This LA Spanish Colonial Proves You Don't Need a Blank Slate to Start Fresh

"In Los Angeles, Spanish Colonial homes carry layers of cultural history, and honoring that legacy while making a house feel personal takes a sensitive hand. British-born Indian designer Kiran Rai -who has spent a lifetime honing her eye, collecting art, and sourcing antiques-was uniquely suited to the task. After 20 years in New York City, the former fashion and textile designer made a pandemic-era return to LA, where she spent her teens and 20s, and temporarily landed in a charming Spanish Colonial rental in Runyon Canyon."

"In 2023, after cycling through several soulless rentals, Rai couldn't get the Runyon Canyon house out of her mind. The owner felt a kismet connection as well, agreeing to sell to Rai and her partner. "I knew that it could be brought back to its 1930s glory. And it felt like a perfect canvas to start the next phase of my life-my second Saturn return," says the designer, who turned 60 last month."

"Once the house was hers, Rai began unearthing the contents of decades' worth of storage-an exercise she believes to be generative and guiding for any project. "I want to see where you came from. I want to upcycle everything that your parents owned. I don't want to go to a big-box store," she laughs. It's a philosophy that makes the rooms feel inherited rather than installed."

British-born Indian designer Kiran Rai returned to Los Angeles during the pandemic and purchased a Runyon Canyon Spanish Colonial house she had rented. Rai restored the 1930s home while preserving historical character and personal memory. She recovered decades of family belongings from storage and prioritized upcycling over new mass-produced purchases so rooms feel inherited rather than installed. She stepped away from social media to trust personal taste over algorithm-driven trends and drew on analogue archives, travel-collected treasures, and immigrant experience to shape the home's aesthetic. The house became a canvas for a life transition and creative renewal.

Read at Architectural Digest