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Change is everywhere, happening all at once, and it was already spinning around the owners of this Los Angeles property when they decided to purchase it at the start of 2020. The two-bedroom midcentury home was set on a corner lot in West Adams, an area famed for its historic architecture, and they were drawn to the location’s ability to withstand steady shifts.
“The neighborhood is ever changing but somehow manages to keep its strong sense of community,” says Devon McKeon, one half of the design team behind Hive LA Home.
When Devon and Jessica Fleming met the owners, a young couple who were first-time buyers, it was already clear some alterations were needed as soon as they moved in. “The house had recently been flipped, and the tiny kitchen had basic IKEA cabinets with very little countertops and an apartment-size fridge,” Jessica says. “They love to cook together and entertain guests, so this was not functional.” Furthermore, the flippers had awkwardly opened a closet that exposed the water heater and laundry to the living area. Considering how the one-story house barely squeaked past 1,000 square feet, the surrounding doors, walls, and windows made any remaining breathing room feel dark and cramped.
The couple primarily hired Devon and Jessica for their shared love of color, which they wanted to use in a simplified floor plan that maximized prep, cooking, and storage space. The pair also hoped that a second bathroom, featuring a sunlit shower, could be built somewhere. “The home really lacked personality; the flip left it feeling cold,” Devon says. “We came up with several floor plans, and an open layout worked best.”
Devon and Jessica figured that if they tweaked that exposed closet containing the laundry and water heater, they might be able to make it work. “We moved an exterior door, closed a window, and stole a foot from the guest room closet to build the bathroom,” Devon explains. “The washer and dryer were relocated to a hall closet, and the water heater was moved outside.” In the kitchen they removed a wall to create an oversized pantry on one side and installed a ceiling-to-countertop backsplash behind an oven on another. An L-shaped counter sits in between, right where another wall used to be.
Amidst all of these adjustments, the starkest transformation in recent memory was also taking place: the pandemic. The couple are doctors, and the timing of the renovation last spring meant there was a lot to handle at home and at work—to put it mildly. Devon and Jessica did everything they could to mitigate stress, but some things didn’t go quite as planned. “Besides long lead times that created a lag in the middle of construction, an installer set the backsplash tile vertically instead of horizontally as we originally envisioned,” Jessica says. “We went back and forth on whether it should be switched, knowing that removing and replacing it would be wasteful and time-consuming, but we all decided to keep it as is.”
The texture of the happy-accident tiles pairs well with the terrazzo floors and natural woods, making for a winning trio that complements the home’s existing midcentury character. But it’s the color palette shared between the bathroom and kitchen that achieves the biggest statement. “We were inspired by the California landscape, and these colors are very reminiscent of Big Sur,” Jessica says. The sage hue of the pantry and disguised refrigerator contrast the charcoal accents throughout the kitchen, while the sky blue tiles in the bathroom make it an effortless retreat. “Those soothing colors soften the more modern shapes we used,” Jessica adds.
The project wrapped at the beginning of last summer, which gave the owners the chance to live with a calmer side of change. Devon and Jessica both note how the couple handled it all with so much grace, even when building a makeshift kitchen in their guest room during construction. When so much change is afoot, it’s often best to carve out some consistency—and for them, it was always about cooking.
“We were lucky to work with clients who have a healthy perspective,” Devon says. “They were willing to roll with the punches.”
