L.A. cottage remade as a Wonderland of color

With lavender in glorious bloom, the Franklin Hills house of Jamie Schwentker, an architect who specializes in landscapes (Schwentker Watts Design), and Franco Giacomo Carbone, a film production designer, features mango-hued shingles with moss- and celery-colored accents. “I call it Late Wicked Witch,” Schwentker said, “which is partly a nod to the whole movie thing and partly because it looks like a fairy-tale house. Like ‘Alice in Wonderland.’” (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Aug. 7, 2012 11:50 AM PT

Owners with a knack for fearless collecting and colorizing take their tiny 1923 L.A. house on an ultra-quirky adventure in design and decorating.

Potted succulents in stucco staircase alcoves and Eames house numbers from Heath Ceramics hint of the design mash-up that awaits inside. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The fanciful touches are immediate: Above the front door swim fish silhouettes. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Minimalists, close your eyes. The faux-tansu stairs, painted a bold persimmon, reflect Schwentker’s fearless use of color, which the architect attributes to an early stint with designer Tom Cox. “He had such a strong sense of color and made me appreciate what it can do,” Schwentker said. “It made this house more playful. Besides, paint was cheap.” Note the catwalk overhead, which we’ll come back to later. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The small space feels larger thanks not only to the removal of the original 8-foot-high ceiling, which was extended into the attic, but the abundance of glass connecting interiors to the lush gardens. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

On the dining table, more food for the senses: flowers, fruit, green, red, blue ... (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The kitchen still sports its vintage stove and black-and-yellow tile countertops, but Schwentker and Carbone covered the checkerboard linoleum under seagrass-textured vinyl flooring. They also replaced the ceiling with beadboard paneling. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

When new delft blue walls proved too dreary, Schwentker and Carbone brightened them with light blue stripes. “We love the circus-tent quality,” Schwentker said. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Color, texture and pattern, wherever you look. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The bedroom at the front of the house became the couple’s walk-in closet. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Above, steps leading to the catwalk, a chandelier aflutter with faux butterflies and aglow with year-round Christmas lights. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

One end of the catwalk is a sleeping loft and half bathroom, and the other is a balcony with a view of the garden. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

In the sleeping loft, Schwentker devised built-in bedside tables that glow with back-lightedt cutouts of stars, planets and a storybook cow jumping over the moon. The color schemes: aubergine here (“it symbolizes night”), pale avocado in the living and dining room (“a neutral backdrop”), and lemon yellow in the closet (“I don’t know if it makes the clothes look better, but it’s happy and fun”). (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The view back down below: An airy space despite the small footprint -- and an abundance of decor. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

By raising the ceiling of the living and dining room, the house was left with a little upstairs space largely inaccessible, except perhaps by ladder. But rather than just leave it be ... (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

It has been decorated as its own a miniature retreat. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The interiors connect nicely to beautiful garden areas, including ... (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

... an outdoor dining area for entertaining. Schwentker terraced the hillside and shaded the dining area with two tall lemon cypresses and a spreading bocconia tree. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Dried chiles add yet another color to the garden palette. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Steps lead to another house that’s used as an office. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“I’d be happy to call it finished,” Schwentker said, “but as a production designer, Franco would like to change every room every month.” Carbone, the perfectionist, agreed: “It’s adorable and cute, but it’s still a work in progress.” (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)