What an absolute joy it was to be able to host my own #OpenHouseLive for House Beautiful on Instagram this week! I had so much fun taking everyone on a tour of my custom-built, five-year-old Beverly Hills hideaway. As I mentioned during the tour, I designed the entire house from the ground up, including materials and fixtures, so there was a lot of history to cover in a short amount of time. I know it can be a bit of an overload trying to keep track of the tour and the Q&A simultaneously, so I just had to put together a blog of the highlights.
My approach to the house is to balance traditional architecture with eclectic design flourishes, paying homage to my modernist and art deco influences. Exhibit A: my classic grand foyer, complete with a winding absolute black marble staircase, iron railing, and, of course, a stunning grand piano. But, I’m not afraid to give it that contemporary flash with bright hanging artwork and decor. Plus, you can’t miss my black-and-white marble tile floor!
Moving into my formal living room, my absolute favorite place to host guests, I get to showcase some of my favorite collectibles. The item with the most sentimental value may surprise you–it’s my coffee table! My family actually gifted me this amazing table, Italian-built from the late 1970s. It was in my childhood home and has tremendous sentimental value.
You’ll also notice on the left-hand side is my Rosenthal vase collection on display, while my golden Buddha statue–an import from Buenos Aires, Argentina–holds court in the center of the room. Collectibles like these are such a great way to inject personality and character into any space and give it its own unique history!
My kitchen centers around this gorgeous marble island, illuminated by these gold overhead fixtures that I dreamt up out of a showroom in Shanghai. The glass-less, airy design makes for very easy cleaning, which is actually a big perk when considering all the love the marble countertops need. Regularly scheduled sealing and polishing appointments are as much a staple of my kitchen as family recipes are. Speaking of which: marble countertops are very picky about what you can cook and prepare on them, so I cannot recommend them if your goal is a high-volume chef’s kitchen. But, for crafting a distinct kitchen aesthetic, the marble is a winner, hands down.
The marble continues on the floor, as well. I was able to achieve this monochromatic cross-pattern (with a big helping hand from my fabricator) by slicing 12×24 sheets into alternating strips of white Carrara marble against absolute black marble. As picky as marble is on the counter, it is substantially more relaxed as flooring–being nonporous, it’s rather resistant to wear-and-tear.
My kitchen also features a few of my TOTAL OBSESSIONS from my favorite stylists. The step stool is a custom design by my dear friend, Thomas Hayes. It provides the perfect stable–and adorable–platform for getting up to those high cabinets easily and safely. I also just fawn over my decorative pieces from Kelly Wearstler.
For my favorite bedroom upstairs, I love the transition to playful, inviting shades of pink. The wispy cloud pattern in the custom wallpaper instills a dreaminess into the room, while the gold accents interspersed throughout still gives it that modernist pop.
The main bedroom suite is only as good as its accompanying bathroom–no pressure, right? That’s why I had to pull out all the stops for my upstairs bathroom. “Bath” is literally in the name, so I had to design accordingly! The double everything shower is perfection, a true his-and-hers from the benches to the showerheads. I match the his-and-hers shower with a beautiful double vanity, adorned with polished nickel fixtures from Waterworks that add that perfect dose of warmth.
I also LOVE soaking in my superstar tub, handcrafted from a single slab of marble. As I shared with the live House Beautiful audience, the tub weighs in at a solid 3000 pounds–meaning we had to specially engineer the support beams around the tub to ensure safe load-bearing in the house. Worth it–you’ll find me in here at least three times a week!
The last stop on my Open House Live tour with House Beautiful was my powder room. I love going bold in a powder room–it’s not frequented enough by the residents of the house that it becomes overbearing, and it’s always a fantastic surprise and great conversation starter for your guests.
One more thing before we wrap up our recap: I’m sure you noticed all of the absolutely eye-catching floral arrangements adorned throughout the home. That was all thanks to a wonderful collaboration with my dear friend, Ariana Lambert Smeraldo, and her incredible team at Lily Lodge, Los Angeles’ premier destination for true floral artistry. To create a beautiful contrast with the gloss and polish of my home, Ariana and I went for capturing a more earthy and natural look with the arrangements.
The warm tones mixed with wild and dynamic blooms were the perfect addition to all of my spaces. Plus, Lily Lodge’s service is truly phenomenal, delivering a personalized (and COVID-conscious) adornment to my home.
That’s all for my House Beautiful tour recap! I can’t thank everyone enough for tuning in and following up on the blog, and it was a true privilege to work with the House Beautiful and Lily Lodge teams to make this showing such a success. Make sure to follow House Beautiful and Lily Lodge on Instagram, and stick around with me, Nina Takesh, on Instagram and Red Elevator for daily and weekly design inspirations and tips!