"Later interpretations borrowed the look but often stripped away the substance, leaning on surface-level details that felt more costume than craft. So when the clients of Melissa Benham, founder of AD Pro Directory firm Studio Emblem & Co., purchased a hillside house on a coveted site west of the Griffith Observatory, they turned to her to peel back those distractions-and reveal the home's quieter, more authentic charm."
"Benham saw the project as an opportunity for confident reinvention. Originally built in the early 1950s, the house was expanded in 1991 with a second-story addition by Edward Fickett-an intervention that, over time, came to feel dated. At the outset of the project, the home's potential was obscured beneath layers of what Benham describes as 'early '90s, theme-y terra-cotta' and other ersatz finishes applied within a muddled layout."
The hillside house west of the Griffith Observatory blends Spanish Revival influence with midcentury origins and a 1991 second-story addition by Edward Fickett. The clients, Midwestern transplants who previously commissioned a Chicago home, sought a contemporary, art-filled retreat for private relaxing and entertaining. The project removed early-'90s terra-cotta and ersatz finishes and clarified a muddled layout to reveal the home's subtler architectural qualities. Studio Emblem & Co. recast spaces toward calm, art-centric interiors and collaborated with LA-based firm Claret-Cup to align the underlying character with the clients' vision. The renovation emphasized authenticity over period-themed surface details.
Read at Architectural Digest
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]