Mandy Graham extracts the purity of classical architecture and instils it with contemporary details inside her renovated home in Palos Verdes, California.
Los Angeles designer Mandy Graham is concerned with detail; both ornate and restrained. Mandy’s timeless style manifests itself throughout her admired portfolio of interior and furniture design, as she works towards a tapestry of texture, light and form. She says she approaches each project with a different story as a way of injecting soul. Her own home in Palos Verdes, California is an exemplar of this.
The circa late 1920s Spanish cottage set in a fragrant landscape of eucalyptus trees and lavender emanates a Mediterranean aesthetic with its smooth stucco exterior and terracotta tile roof. Inside, the original architecture takes on an elegant persona where arches, all-white walls, vintage Art Deco fixtures and Mandy’s eclectic furniture collection embody the designer’s refined taste.
The kitchen features a custom-painted La Cornue oven, raw limestone floors and walnut joinery with soapstone benchtop.
The original framing was completely overhauled when Mandy commenced the extensive renovation of her own home. She replaced it with a series of arches, barrel ceilings and thickened walls to inset the windows, creating wider thresholds and integrated cabinetry. While introducing this stately scheme Mandy kept to the existing footprint and layout, making room for two additional bathrooms.
While strictly adhered to a monochrome palette, Mandy’s home maintains warmth and texture through limestone and natural walnut floors, raw and unfinished. She also creates an authentic mix of old and new, shedding light on her passion for unique finds through antique hardware and custom-designed Art Deco lighting.
The kitchen is central to understanding Mandy’s meticulous approach to design. Peering into the kitchen through the archway, the round edges of the walnut joinery reverberate the home’s sculptural motifs. The solid walnut and soapstone joinery complete with metal panels was designed to integrate with the custom-painted La Cornue range oven. The first-class La Cornue oven also informed Mandy’s integrated fridge and brass tapware.
Mandy’s home reminds us of the essential importance of observing detail. Each space is a personal insight into her practice, where design interlaces natural materials and aged objects with a bespoke and cultivated aesthetic.
The dining space features Mandy Graham’s Marta Collection chairs.
