Earlier this month, 10 teams of Los Angeles’ most renowned interior designers poured their design expertise into something a little smaller than a show house—a doll house.
The designers were asked to create a one-of-a-kind dollhouse to be sold at the first annual Kaleidoscope Ball, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The sales from that night reached $1.8 million and benefited the UCLA Mattel Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute.
Here’s a closer look at the dollhouses and the stories behind them:
Lonni Paul designed the entry, dining room, and great room of the first Italianate House. While living in Italy, she was drawn to the more modern interiors of centuries old homes and designed the house with a mix of timeless elegance and a modern Italian sensibility. The color scheme includes blues and silvers in the great room and an all red palette in the dining room. Adding to the elegance of the design, the great room includes wall coverings from Trove and David Sutherland, Rubelli fabric for windows and Donghia for the sofas and ottoman. The rooms’ furnishings consist of custom designed pieces including a Ralph Lauren for the bench fabric and Swarovski crystals on miniature lighting fixtures, illuminated by LEDs. The dining room showcases Sahco curtains and wall coverings from Innovations for the ceiling and Maya Romanoff for the remainder of the room.
Adam Hunter designed the second floor to include a master bedroom with master sitting room and a child's bedroom. Hunter uses lush fabric and rich textures to create bedrooms with an old European feel but with a modern influence. The master bedroom has a color palette of silver, grey, crème, and pale lavender, while the child's room is a combination of mint pistachio and hints of soft pink.
Mark Cutler designed the first floor of the second Italianate House as the ultimate girl’s dream house. Inspired by the great fantasy houses in Palm Beach and the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, Cutler design features a sophisticated neutral color palette for the two story entry that showcases a custom miniature “Ramona” chandelier by Fuse Lighting, and the striking “Martinique” banana leaf wallpaper before transitioning into the glamorous living room and library. Both spaces are brightened with vivid pops of pinks, reds, purples, and feature handmade Japanese wallpaper, custom made upholstery, and a creative blend of classic and contemporary dollhouse pieces and repurposed items that make for a luxurious fantasyland any girl would love.
Cari Berg designed the second floor landing, bedroom and studio for the fashionable girl. The landing is anchored by the classic Martinique patterned wallpaper and the runners, custom made by Merida, the upholstered borne settee and the drapery help layer the space and add to the cosmopolitan mix of materials. The abstract original artwork from artist Loryn Kolbrenner adds a graphic quality to the space. The bedroom is draped in a billowy white sheer and provides a dreamy backdrop for the modern lines of the custom upholstered pieces with a simple color palette of white and hot pink that allows for the different textures to take center stage. The coolness of the marble and lucite coffee table and the warmth of the mohair rug and fabric walls come together to create the ultimate in relaxation and comfort. All of this is set off by custom miniature lighting, inspired by pieces found in today’s most stylish showrooms. The studio is complete with all things a girl needs to be creative and fashionable. Custom lacquered wardrobes anchor one wall and provide a space to showcase her most stylish handbags. She has an antiqued mirror and Lucite table, allowing plenty of space to display jewelry or work on a sketch. White tufted upholstered walls envelop the room, highlighting the custom hot pink silk upholstered screen and tufted ottoman. The white fur rug covers the walnut floor with the most luxurious of textures.
Natasha Baradaran designed the first floor of the first Modern House, containing a terrace, kitchen/dining area, family room, and powder room in a coastal color story of coral, turquoise and white for a modern take on beach chic paired with an elevated sophistication and unexpected edge. Through the creation of a custom dining table, imagined from a piece of a gate, stone-inspired fabric from Beacon Hill envisioned as a custom carpet, and Trove wall covering for a punch of pattern, Baradaran was able to accomplish a sophisticated twist on the classic beach chic vibe.
Waldo Fernandez designed the second and third floors, containing two patios, two balconies, a living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a master suite and bath. The design has a light airy feeling created by the dominantly neutral color palette and splashes of color throughout.
Jim Magni designed the first floor of the second Modern House, containing a living room, dining room/kitchen, and outdoor Zen garden including a water feature in “Magni Modernism,” combining modern, art deco, Asian, and contemporary designs together for a look all its own. In keeping with the modern look of the home the rooms are done in a color scheme of whites, creams, taupes, and grays. The rooms’ furnishings and style are inspired from Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Magni Home Collection.
Joan Behnke designed the second and third floors as an artist’s retreat with a top floor dedicated to a studio/gallery space and exterior decks to retreat and watch the waves and the second floor designed as a master bedroom, bath and meditation room. Behnke took a more “free” approach to furnishing the house because she wanted the house to be a space to showcase beautiful things, reflect, and create. Working with found objects and sculpted materials as inspiration for furniture designs, all of the furnishings are meant to be touched, held, and examined for some whimsical detail. The design’s color palette mimics that of the natural surroundings of the home, including warm neutrals and soothing sea tones.
Jeffrey Alan Marks designed the first floor of the first Contemporary Beach House, including a dining room, kitchen, living room, and gym, in his now signature color scheme of breezy blues. The design features custom dollhouse furniture modeled after Marks’ actual furniture line with Palecek, with the living room including Marks’ “Spindrift Sofa,” “Spindrift Chair,” “Brockton Coffee Table” and “Bryant Lounge Chairs.” The gym utilizes Marks’ “Wind & Sea Folding Screen” to create a private massage area. In addition to the miniature versions of Jeffrey’s Palecek furniture, the living room includes a custom wool and silk area rug inspired by vintage Fortuny fabric and provided by Decorative Carpets, while the private massage room includes walls covered in custom de Gournay “Fish” wallpaper, replicating Jeffrey’s personal kitchen and two massage tables covered in Cowtan & Tout Linen.
