The dramatic entry of this Santa Monica condo designed by Lauren Piscione of LP Interiors is lined with Portola Paints’ In the Navy shade. A cabinet by CB2 is topped with a Ceramicah plaster lamp found at Lawson-Fenning and a mirror from Burke Decor. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
Lauren Piscione transforms a minimalist white condo in L.A.’s Ten Thousand building into a layered, jewel-box space filled with dynamic decor and vibrant art.
When L.A.-based Lauren Piscione’s longtime friend from New York moved into his new luxury condo at the Ten Thousand building—located at the intersection of Beverly Hills and Century City—he enlisted her to help make the space his own. “It’s in one of the most beautiful high-rise buildings in L.A. and has incredible views over The Los Angeles Country Club,” says Piscione, the founder of LP Creative. “It’s a cool building with beautiful high-end finishes, but it was a white box when I got my hands on it—a beautiful canvas to give personality to.”
Piscione created a custom sectional for the living room, which overlooks The Los Angeles Country Club. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
Before getting started, Piscione’s friend—a young bachelor entrepreneur—needed help figuring out his design identity. “He wanted to feel something when he came into his home,” she explains, noting that he wanted something colorful, somewhat masculine and bold. “He knew he wanted art to be a big part of the project, and wanted it to invoke conversation and get people talking.” As well, Piscione considered her client’s busy schedule and need for practicality when choosing finishes and materials. “I wanted to incorporate pieces that were either already vintage or had some patina and wear and tear, and performance fabrics, because God forbid something spills,” she adds. To set the tone, Piscione chose deep shades of paint by Portola Paints & Glazes for several walls. “They have an incredible selection of lime wash and a Roman clay finish that mimics Venetian plaster,” she says. “It adds a lot of depth and dimension. For this project, we went with a really heavily pigmented deep-blue and gray-green color for his office. Just adding the paint finishes alone created a totally new environment.”
To add interest to the minimalist kitchen, Piscione placed works by Sean Sullivan and a green vessel from Big Daddy’s Antiques on the countertop. A runner from Nickey Kehoe injects texture and warmth. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
The condo is unique in that it’s one of the tallest buildings in the city, without other tall buildings around it. This makes for jaw-dropping views of the country club’s golf course and beyond. “You see the hills of Los Angeles, but you also see the striking green golf course, so already you have so much color coming through,” Piscione explains. “That really helped drive the palette a bit. I wanted to have the view feel like an art piece in itself.”
A variety of objects—including a ceramic chain by MQuan Studio and vessels by Raina J. Lee—top the coffee table, found at MidcenturyLA PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
To capitalize on those soaring vistas, she created a custom sectional for the living room. “We wanted something low so it wouldn’t obstruct those amazing views,” she says. Because the living and dining room are in one open space, designing custom pieces like the low-slung sofa and the travertine dining table allowed Piscione to create furniture silhouettes that played well together without cluttering up the open space. “We had to be creative with how we could pack a lot into the room so it felt dynamic, so there’s enough room for a dining table and a couch and a nice coffee table, without it also being overcrowded.”
The designer scored a major find at Merit in L.A.—an original Eames chair upholstered in blue horsehair—for the home office. The client’s existing dining table was repurposed for use as a desk. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
Covering the entry and living room’s accent wall in Portola Paints’ In the Navy shade helped create a moody atmosphere, while a variety of unique accessories and art pieces added depth and interest. Piscione topped the vintage 1970s coffee table sourced from MidcenturyLA with captivating decor, including a ceramic chain from MQuan Studio, vessels by Raina J. Lee and a variety of great books. “It’s always my hope that the client will get excited and want to flip through the pages and actually enjoy the books,” she says. “They look amazing on the coffee table but they also have incredible content.”
The moody bedroom features a custom bed from Hawk & Stone covered in an Enzyme linen coverlet by RW Guild.A Noguchi floor lamp complements the Molto reading lamp sconce from Blueprint Lighting. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
All throughout the home, artwork plays a big role in pulling the design together. Piscione worked with Creative Art Partners to curate the pieces. “They are wonderful, especially when you are sourcing multiple pieces of art,” she says. “Because we had so many walls to fill and wanted to move somewhat quickly, working with a company like Creative Art Partners, who has a massive inventory to pull from, helped so much.” Throughout the home, pieces by Marc Horowitz, Kevin McNamee-Tweed, Darren Goins, Alex Becerra, Adam D. Miller and more preside.
Piscione’s lighting selections throughout double as sculpture, namely the Noguchi Akari lamp and Molto reading lamp sconce in the bedroom; the Silhouette floor lamp from Rewire LA in the living room; and the Ceramicah plaster lamp on the entry table. “Light fixtures are like art sculptures in that they can really command a room,” she says.
A piece by Darren Goins sourced by Creative Art Partners brings the primary bathroom to life. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
The bedroom is elegant but has an intentionally easygoing look and feel. With the client’s unfussy lifestyle in mind, Piscione chose a linen coverlet from RW Guild to go over the custom-made Hawk & Stone bed. “I wanted to make the space easy to maintain,” she explains. “So I went with a really simple linen cover that can be easily draped on the bed. It’s on, it’s off, it’s super easy.”
One of Piscione’s favorite rooms in the home is the office. Once filled with piles of papers, it now shines as one of the condo’s best spaces. “It’s such a great place to hang out and feel like a boss,” says Piscione, who repurposed the client’s former dining room table for the desk, and found the mother of all desk chairs—an original Eames chair covered in blue horsehair—at Merit in Los Angeles.
Piuma dining chairs by Studio Kronos for Cattelan Italia—sourced from Gallery L7—line the custom table by LP Creative, while a floor lamp found at Rewire LA doubles as sculpture. The colorful art piece is by Marc Horowitz, sourced through Creative Art Partners. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
Once a white box, according to Piscione, the condo is now lively, comfortable and homey. “It’s filled with gallerylike pieces, but at the same time you can live hard in the space and not be afraid to touch things.” And her client is still letting her know how happy he is there. “I still get text messages from him saying how much he loves his house,” she says. “It’s a designer’s dream to hear that.”
In the corridor outside the office, a photograph by Ted Gushue sourced at House of Spoils draws the eye in. Piscione found the O&G Studio tables at Lawson-Fenning. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD
DESIGN DETAILS
TYPE Condo
LOCATION Santa Monica
INTERIOR DESIGN LP Creative lpcreative.com
RESOURCES
BLUEPRINT LIGHTING Bedroom sconce blueprintlighting.com
CB2 Bedroom nightstand; entry console cb2.com
CREATIVE ART PARTNERS Artwork throughout creativeartpartners.com
HAWK & STONE Bed hawkandstone.com
LAWSON-FENNING Entry table lamp, corridor side tables lawson-fenning.com
MIDCENTURYLA Living room coffee table midcenturyla.com
NICKEY KEHOE Bedroom pillows; bathroom and kitchen runners nickeykehoe.com
PORTOLA PAINTS & GLAZES Paint throughout portolapaints.com
REWIRE LA Living room floor lamp rewirela.com
RW GUILD Bedroom bedding rwguild.com
Photography by:
