Before & After: Come for the “Mudler,” Keep for the Bar Tucked Under the Stairs

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Tucked behind mature landscaping in Los Angeles’s Brentwood neighborhood is a Spanish-style residence that doesn’t announce itself with sweeping additions or flashy architectural gestures. Instead, the home reveals its energy by restraint—or “a highly surgical renovation,” as architects Harper Halprin and Aaron Leshtz of AAHA Studio name it. Sometimes, the neatest approach to rework a spot is by rethinking each inch of what’s already there.

The owners, who had lived in the home for greater than a decade, weren’t inquisitive about chasing developments or increasing the footprint. Instead, the two-year undertaking, a collaboration with Nickey Kehoe and Ray Kinner Builders, centered on restoring the spirit of the house’s authentic structure whereas maximizing the present sq. footage. The staff centered on circulation, proportions, and circulate—learn on for a better look.

A Multipurpose “Mudler”

One of the largest priorities for the owners was making a kitchen that really functioned as the middle of household life. “They wanted an island where everyone could comfortably gather,” clarify Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe of Nickey Kehoe, and the Plain English cabinetry ended up informing a lot of the house’s materials palette and environment transferring ahead. Adjacent residing and eating rooms, as soon as compartmentalized, are actually one seamless area, balanced by an built-in breakfast nook so as to add again a way of intimacy.

However, the present footprint didn’t permit for each a devoted mudroom and butler’s pantry. The staff created what they affectionately name the “mudler,” a hybrid utility space that mixes hid storage, prep area, and an entryway drop zone. No wasted sq. footage, no pointless additions, simply smarter planning.

Saving and Subtracting Arches

Terracotta tile, delicate ceiling vaults, and customized millwork all reference the house’s Spanish roots with out veering into imitation. “We love that the home doesn’t feel brand new,” the architects clarify. “It feels like it has a built-in patina.” While arches seem all through the house, the staff was intentional about the place they felt significant and the place they didn’t. “They felt earned rather than overdone,” say Halprin and Leshtz. In one notably good design save, the architects squared off a number of authentic arched home windows and doorways fairly than changing them with pricey customized curved items.

The Jewel Box Under the Stairs

Originally conceived as a hidden bar, the petite nook beneath the staircase close to the entry began to evolve as soon as set up started. “We loved seeing it so much that we decided to eliminate the doors entirely,” say Nickey and Kehoe.

The tiny, jewel-box area packs in an outsized quantity of character: citron-painted cabinetry, a glimpse of moody floral wallpaper, and {hardware} with old-world glamour. Architecturally, it’s additionally the pivot level between the eating room and formal residing space—fairly than treating the realm as a pass-through hall, the designers reworked it into an energetic entertaining zone.

Bold Tile and Saturated Color in Small Doses

The designers used secondary areas as locations to experiment and immerse, a distinction to the house’s extra restrained communal areas. “There’s a time and place for these bolder patterns and mixed surfaces,” Nickey and Kehoe level out. “It was important that these accents felt contained within vestibules, bathrooms, and niches.”

One standout? The vaulted powder room ceiling, which emerged as each a structural resolution and an ornamental flourish. Rich wallpaper and dramatically-veined marble solely add to the cocoon-like tone.

“The house now feels entirely renewed,” say Nickey and Kehoe, “while still retaining the comfort and familiarity of the home they’ve loved for more than a decade.” And the homeowners use it precisely as supposed, piling into the kitchen with household and internet hosting pals with ease.