Elizabeth Dinkel designed the second floor combining the spare and minimalist elements of a modern beach house with the natural beauty of the Pacific Ocean as her backdrop. Her design features clean, modern white lines paired with the some of the more organic tones found in the natural world. She designed the space with a professional art collecting couple who use their house to escape city life and catch their breath in mind. Her intent was to design a house that is sophisticated architecturally but not too fussy or overly serious.
Chris Barrett designed the first floor of the second Contemporary Beach House to include a combination of textures in light colors with white high gloss ceilings, grey walnut driftwood floors, and white grass cloth on the walls. The neutral colors of the living room are broken up with an unexpected pop of pink in the large custom area rug, while the window treatments and pillows showcase the new patterns and colors of Chris Barrett Textiles. The kitchen includes high gloss white cabinets with “Carrera marble” countertops manufactured by Bespoke Furniture. The family room includes a modern built in, a sectional, and Noguchi coffee table. The three-story entryway is emphasized by the driftwood gray walnut planks extending from top to bottom, which contrast nicely with the high gloss lacquered walls.
Ron Woodson and Jaimie Rummerfield designed the 2nd and 3rd floors to include a garage, master bedroom suite, guest bedroom, office, and two balconies. They created a look that is clean and contemporary by using a color scheme of tonal whites and cool grays. Pops of blues and yellows, the use of chrome accents, white lacquer, and muted bleached wood throughout help to give the floors a sophisticated California coastal look. Woodson and Rummerfield wanted a design focused on simple colors but rich textures and luxurious materials as seen in the master bedroom’s focal wall of faux-onyx and the floors’ sculptural accents and art (some of it painted by the designers themselves!).
Mary McDonald designed the first floor of the first Georgian House and exterior to include a dining room of pale pinks, grays, and chalky whites from the F. Schumacher fabric collection shown on wall curtains. The living room combines Jade Greens from Schumacher Chinois Palais and Don't Fret fabrics from McDonald’s new collection all paired with hints of black or white in a more formal yet modern way. Finally the entry combines black, green, and white in a a more graphically bold way showcasing the Jade green Chinois Palais Schumacher fabric as paper. Signature formal millwork was used in the living and dining rooms for authenticity, while the floor is all real oak planks scaled accordingly as a life size house with natural patina and movement found in original English Georgian houses. Graphic Bold painted wood floors, chinoiserie references paired with carefully edited mini empire, and Georgian and 18th C. Style furniture help to complete the look.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard designed the top floor to include a master bedroom, a guest room, and an upstairs landing. The top floor is done in black and white with a strategic pop of color in each room and features Bullard’s new Schumacher collection of wall coverings on the walls in each room.
Tim Campbell designed the first floor of the second Georgian House and exterior to have a transitional and modern look. The design uses a color scheme of creams and blues for a fresh look.
Philip Nimmo designed the second floor to include a two room “gentleman’s lair”. In one room, a daybed floats in the center of the room behind a big agate-and-polished-brass coffee table flanked by two chairs. The second room is the lair itself, where a man would preoccupy himself with intellectual pursuits, his collections of art and objects found during his travels, and all of the curiosities that a 21st century Renaissance man desires. These eclectic furnishing and a high-contrast palette create a warm and inviting environment. The Gentlemen's Lair features ebonized floors with dark shades of gray furnishings paired with cream upholstery.
Michael and Alexandra Misczynski designed the first floor of the Brownstone House and exterior to include an entry way, gallery, library, and main stairway. The design is a rather formal Beaux Arts background with contemporary engagement. The library has a reclaimed interior from Jean Michel-Frank for Jean-Pierre Guerlain, circa 1935 and is furnished with pieces by Jean-Michel Frank.
Estee Stanley designed the second and third floors to include a living room and master suite in neutral colors with accents of turquoise and pink. The inspiration for the dollhouse was to create a neutral background filled with things we love. We wanted something eclectic and effortless. The resulting style is a relaxing blend of cultures and traditions creating a warm yet sophisticated space—a great balance to the brownstone architecture.
Monique Lhuillier designed a replica of her New York flagship boutique intact with the former private residence’s grandeur of an old world townhouse. Spanning three floors, the townhouse offers the bridal collection on the entire ground floor, the ready-to-wear collection on the second and the VIP custom area on the third floor. Iridescent paintings by Nancy Lorenz and custom mirrors and tables add just a hint of sparkle, while the two commissioned pieces by New York sculptor Silas Seandel are truly one-of-a-kind. Taking cues from the original structure, Lhuillier creates a sophisticated environment in the world of grey, using luxurious fabrics, furnishings and art to showcase the true stars in the boutique, her signature gowns and collections. The dollhouse includes grey suede walls, recreations of the Monique Lhuillier Waterford chandeliers, inspired by the delicate beadwork of Monique’s signature gowns, and organic hammered stainless steel cabinets, made especially for the bridal salon.
