Landry Design Group recreates an Italian Villa in Los Angeles
Fact Sheet
Architecture Firm: Landry Design Group
Interior Designer: Joan Behnke and Associates
Builder: Finton Construction
Location: Los Angeles, California
Size: 21,200 sqft (Main House and Pool Cabana)
Project Size (Acres): 0.48
Project Completion Date: November 2011
One of the challenges architecture firm Landry Design Group had in designing this 21,000 sqft Italianate-style limestone villa was to create a sanctuary where the collections amassed during the owners’ travels – including Blue-Chip modern art, rare books and ancient artifacts – and their love of Art Deco design could come together under one roof.
As design guidelines of this affluent Los Angeles neighborhood dictated that the exterior could not be in the Art Deco style, the decision was made to design the exterior in the approved Italianate style and find creative ways to incorporate the methodologies and motifs of the Art Deco movement into the interior design.The result is a solution that aptly satisfied the owners’ needs and desires and created unique design opportunities for the entire design team.
The owners, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, who entertain friends and family frequently and host many philanthropic events throughout the year, sought a home that could accommodate both intimate family gatherings and large fundraisers for hundreds of people. Designing significant program elements into the full basement, including a parking garage, indoor swimming pool, movie theater and game room, allowed for a large garden space on the half-acre site. Anchored by a rustic, rubble-walled pool cabana inspired by the Italian countryside, the garden space is a direct extension of the main entertaining spaces, allowing for a very open flow from space to space.
Materials and Spaces
The façade features strong columns and intricate tracery inspired by classical architecture and carved from blocks of French limestone. The roof is made from reclaimed Italian roof tile. Inside a majority of the wood flooring is made of mahogany stained in an espresso brown colour. The stone flooring was fabricated out of silver veined travertine with linear accents of Portoro marble.
The kitchen accommodates several preparation areas beneath its stainless-steel, barrel-vaulted ceiling that beautifully offset the mahogany cabinetry and granite countertops.
For the second-floor stair hall that wraps around a serene, central courtyard, Landry paid homage to early Italian architecture through his design of a groin-vaulted ceiling and tall windows.
Some vintage products used:
1920s and 30s Lalique vases and chandeliers in both the master baths
Iron doors, balustrading and windows based on French Art Deco motif
Firebox by Emile Jacques Ruhlmann
Desk and lamp by Jacques Adnet
Vintage vases
ART:
Chihuly’s green glass reeds near entrance stairway
Painting by Hans Hoffman
Library – Marc Chagall painting
Chandeliers and pendant lamps by Parisian Herve van der Straeten
Landscape follows the hierarchy of the architecture with a northern Italian palette in front and a lighter approach in the backyard.
With a portfolio of over 500 projects around the world, Landry Design Group continues to design residences sensitive to the unique lifestyles of his clients while demonstrating the firm’s unparalleled skill at creating residences of understated elegance and beauty.
