Star Billing

A gracious 1920s home set in the Hollywood Hills that hints at a glamorous past is revamped to enhance its old-school beauty for the present day.

- Janice Jones

Rumoured to have once been home to screen legend Ginger Rogers, this beautiful understated 1920s house is built into the edge of a hillside and split over two levels. Its setting in the Hollywood Hills gives it an amazing outlook over Downtown Los Angeles and West Hollywood. The streets are steep here and there are no footpaths but the position is worth the hike. Generally early to mid century in pedigree, houses in this area are fairly low key in appearance with exteriors of render, timber cladding and glass.

This home’s air of old-school charm attracted the couple to the property and they were keen to retain that feeling. When it came to choosing a design firm to remodel their 1920s-era Hollywood Hills home in LA, the owners, a couple in the entertainment industry, came to the studio of Australian interior architect David Hicks.

Flying under the radar is the modus operandi for David’s LA studio rather than self-promotion. “We undertake a limited number of selected projects in the US, mainly for clients in the entertainment industry or who are in the public eye. So our work there is less publicised as anonymity is a luxury. All the projects we have done there to date are residential on various scales, from apartments to large homes,” says David who, along with local LA-based architects, has also undertaken concept and design development for one of the world’s biggest luxury property developers based in Dubai.