After more than a year of hunting for a home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Shannon Wollack and her husband finally found the one. "There were so many elements of the house that caught our attention, but we fell in love with the Japanese elm in the center of the courtyard," Wollack said.
While the tree sealed the deal, Wollack — who is the founder and principal designer of Studio Life.Style — was aware that the dark, cramped address needed a full overhaul. "When we saw this house, we both agreed that it had great bones, but needed a lot of work," Wollack said. With help from her design partner Brittany Zwickl, Wollack used the opportunity to create her family's dream home: something bright, airy, and bold that her two young children could enjoy, too. She kept the four rooms in the property's original blueprint, and then added a second level that brought the entire square footage to 1,800 square feet.
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And the tree? Don't worry, they built around it. "We couldn't imagine our home without it," Wollack said.
