The living room houses a chic mix of vintage and new furnishings.

A Brentwood Park manse by Adam Hunter is a study in sophistication.

A sculptural lantern by The Urban Electric Co. draws the eye upward.

When L.A.-based interior designer Adam Hunter first encountered the Brentwood Park home he transformed for his clients, it looked nothing like it does today. And that’s a good thing.

The kitchen’s pale palette makes it an oasis of calm.

“I’m going to date myself for saying this, but remember Ari Gold’s old Mediterranean home from Entourage? Well, this is it,” says Hunter, who notes that he and architect Ken Ungar worked on the home previously, years before the current homeowners moved in. “Back then, we basically put a white brick facade over the house and did some remodeling on the kitchen and some other spaces.”

A Ryan Jackson Home desk anchors the office.

After the home was purchased by the current owners—a couple who recently relocated from Silicon Valley and their three children— Hunter was called in to work his magic, transforming the once-basic space into one with a more layered and nuanced design scheme. “The furnishings from the previous client were a bit more simple,” he says, noting that the current homeowners were craving a refreshed look and feel, and wanted to incorporate a richer collection of textures and some unexpected pieces throughout.

Chairs upholstered in sea foam Moore & Giles leather accentuate the light and airy breakfast nook.

Although the clients craved a major change, they needed help figuring out what that change was going to look like. “This was a client where I was helping them find their own style, as opposed to people who come in with very specific tastes,” notes Hunter. They ended up going in a transitional contemporary direction, Hunter’s version of a white Bridgehampton home. “I wanted it to be classic and tailored,” he says. “They are very classic and tailored, buttoned-up sort of people. Their attention to detail is very spot on. That’s why it was important that everything felt very clean and symmetrical and open. But even though it’s a huge 13,000-square-foot house, there’s still warmth—we wanted it to feel like a cottage.”

Hunter designed the white oak and leather bed in the primary bedroom.

The clients were reluctant to branch out from a neutral palette, but Hunter persuaded them to do so, and the results are fantastic. While creamy whites and tans ground the overall design, hits of blue and green throughout add tasteful punches of color. Case in point: the primary bedroom, where Hunter designed a white oak and leather bed for the couple that was manufactured by Bespoke Design, and grounded it with an abstract blue and white Aga John silk and wool rug. The breakfast room chairs, upholstered in a light aqua leather by Moore & Giles and covered in a round Kyle Bunting rug from David Sutherland, incorporate those shades in a more subtle way.

McKinnon and Harris furniture surrounds the pool.

Hunter did persuade his clients to go bold in certain areas, including the dramatic curved stairwell. Covered in a navy and white rug runner from Marc Phillips and topped with a showpiece chandelier designed by Hunter and manufactured by The Urban Electric Co., the space shines with chic confidence. “It’s a huge blue light I designed,” says Hunter. “It’s hard to understand the scale in photos, but when you’re there it’s so crazy. It took a year to make.” He also convinced the clients to go for yellow chairs from Blackman Cruz. “She told me that I’d never sell her on the chairs, and she recently called to tell me how much she loves them.”

Bathed in a soft light gray shade, the home office, originally an all-black room, is one of the home’s standout spaces. The clients were insistent that Hunter rip it out and start fresh. “I convinced them to paint it a nice gentle gray color to make it feel more contemporary, and to add a cool stone fireplace to juxtapose the old and the new,” he says. A curvy desk from Ryan Jackson Home, a desk lamp from Circa Lighting, Anna Karlin Chess stools and Hunter’s Smoke rug he designed for The Rug Company set the stage for a superchic space to work and hang out—and one that’s gained attention online. “It’s one of the most pinned images,” he says.

In the end, the project turned out beautifully, due in part to the trust Hunter established with his clients. “I have a neon sign with the phrase ‘Trust the Process’ above my desk, and it applies to my own personal life, but also to interior design,” he says. “If the clients trust you, you’ll end up with the best results. And in this case, they were the perfect clients for that.”

An iron skirted tub from Signature Hardware and chandelier from HD Buttercup create a wow moment in the primary bathroom.

DESIGN DETAILS

TYPE

Single-family home

LOCATION

Brentwood

INTERIOR DESIGN

Adam Hunter adamhunter.com

ARCHITECT

Ken Ungar kenungararchitect.com

BUILDER

Blue Label Construction bluelc.com

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Steve Giannetti giannettihome.com

RESOURCES

AGA JOHN RUGS

Primary bedroom rug agajohnrugssf.com

BESPOKE FURNITURE

Breakfast room chairs bespokefurniture.com

COWTAN & TOUT

Living room wallpaper cowtan.com

HOLLY HUNT

Primary bedroom sconces, sofa, bench, tables and mirror; office side table hollyhunt.com

LUTECA FURNITURE

Breakfast room dining table luteca.com

MARC PHILLIPS

Stairwell rug runner marcphillipsrugs.com

MCKINNON AND HARRIS

Outdoor furniture mckinnonandharris.com

NOIR

Office side table noirfurniturela.com

RYAN JACKSON HOME

Office desk, primary bedroom chairs and cocktail table ryanjacksonhome.com

THE RUG COMPANY

Dining room rug therugcompany.com

THE URBAN ELECTRIC CO.

Stairwell lantern urbanelectric.com