Ome Dezin reimagines a 1960s Whitney R. Smith residence in Nichols Canyon, blending midcentury California architecture with Milanese flair and art curated by Creative Art Partners.
Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph restore the architectural drama of a 1960s Whitney R. Smith residence through sculptural interventions, richly grained materials, and sly references to Villa Necchi Campiglio
or those drawn to midcentury architecture, Los Angeles is a remarkable canvas—something Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph know well. The duo has built their practice, Ome Dezin, around carefully restoring the city’s rich collection of historic residences and fashioning unhurried interiors buoyed with sculptural furnishings and nuanced material palettes that humanize the architecture. That approach underpinned their recent renovation of a distinctive 1960s home, originally by architect Whitney R. Smith of Smith & Williams, tucked into a secluded pocket of Nichols Canyon. The pair immediately recognized the home’s singular character: bold geometries, exposed steel beams, and soaring volumes all channel an entrancing collision of Googie exuberance and midcentury ease. [...]
That newfound openness between the kitchen, living area, dining room, and den demanded careful consideration when it came to furnishing. “We wanted to be mindful that everything would be visible, so we selected lower-profile furnishings on the dainty side,” explains Rudolph. Tempering the angular architecture, they introduced low-slung, curvaceous pieces in earthy hues, including a bulbous Mario Bellini sectional and blob-shaped Paul Frankl cocktail table; a pair of expressive paintings by Serge Attukwei Clottey curated by Creative Art Partners injects the seating area with bursts of color. The den, meanwhile, adopts a Space Age vibe through lustrous gray fiberglass tables by Willo Perron paired with built-in banquettes nestled beneath the sawtooth roofline.
Originally published in Galerie.
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