A Midcentury Modern Home in Los Angeles Returns to Its Roots (2024)

For a home in L.A.’s leafy Mandeville Canyon, it took new owners with a passion for storytelling to reveal its best attributes, which were covered up by unfortunate ’80s renovations. This pursuit drove documentary director Lacey Uhlemeyer and her engineer husband, Rendell Johnson, to do a historical deep dive into the fundamental designers and destinations that embody their home’s 1959 roots. “As an avid traveler, having midcentury-modern pieces that span from Denmark to Mexico to Brazil to the U.S. feels really exciting,” Lacey says. She calls out a 1960s Baldwin piano, Brazilian Jangada lounge chair, Mario Bellini couch, and live-edge burl coffee table that together spark a warm, worldly energy.

But the homeowners didn’t take on the renovation and reimagining of their 2,418-square-foot abode alone. One of Lacey’s best friends, fellow storytelling commercial director and designer Claire Thomas, led the interior design project, with Rendell lending a hand on a personal hobby, carpentry. “It is incredibly surprising I fell so deeply in love with the house from the initial listing photos,” says Lacey. “What I did see beyond the chocolate brown painted ceilings and stone tile bathrooms was a really special post-and-beam architectural treehouse with floor-to-ceiling windows that invite in the gorgeous, protected canyon views.” Claire and Lacey made it their job to return the home—originally designed by surfer-turned-architect Matt Kivlin—to its true nature.

The late ’50s, to Claire, evoke earthy California tones of marigold and avocado. And indeed a green, brown, yellow, and orange palette was solidified early on when she won at auction a series of vintage Swissair posters depicting diverse aerial landscapes in those colors. “They connected with that overall aesthetic we were trying to hit—really earthy California canyon, late ’50s, early ’60s references with world traveler energy,” says Claire.

Material choices—plush carpet, terrazzo, and glazed tile—were designed to ground the home in a specific time and place, while also replacing generic additions that covered key design details. One of the biggest challenges was removing paint from original timber ceilings, posts, and beams. “It’s heartbreaking to try to restore a home to its original vision and realize there is only so much sanding you can do before you hurt the integrity of the wood,” Lacey says. The fireplace of long, thin brick had been plastered over with an adhesive that could not be undone, so instead they paid homage with linear, brick-like Fireclay tile.

Lacey’s original plan was a surface overhaul, but once the trio dug in, they saw the potential in a layout change. “We realized that opening up the kitchen, adding a guest bathroom, and doing a complete primary bath overhaul could make the house really special,” she says. Adding a generous wet room in sumptuous hunter green terrazzo and matching tile with a hammered copper Japanese-style soaking tub transformed the bathroom from awkward to certifiably dreamy.

There’s copious custom terrazzo by Concrete Collaborative throughout the home—including the goldenrod-hued waterfall kitchen counter—which Lacey says “isn’t only something that speaks to the era of the home but also to the surroundings, nestled in nature and boulders.” They were meticulous in ensuring the aggregate had a grounded, organic quality to it as opposed to a confetti effect. White oak paneling and floors also bring the outside in. “Guests have commented that the kitchen makes them happy,” says Lacey, “which is exactly what we want out of every nook and corner of the house!”

“Whenever I do a friend’s house, I think of them like a character in a movie, imagining them in the space,” Claire says. “Lacey is such an incredible collector; she has all these fabulous stories and journeys she’s been on.” And anyone walking up the terrazzo staircase instantly knows this is the home of a globally minded family. Evocative furnishings—such as vintage dining chairs reupholstered in handwoven Guatemalan and Mexican huipiles, a Peruvian tapestry, and a pair of Ib Kofod Larsen lounge chairs in a retro Pierre Frey fabric—nod heartily to jetsetting adventures and travel tales. Pops of fun evoke the owner’s colorful disposition, too—see the velvety, kid-friendly green shag carpet in the loft. “This project was an opportunity to showcase that part of her personality,” says Claire. “And it melded really well with the design of the home.”