西好莱坞复古公寓的现代改造 | 从丑小鸭到白天鹅的蜕变

Fixing up a house can be a romantic endeavor. Andre Herrero, cofounder of the architecture and design studio Charlap Hyman & Herrero, discovered this when designing an apartment for his girlfriend, Paige Zollars, who works in fashion. In 2020, Zollars and her sister, Laura, a music manager, purchased a West Hollywood duplex that was “ugly as sin,” Herrero says. Untouched since the 1970s, it had a dated ski-chalet aesthetic and a suffocating layout. “I’m so grateful Andre came with us to view it,” Paige says. “Only an architect could have seen the potential.”

In lofted study-cum-dining room, architect Andre Herrero sits at a table made after Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione series. Paige (left) and Laura lean on metal mesh bookshelves.Herrero took it down to the studs and built it into a modern home of muted hues and airy spaces. Things got more layered when the architect introduced his favorite materials—​stainless steel and metal mesh—throughout the home, helping to distinguish areas by use: “We hate open floor plans for small apartments,” Herrero says. “Everything just feels smaller.” Cheeky art enlivens the apartment, while American antiques ground it. Everything was done on a shoestring budget without sacrificing quality. “We were crafty with our resources and took advantage of architectural quirks,” Herrero says. “Things that seem like negatives can contribute to a more romantic narrative.”

White metal mesh folding screens inspired by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet’s modernist 1932 Maison de Verre separate the living space from the kitchen. The armchairs are by Pierre Legrain, and the framed paper cutouts are by Adam Charlap Hyman. That romance was brought in by way of different periods, materials, and styles. Playful works of art balance out serious antiques throughout the apartment. In the living room, for instance, an Olivia Erlanger sculpture of a room within an eye hangs above the sofa. Intensely surreal, it recalls the dollhouses both sisters played with as children. In the convivial spirit, a pair of 19th-century Queen Anne–style side tables provide space to work or eat from the sofa, while a stool by Shun Kinoshita in the foreground acts as a home for cell phones, TV remotes, or any passing bric-a-brac. “Things that seem like negatives can contribute to a more romantic narrative.” —Andre HerreroMinimal though this project may seem in comparison to some of Charlap Hyman & Herrero’s past work, planning still demanded a thorough deep dive into references, people, and places from the last several hundred years. A series of contemporary material interventions take cues from historic interiors while remaining freshly up to date.

Flanked by sculptural Lucky Star candles, the striking double-height steel fireplace is an homage to the Paris home of one of Yves Saint Laurent’s muses, Betty Catroux. Hidden behind it is a large-screen TV—the perfect, functional answer to modern Netflix-infused living.White metal mesh folding screens inspired by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet’s modernist 1932 Maison de Verre separate the living space from the kitchen without blocking natural light. Framed paper cutouts by Herrero’s business partner, Adam Charlap Hyman, hang easily on a perforated panel. Two significant Pierre Legrain armchairs of the same period as Maison de Verre purchased from Formative Modern offer movable seating and visual gravity in the living room. Pragmatism was in high demand in the kitchen. “It was a disaster,” Herrero says. Barely functional before the renovation with particle board cabinets and a refrigerator that couldn’t open fully, the home’s kitchen is now rendered spacious by the use of under-stair storage and smart shelving above the stove.

A 19th-century French Directoire candelabra by the sink is the perfect foil to the industrial Zangra pill-shaped ceiling lights in the kitchen.Drama returns in the most personal spaces. To introduce some theatricality into Paige’s bedroom, linen was hung behind the bed, which is topped by a vintage kimono pillow and bookended by Adirondack twig tables: “We loved their witchy quality,” Charlap Hyman says. A striated bud vase by Yali Glass perches atop one of them, adding to their spell.

Paige’s bedroom (left) and Laura’s bedroom (right). 

In sister number two’s bedroom the vibes were altogether different. “We were thinking a bit about ‘High Tech,’ the late-1970s and early-’80s design moment,” says Charlap Hyman of the steel Anne Libby sculpture above Laura’s bed. Its form, which mimics a pulled blind, adds some whimsy to the room. The rest of the decor is firmly functional, in a sense: A Victorian papier-mâché chair serves as a nightstand opposite a 1972 Tizio lamp from Artemide. On the whole, the home is a quietly evocative mishmash. “I try to create a bit of drama in every space I do,” Herrero says. “I want an emotional look.”

This story originally appeared in the April 2023 issue of ELLE DECOR. SUBSCRIBE