Celebrity Style
January 8, 2019
This Spectacular Artists’ Home By Windsor Smith Is Both Edgy And Elegant
Windsor Smith’s famously chutzpah-packed interiors are always a delight (she’s behind Gwyneth Paltrow’s home) and the interior designer has impressed us again with this house in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles. Windsor describes the 22-month renovation as a “radical reconstruction” for the musician/artist homeowners who wanted an adventurous space. Windsor delivered in spades! Yet though the house has madcap moments, it remains grounded and elegant. “It was an exercise in less-is-more,” says Windsor of the “slightly Moorish house” where simplicity reigns. Take a tour of this magical space.
The heavy use of marble shines in the sparse, material-driven home, as seen in this Hammam-style steam room.
Windsor’s team painted the Indian teak bed a cheery yellow in the shared children’s bedroom. The whimsical bed has oversized bedposts and a trundle for sleepovers.
The chic bunkbed and custom steel ladder feels modern and playful — perfectly suitable for a children’s bedroom.
The Wool Room, named for its “yummy, comfortable textures like the fuzzy carpet,” is for playing, reading or napping, says Windsor. The cute curved window looks down into the great room.
Believe it or not, this sinewy structure was a bank teller’s stand Windsor converted into an exquisite sink. The mirror mimics it beautifully.
The tranquil guest room has strong, no-nonsense furniture. The bed is by Opus, the rug is Woven Accents and the cabinet is by Joel Chin. Every room in the home opens to a picturesque yard. In fact, the entire house is surrounded by five oak trees and lots of gorgeous step-off gardens.
Ornate chairs that look lifted from an Italian villa flank the way to the library/dining space. All of the doorways are free of casings, so as not to distract the eye, says Windsor.
A gold etagere with wonky shelves is glamorous and quirky in a bathroom.
“It feels like a sanctuary you would find in the Spanish or Italian oceanside,” says Windsor of the exceptional home. Here, the ceilings are 20 feet. Originally there was an attic above a small dining room. “We decided to take it up to the height of the great room. We really liked the idea of small, super vertical rooms … it reminds me of a palazzo in its configuration … It has that classical Italian proportion.”
A Moorish-shaped slab of streaky marble makes up the vanity — one of several material-driven bathrooms that are divine in their simplicity.
The edgy powder room has a custom sink made of black granite, with funky hardware by ROHL and a mirror from Nicky Kehoe.
Michael Wells; Headshot by Cindy Gold
Windsor Smith