Many Styles, Singular Look

When designer Brian Bell moved into his 1920s Mediterranean-style bungalow in Silver Lake about 10 years ago, the tiny 900-square-foot interior looked even smaller with its dark wood paneling, beige shag carpet and “cottage cheese” acoustical ceiling. But the bathroom clad in faux-marble Formica was the worst. “I felt like I was walking into a cheap hotel elevator,” Bell remembers with a laugh.

To create a feeling of spaciousness throughout the six rooms, Bell scrapped the sprayed ceiling and paneling, painting walls creamy whites and golden greens. He refinished the previously hidden hardwood floors in a honey oak stain, then topped them with sisal mats. He opened the bedroom to the garden by adding a French door and draped windows with handkerchief linen that welcomes in light and billows in the afternoon breeze.

As for furnishings, Bell selected a mix of streamlined classics to lend a sense of elegance: a 19th-century French sleigh bed and a gilded Empire mirror in the bedroom, a 1920s sofa and Art Deco tables in the living room. A vintage fireplace mantel found at a flea market creates a focal point in the kitchen, while an old garden stool serves as a table in the solarium.

Although it’s modest in size, Bell’s home is a microcosm of ‘90s design, which means it’s less about any one particular style than it is an eclectic but well-edited blend of details from different periods. “I strive for a timeless, classic look,” he explains. “I want an interior to have an undecorated casualness about it--not one that’s been labored over.”