HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY

When a dreamy house in LA came on the market for the first time in generations, designers Michael Breland and Peter Harper knew they had to make it their own

- STACIE STUKIN

KNOWN AS LAS ABEJAS (THE BEES), THE HOUSE WAS DESIGNED IN THE LATE 1920 CURRENT PLANTINGS INCLUDE A JACARANDA TREE IN BLOOM AND FIVE MEXICAN FAN PALMS.

“THERE'S THIS NOTION, especially by people from other places, that Los Angeles doesn't have any history,” explains Peter Harper.

He's sitting in the living room of the Mediterranean Revival home he shares with Michael Breland, his partner in life and business. They're sipping Darjeeling tea, and the silver tea set is polished to a mirror finish so reflective that you can see your likeness. There's a comforting romance to the space— the chalky white walls, the soaring ceilings, the natural light flooding in through the windows, all of which create a warm, flattering glow.

BELOW PETER HARPER (LEFT) AND MICHAEL BRELAND IN THE GARDEN. FAR RIGHT IN THE LIBRARY AN ENGLISH REGENCY CANE CHAIR WITH A FORTUNY VELVET SEAT CUSHION AND A 1930S JEAN-MICHEL FRANK CHAIR STAND ATOP A HEMP RUG FROM MANSOUR. THE RUSH-AND-OAK STOOL, WALNUT SIDE TABLE, COFFEE TABLE (COVERED IN A TEXTILE FROM OAXACA), AND TABLE LAMP (AT REAR) ARE ALL BRELANDHARPER DESIGNS.

Principals of the Los Angeles-based firm Breland-Harper, the couple, both from Northern California, met in architecture school at the University of Southern California. Breland went on to work at places like New York-based Storefront for Art and Architecture, and Harper spent time abroad focusing on architectural conservation. They eventually returned to LA where Breland founded his own studio while Harper honed his design passion at the AD100 firm Atelier AM before starting to work together in 2019.