On the façade of this house, located at 1060 Woodland Drive, Beverly Hills, the Ipe natural wood combines to perfection with the traditional stucco. The floor of the grand room can be appreciated from outside the house: 60 x 60 cm grounded polished Town Nieve stoneware, from Urbatek.

The Studio Domæn Design, headed by Chris Lowe, was responsible for refurbishing and bringing this spectacular home to life in Woodland Drive, Beverly Hills. So as to fit the existing structure – from the 50s – with contemporary details, the studio used materials from Porcelanosa Group.

beverly hills,AT THE TOP OF DESIRES

Text: marta sahelices Photos: michael mccreary

“THE FLOOR WAS CHOSEN AS A REFLECTIVE SURFACE

TO MULTIPLY THE LIGHT THAT STREAMS IN FROM OUTSIDE AND MAKE

THE GRAND ROOM VIRTUALLY SEAMLESS WITH THE KITCHEN AND

OTHER ROOMS OF THE FIRST FLOOR”

iving and working in hollywood draws many comparisons of our work to that of the movie industry. Our craft is an

art, much like film and television. Just like how an actor gives life to a script, our job is to give a design life, and much like cinema directors, we are skilled with lighting, and colour.” this graphic depiction is by chris lowe, the founder of Domæn Design, the company that accomplished the interior design of this spectacular private house in Beverly hills, los angeles. a spacious landscaped property of almost 2,000 m², with an interior area of some 550 m² housing four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a half bath.

Both the interior design and refurbishing of this fabulous home have introduced a modern contemporary design into an existing structure originally built in the 50s, which bore a modernist frame work and naturally lent itself to the striking expansion taken over. in this sense, the use of colours had a great influence – with it, as chris lowe explains, he tried to create a “stark luxury feel”. to this end, several variations

The floor of the grand room (60 x 60 cm grounded polished Town Nieve stoneware, from Urbatek) was chosen as a reflective surface to multiply the light that streams in from the outside through the large windows, as well as to visually join this space with the kitchen and the other rooms on the first floor. Materials from Porcelanosa Group have

been used to refurbish this house, such as 31.6 x 44.6 cm and 31.6 x 90 cm Steel Glass and White Glass, from Porcelanosa; 37.7 x 66.3 cm White Leather Twin, from Porcelanosa, and 30 x 30 x 1.5 cm White Mosaic Baia Stone, from L’Antic Colonial.

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of wood finishes were used to “make the house warm and offset the hard textures,” claims this creator of spaces.

On the other hand, “the floor was chosen as a reflective surface to multiply the light that is coming from the outside and make the grand room virtually seamless with the kitchen and other rooms on the first floor,” says lowe. in addition, “it makes the light penetrate deeply into the belly of the house, so that all areas of the house are well lit during the day.”

concerning the exter ior, ipe natural junglewood was used for the façade in contrast with the traditional stucco, “to allow the house to blend in with the hillside that it sits on.”

the dazzling grand room is chris lowe’s favourite place, for it “ties all the spaces in one coherent format. in order to access any part of the house you will inevitably encounter this space or pass through it. thus this space is the core element, and everything else was designed around it. it is a large void that in essence attracts all the other functions of the house together for their primary activity.”

the rest of the house was purposely designed so that the spaces are interconnected and there is a flow from the private to the public areas, while they become distinct by way of locating all the private areas on the second floor. an organisation that is not superfluous at all, since most of the spaces were designed “with three things in mind, the client’s needs, the design’s overall consistency and budget,” comments lowe, who thanks to the narrow relationship maintained with its owner amir Kalantari, “whose close understanding and support for the design made it one of our most successful projects to this date.” as the interior designer recounts, “this success can be measured by the house being continually used as backdrops for movies, television productions and advertisement commercial featuring hollywood’s a-list stars.”

it is noteworthy that all the cabinetry inside the house was designed and manufactured by Domæn Design in their anaheim facilities, in california, which has allowed a total

“MOST OF THE SPACES WERE DESIGNED WITH THREE

THINGS IN MIND: THE CLIENT’S NEEDS, THE DESIGN’S OVERALL

COHERENCE AND BUDGET”

The floor in the kitchen and the grand room is one and the same (60 x 60 cm grounded polished Town Nieve stoneware, from Urbatek) to create an optical effect by which all spaces look like a single whole and only

become distinct for their arrangement within the house. On the other hand, all kitchen furniture was designed and manufactured by Domæn Design, a studio that really cares for every small detail in their projects.

customisation and utilisation of every inch of space. a personal and special working method that defines the projects of this young studio made up of chris lowe and arshia Vandod in the design area and James afrand and art conriguez in the final manufacture process.

With innovative solutions and a limitless love of detail, Domæn has completed many remarkable projects that range from furniture and interior items of their own creation to signature restaurants and luxury homes in Beverly hills and hollywood hills – we should not forget that in 2007, and for the second year in a row, coldwell Banker listed Beverly hills properties as the most expensive in the United states, with an average home price of over $2.2 million. /

“OUR CRAFT IS AN ART, MUCH LIKE FILM AND TELEVISION.

JUST LIKE HOW AN ACTOR GIVES LIFE TO A SCRIPT, OUR JOB IS TO GIVE A

DESIGN LIFE, AND MUCH LIKE CINEMA DIRECTORS, WE ARE SKILLED

WITH LIGHTING, AND COLOUR”

BEDROOM AND DRESSING ROOM Each and every cabinetry detail, both in the bedroom and in the dressing room, have been designed and produced by Domæn Design. And the bedroom floor is 60 x 60 cm grounded polished Town Cosmos stoneware, from Urbatek.

LEFT Covering in 1.5 x 14.8 cm Mosaic Glacier Mix Metallic Tobacco, glass with a metallic effect, from L’Antic Colonial. Tap gear: Square, from Noken.FAR LEFT Covering in 33.3 x 59.2 cm White Line, from Venis, and 5 x 5 cm Black Lined Mosaic Imax, from L’Antic Colonial and Nora mixer tap, from Noken.BELOW 31 x 90 cm Glass Anthracite covering, from Porcelanosa