Nestled in the hills behind the Beverly Hills Hotel, resides one of my favorite families who live inside one of my favorite houses in LA. Owners Michele and Joel, along with their eleven year old daughter Petie, have spent years amassing an incredible collection of antiques which give their tudor house arresting personality and coziness. It all starts in the hallway, a foyer jam packed with meaningful pieces: two inlaid chairs, which were purchased from the American Ambassador to the Vatican; a model of Napoleon’s Obelisk, which was acquired from the Egyptians and stands in the Place de Concorde in Paris; and a painting of clouds by family friend April Gornik, a renowned contemporary landscape painter. And in the mirror’s reflection you can see a nude by James Whale, which was featured in Bill Condon’s film, God’s and Monsters. Hollywood history is everywhere in this house.
Peite cuddles with her pup, Isabella, in the living room next to her portrait painted by another family friend and acclaimed artist, Eric Fischl. Fischl painted it when Petie was three and as he often does – aged her. It’s a bit of uncanny how he captured her.
Another part of the living room is flocked in vintage Zuber wallpaper, which Michele found on ebay. The drop dead gorgeous hand painted gold lace motif is such a bold move and it works gorgeously.
The intimate dining room is lit by a pink and gold Venetian glass chandelier from Murano. The piece de resistance here has to be the photomural screened on canvas by Klaus Laubmayer, an artist working in Berlin. He shot this piece in a salt mine in Lanzarote. It is so vibrate – another very bold move that works incredibly well.
Perhaps my favorite room in the house, the downstairs powder. A tiny room, but such a little jewelbox. The mirror is Moroccan, inlaid and embellished and the sconces are French crystal girandoles. The sink is a stone bowl placed atop an old Indian cabinet with a whole drilled in it.
Later today, I’ll post about Michele private couture resale salon, housed on the second floor of her lovely home.
