Crazy for color in South Carthay

Although painting interiors in a neutral palette is fully in vogue, and their South Carthay neighborhood in Los Angeles practically bleeds beige, Doug and Mary Kottler have unleashed the color wheel with seemingly wild abandon. Open the door to their 1940 Spanish Revival house in a historic preservation zone, and the visual surprises are immediate. The dining room walls are sunset orange Ralph Lauren Villa Torlonia, to be exact as is the Aqua Creations chandelier, shaped like a five-headed sea creature. From the left, thats Nathan, 5, Mary, Doug and Miles, 2. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 16, 2014 7:56 AM PT

In the living room, a banana-colored light fixture and fuchsia and green drapes share the space with oversized Ligne Roget seating. I was slower to come to the table on some colors, Mary Kottler says, adding later: Now I love it. I feel great when Im in the home. It really is a happy place. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Doug Kottler stands in the houses back room, which the original owner added. The strange combination of brick oven, turquoise-colored bar and multihued terrazzo floor turned off other prospective buyers, but the Kottlers were amused. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Beverly Hills-based interior designer Malgosia Migdal, shown here in the yellow entry, helped the Kottlers with the interiors. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

A custom glass mosaic in the master bathroom. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Green tile for the whole kitchen? Really? Mary Kottler had asked her husband. But then I gave in. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The living rooms fuchsia and lime-green silk sheers, with a lampshade to match. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The back rooms bar may look dated, but the Kottlers find humor in the surprise. We loved that there was no way of predicting that this room existed, Doug says. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)