CM G1
When Ome Dezin and Willett began remodelling CM G1, a heritage home in Laurel Canyon, little beyond the atmosphere had endured the passage of time. The challenge prompted a revival marked by intention, thought and care, resulting in a luminous reimagining of its predecessor.
The Los Angeles neighbourhood of Laurel Canyon is a storied hillside enclave, long known as a bohemian hideaway for musicians, artists and free-spirited creatives. Tucked into the Hollywood Hills yet only minutes from the city’s bustle, it retains a village-like charm, with winding roads, lush greenery and an atmosphere that feels straight out of the 1960s and ’70s.
When Ome Dezin’s co-founders Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kutner came upon the home, it was significantly dilapidated. “The house was tired, fragmented and in need of clarity,” recalls Rudolph. “One guest bathroom even had a toilet sinking into the floor.” Resuscitating the dwelling without undoing its past called for a considered approach, with the designers carefully straddling the line between past and present. The layout is a compelling case in point. In keeping one foot in history, the designers retained the original footprint everywhere but the kitchen, which was opened up to invite the sun deeper indoors. Elsewhere, dividing walls were removed and skylights and expansive sliding doors introduced to keep sunlight throughout the day.
The indoors echo the outdoors through a material palette that combines warm Douglas fir cladding, custom furniture by Willett, and deep green and brown marble surfaces. Black flagstone grounds the entryway and kitchen, reappearing in the backyard as if stitching the home seamlessly into its natural surrounds. Bronze mirrors in the kitchen and living room frame multiple views of the landscape, reflecting both the greenery beyond and the glow within. Recalling the home’s original palette and the buoyant spirit of its time, accents of powder blue tile play against a backdrop of dark stone, timber and grounded textures.
The designers applied the same sensitivity to the side garden, transforming it into an intimate oasis equipped with a sauna, outdoor shower and fireplace, also accessible through the primary suite. “Designed to make the most of every square foot of the exterior, it offers a tranquil extension of daily living,” says Kutner. The rear garden evokes a private Eden, a verdant escape with a lawn, towering trees and a pool.
At the helm of his Los Angeles-based studio Willett, Ben Willett designed the millwork and furniture as natural continuations of the architecture, shaping a harmonious environment complete with bespoke features: a built-in sofa, desks, kitchen island, Radi dining pieces, hutch and a reinvented fireplace. With vintage gems from DEN Los Angeles and cc-tapis’s Whispers rugs by Scarlett Rouge, the interior is enriched with tactile detail and historical resonance.
In dialogue with Laurel Canyon’s storied past, Ome Dezin and Willett have shaped a home that honours the area’s creative spirit – blending heritage, materiality and light into a space that feels both grounded in history and unmistakably contemporary.
Interior design by Ome Dezin and Willett. Landscape design by Eli Bahar.
