair of rounded marble side tables by Exteta from MASS Beverly, and a red enamel, steel, and brass Claritas floor lamp by Vico Magistretti and Mario Tedeschi for Arredoluce, also from JF Chen.
Primary Bathroom
The custom Blue Mare sink and cabinets are from Tristone & Tile, as is the shower bench, and the brushed nickel faucets are by Piet Boon for Cocoon. Behind the Dado freestanding Kendra bathtub is a Blue Mare marble feature wall that gives off serious waterfall vibes. And at the far end of the shower the designer has placed a cast-concrete Apollo planter by Adam Sirak for Sirak.
Primary Bathroom
“I love this bathroom—it’s quite large, but the four-color marble flooring helps to break down the scale a bit,” Fernandez says.
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