Houzz Tour: Colorful Boho Style for a Midcentury Modern Makeover
Pale wood floors, vibrant furnishings and loving attention to original detail transform a designer’s Santa Monica home
Living room (after). Long planks of white oak flooring with a matte finish transformed the look and feel of the living room.
The previous homeowner, who built the house in 1958, was a geologist, and the stone in the original fireplace is dotted with tiny fossils. “They’re little impressions of shells and sea life,” Hansen says, “but from a distance it just looks like texture.” The coffee table is a vintage piece by designer George Nelson.
Sofa: Design Within Reach; side chairs: Larsen
The previous homeowner, who built the house in 1958, was a geologist, and the stone in the original fireplace is dotted with tiny fossils. “They’re little impressions of shells and sea life,” Hansen says, “but from a distance it just looks like texture.” The coffee table is a vintage piece by designer George Nelson.
Sofa: Design Within Reach; side chairs: Larsen
A Hans Wegner Circle chair graces a light-filled reading nook next to the fireplace. The macramé ropes were part of the decorations at the couple’s wedding.
At the other end of the living room, original wood paneling, built-in shelves and a desk area provide authentic midcentury details. “We didn’t do anything here except put in floors and take down wallpaper,” Hansen says. The piano was a gift to the home’s original owners, and the children of those owners insisted Hansen and her family keep it. “It fits the house so perfectly,” Hansen says. The staircase leads up to two children’s bedrooms and a full bathroom.
“We actually made the kitchen smaller because it was such a big box,” Hansen says. She created a new wall (on the right in the photo above) for the pantry and built-in refrigerator. Behind that wall is a large walk-in pantry with a wine fridge, countertop and more shelves.
The cabinetry is birch plywood with a “bit of whitewash and the grain exposed,” Hansen says. The doors sit inside the cabinetry instead of on top so the grain is visible. Countertops throughout are Caesarstone and the bar stools are Erik Buck vintage.
Globe light: Schoolhouse Electric
The cabinetry is birch plywood with a “bit of whitewash and the grain exposed,” Hansen says. The doors sit inside the cabinetry instead of on top so the grain is visible. Countertops throughout are Caesarstone and the bar stools are Erik Buck vintage.
Globe light: Schoolhouse Electric
Hansen had the backsplash tiles custom-cut from inexpensive rectangular tiles. “I wanted large-scale diamonds, and I wanted it flat, with no beveling, and I wanted it totally matte, and that didn’t exist,” she says. The cost was about the same as higher-end tile because the original tiles were so inexpensive.
An open cabinet and shelves show off Hansen’s ceramics. The shelves to the left are walnut to match the table and bench in the eating area (photo below).
An open cabinet and shelves show off Hansen’s ceramics. The shelves to the left are walnut to match the table and bench in the eating area (photo below).
“I wanted a place where the kids could eat and do artwork so we could keep the dining room more precious,” Hansen says. The built-in table and benches are solid walnut.
Dining room. The table and chairs with rattan seats are vintage midcentury teak pieces. Hansen bought the Turkish rug online. The brass 1950s sputnik light fixture was a find Hansen brought with her from Portland, where she had discovered the light “covered with grime” in the basement of her home.
Family room. The couch is an L-shaped piece from Ikea. Hansen removed the legs and replaced them with tapered walnut legs to fit the midcentury modern style of the home.
The bookshelves “have lived in many houses with me in many different configurations,” she says. The company that made the shelves (formerly called Infinite Shelving Solutions and now known as Modern Shelving) sent adapters so Hansen could attach the units to the wall in her new home.
The bookshelves “have lived in many houses with me in many different configurations,” she says. The company that made the shelves (formerly called Infinite Shelving Solutions and now known as Modern Shelving) sent adapters so Hansen could attach the units to the wall in her new home.
Master bedroom. Gold-veined mirrored sliding doors are original to the house. The large macramé wallhanging (reflected in the mirrors) is by Obodo Home Craft.
“I’ve seen this seascape in a couple of people’s houses,” Hansen says. “It’s a real vintage piece. My friend was moving and this was in the house, and she didn’t want it and I loved it.”
Guest room and home office. Hansen “had to think really hard” about changing the dark wood paneling and red brick originally in the guest room. “It was good, solid wood paneling you can’t buy anymore, and I like red brick,” she says. But ultimately, painting everything white and getting rid of the dark paneling united the room with the rest of the house.
A bonus: When contractors took the paneling down, they discovered the window above the bed, which had been covered up. The Moroccan rug is another online find, and Hansen designed the two bedside tables, which her dad built. The vintage hanging brass sculpture came from an antiques store in Portland, and the desk is one her husband acquired while living in Texas. (It has the words “Texas Air Control Board” stamped inside.)
Nelson bed: Design Within Reach
A bonus: When contractors took the paneling down, they discovered the window above the bed, which had been covered up. The Moroccan rug is another online find, and Hansen designed the two bedside tables, which her dad built. The vintage hanging brass sculpture came from an antiques store in Portland, and the desk is one her husband acquired while living in Texas. (It has the words “Texas Air Control Board” stamped inside.)
Nelson bed: Design Within Reach
Guest bathroom. Hand-painted concrete floor tiles from Marrakech Design enliven the bathroom. A birch plywood vanity with Caesarstone top carries over the design aesthetic from the kitchen.
Kid’s room. Hansen loves creating picture collages and had fun with this one in her son’s bedroom.
Dresser: Ikea; bed: Kalon Studios
Dresser: Ikea; bed: Kalon Studios
Kid’s room. The original parquet floors (here and in the guest room) were red oak. Hansen tinted the floors with “a little bit of green to take the red out” and then refinished them to blend with the lighter flooring she had installed in the rest of the house. The dresser belonged to Hansen’s grandmother and she sanded and painted it to a glossy finish.
Bed: Oeuf
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Bed: Oeuf
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Jessica Hansen; her husband, Kevin Jones, an advertising creative director; and their two sons, ages 5 and 3
Location: Santa Monica, California
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters); four bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Jessica Hansen of Tandem Design Interiors
Jessica Hansen and husband Kevin Jones hated giving up the midcentury modern home they’d lovingly renovated in Portland, Oregon, when they moved to Los Angeles three years ago with their two boys.
Then their real estate agent showed them a house in Santa Monica that had been on the market for some time. “I think people didn’t know what to do with it,” Hansen says of the 1958 custom-built home. “I looked at it and saw all this potential.”
The couple wrote a letter to the owners — siblings who had grown up in the house. “It meant a lot to them that we weren’t going to tear it down, which people do in this neighborhood,” Hansen says. Instead, they bought the house and started a multiphase renovation project that included new flooring, paint, a new family room (phase one) and a new kitchen (phase two).