Before & After: An L.A. Music Producer’s Latest Collab? Turning a Midcentury Into His Family Home
Dacoury Dahi Natche, who’s worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar, and local firm Shin Shin stripped dated finishes and added a recording studio to better mix work and home life—keeping an "amazing" view of the city.
Dacoury Dahi Natche, who’s worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar, and local firm Shin Shin stripped dated finishes and added a recording studio to better mix work and home life—keeping an "amazing" view of the city.
In 2022, Dacoury Dahi Natche finally found what he was searching for. Home-wise, that is. "We were looking for a home in this area for a while," says the DJ and music producer, who goes by Dahi, of Los Angeles’s View Park neighborhood, just south of Culver City. "I learned about it maybe ten years ago, and I just loved the architecture and styles of homes here."
Dahi, who has collaborated with musical artists including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Big Sean, was craving a place where he could find a creative flow for his production work while still being under the same roof as his wife and two small children. After looking for six months in View Park, a historically Black neighborhood, Dahi came across a listing for a 1949 ranch-style residence that was less than thrilling at first glance. "The pictures looked terrible," he says, laughing. "But the square footage looked good, the backyard had lots of space, and it had a basement where I could work from home."
Before: Exterior
The 1949 home Dacoury Dahi Natche and his family purchased in L.A.’s View Park neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its exemplary ranch-style roofs.
Photo: Shin Shin
"The house was in pretty bad shape when we started," says Dahi’s architect, Melissa Shin of local firm Shin Shin. Because the home was a masonry structure, Shin was limited in what she could change inside, and that it’s a historic property listed with the National Register also meant that the exterior facade needed to stay the same. "What we did seems like a light touch, but it was actually a pretty significant undertaking just to clean up the home and simplify some of the spaces," she says.
After: Exterior
Its exterior profile stayed the same, but architect Melissa Shin added a fresh coat of paint and a new garage door, front door, and windows. "We went back and found the oldest picture of the house we could, which was from 2007, and tried to match that color," she says.
Photo: Ye Rin Mok
Having seen multiple renovations over the years, the home had accumulated layers that Shin peeled back to the original masonry to reveal its "bones." This included removing a suspended roof to open up a vaulted ceiling, and stripping faux stone, plaster, and a wall of mirrors that had been added in the living room. "The aesthetic had this feeling of trickery," says Dahi of the outdated finishes. The black tiled flooring also needed to go, as it made the home feel much darker inside than it actually was.
Before: Living Room
The renovation sought to remove layers of faux and outdated finishes that had been added over the years.
Photo: Shin Shin
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: An L.A. Music Producer’s Latest Collab? Turning a Midcentury Into His Family Home
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