The fastest way to get a house that's fit for the pages of a design magazine? Buy a designer's own home. This turnkey dream home in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighborhood is the work — and residence — of designer Elspeth Benoit. Working with architecture firm Arterberry Cooke, Benoit renovated the midcentury house into a colorful and light-filled space for her family. "It was an evolving process," says Benoit, noting that they lived in the home for a bit rather than jumping right into a renovation. Benoit had taken a break when she became a mom, so the project offered her a chance to get back into interior design. "I found it very gratifying to really be able to think about things that would make me happy in the house and the things that would change the way that our kids lived in the house."
A major part of the renovation was overhauling the kitchen, which had very little counter space. "I fell in love with the stone, which felt like a natural sort of complement to the green checkerboard floors that we already had," she says. "I knew that I had wanted to do darker wood cabinetry because so much of the house was already painted and I felt like it really needed that contrast." She kept things streamlined with push-open cabinets and brought in clever storage solutions such as a pull-out buffet.
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Benoit incorporated color throughout the home to help create distinct spaces, from a dramatic black dining room to a muted pink living room. "The palette ended up feeling like it was playful and colorful but it wasn't hitting you over the head with bold color," she says.
Now staged for sale by A1000xBetter, the home is ready for new owners to enjoy the fruits of Benoit's labor.
