California dreamy

With her rock-chic revamp of this LA ranch-style house, designer Kirsten Blazek made mid-century positively modern

- Kara O'Reilly

Think single-storey dwelling and retirement bungalow springs to mind, but this super-chic LA pad is anything but staid. Although let’s be honest, it probably takes the creative nous of someone like interior designer Kirsten Blazek to give such a space real style edge.

When Kirsten and her (now ex) partner set eyes on the 1940s ranch, it was dated, having been owned by the same family since being built and had been languishing on the market. Clearly, others didn’t have Kirsten’s vision of how to turn the property from dull to dreamy. ‘It wasn’t exactly a case of love at first sight, but I knew the neighbourhood was ideal and it had a lot of potential,’ she says.

After completing in 2018, Kirsten gave the unimaginative white box some dark drama in a five-month rush renovation – mainly because the family were squashed into a small rental while works took place. Ceilings were pulled, utilities updated and walls moved to recalibrate the space to suit their needs. ‘I can’t quite believe we did this, but it involved a lot of sleepless nights while I tried to source and order everything to keep up with the contractors,’ says Kirsten.