The Magic Touch
Author:Abigail StoneSFA Design conjures up Parisian glamour atop the W Hollywood
A black and white striped Avro rug sits below a chaise in the master bedroom.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
As Bond said in Goldfinger: "Ingenious and useful too."
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
Custom furnishings, many courtesy of SFA Design, seduce with tactile curves and Art Deco details that could have been pulled from Hollywood’s golden age.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
NanaWall windows roll back to invite in the view. High-gloss lacquer finishes and ornate moldings provide an unexpected yet pleasing tension. In the master bathroom, A bold, geometric chandelier by Noir Lex dangles over The Cupid tub by Avo.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
Rustic herringbone floors and custom-blackened stainless steel and glass doors are nods to the space’s raw underpinnings. The custom-painted powder room is illuminated by sconces from Lawson-Fenning.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
Juxtaposed against a panorama of the iconic Hollywood Hills that stretches across the entire apartment, the home’s design seduces with an understated mix of elegant materials and sensual textures.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
The main living quarters are balanced on the opposite side by two luxury bedroom suites.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
“We made it a large open area with smaller spaces that spilled into each other to counterbalance the home’s imposing length, a solution that ended up creating a more functional design,” Smith explains.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
Smith, who also designed the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel and florist-to-the-stars Eric Butterbaugh’s blossom-drenched atelier, is no stranger to creating celeb-worthy design. The stunning living room design centers around a coffee table by Candelabra.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
If the setting seems worthy of a debonair spy with an English accent, chalk it up to Smith’s experience designing for the family of legendary movie producer Albert Broccoli, famed creator of many James Bond films.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
The apartment, one of five that Smith designed in the building, is perched at the top of the W in Hollywood (although it has no affiliation with the hotel).
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien
Transforming a cavernousspace into an elegant penthouse with the grandeur of a Parisian apartment while also incorporating the laid-back comforts of Southern California living takes a magic touch. Luckily, interior designer Kara Smith of SFA Design has it in spades.
Photographer: Meghan Beierle-O'Brien.