Construction Diary: A Stylist and a Photographer Reenvision a 1950s Bungalow
A Los Angeles family shares lessons they learned from renovating during a turbulent year.
A Los Angeles family shares lessons they learned from renovating during a turbulent year.
Kate Brien Kitz and David Kitz had braced themselves for Los Angeles’s overheated housing market when they set out to buy their first home together. But after purchasing a 1,600-square-foot 1950s bungalow in Mar Vista in 2019, Kate, a stylist, and David, a photographer, soon found themselves renovating in a pandemic, which delayed demolition and hit them with skyrocketing costs for materials.
In his renovation of Kate Brien Kitz and David Kitz’s Los Angeles home, architect Andrew Hall reinterpreted the original gable roof and siding. Landscape designers Mary Lange and Molly Funk transformed the yard with drought-tolerant plants. The walkway decking is from Kebony, the Seaspray paint is from Benjamin Moore, and the front door hardware is from Emtek.
Photo: David Kitz
So the couple practiced restraint, working with architect Andrew Hall of AHA Design to rework the low-slung home and its Japanese-inspired features for themselves and their sons, Felix and Sebastian. Here, they recount how that strategy paid off, explaining where they compromised and where they held to their original vision to create a contemporary but timeless family home.
LaFayette Studio, which helped with the interiors, selected a Holly Hunt fabric for built-in sofas in the new living room, which also features a rug from Rush House, a sconce by Brendan Ravenhill Studio, and a Swift ceiling light from Cedar & Moss.
Photo: David Kitz
Finding a Fit
David: When we were first looking at houses, we saw a lot of finished homes. We’re both creatives, and one day we said, "Why pay for someone else’s vision? We could probably do a great job designing our own thing and taking on a renovation."
Kate: We knew immediately that this was our house. It felt Craftsman-y and a bit Japanese. The former owners, who were Japanese, had a traditional tokonoma in their living room and rice paper window coverings.
David: But it was really dark. The living room, which is now the dining room, was dim at all times of day. That was an architectural problem that needed solving. The new skylight over the stair really makes a difference.
The living room connects to a deck via sliding doors from B&B Doors and Windows.
Photo: David Kitz
See the full story on Dwell.com: Construction Diary: A Stylist and a Photographer Reenvision a 1950s Bungalow
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