A chef decides it’s time to live like a grown up -- and gives his beach rental a makeover
Creating three restaurants in Manhattan Beach finally gave chef David LeFevre the experience and confidence to direct his newly developed eye for design toward a place he’d previously ignored: His own living space.
“My home wasn’t my priority. Work was,” he recalled about a series of bachelor pads he lived in before he and his girlfriend, KC Brooks, moved in together. They share a cozy midcentury ranch-meets-seaside-bungalow that they rent a few blocks inland from the town’s commercial area. “Once I started my own restaurants, I got a much better understanding of interiors.”
Starting with the opening of Manhattan Beach Post in 2011, chef and co-owner LeFevre was involved with every step of the process, from concept to build-out and opening. “I understand why things work and don’t work, just basically because how I grew up,” he said. LeFevre was raised in Madison, Wis., in a home with classic Eames chairs and Plycraft lounges. “My mother understood that if you buy great furniture, it will last forever.” Some of his parents’ pieces stand in his and Brooks’ pitched-ceiling living room, in fact.
At Fishing With Dynamite — an intimate and lively seafood restaurant — and the deluxe midcentury modern-inspired Arthur J steakhouse, LeFevre found himself even more intensely engaged with the aesthetics, since “the devil’s in the details.”
The living room of the Manhattan Beach rental home David LeFevre and KC Brooks share.
Back at home, everything on the walls and shelves are placed with care to reflect his and Brooks’ personal histories and travels. From photos documenting LeFevre’s maternal grandparents’ lives, to the prints of Matisse cut-outs his mother gave him for Christmas his freshman year of college, to stage certificates from the Michelin-starred restaurants he trained at in France, “I try to keep a lot of things around that remind me of growing up and family.” Brooks yields to LeFevre’s expertise, but her choices and requests are incorporated into the decor, such as a wall of mirrors in the dining room.
Cracks in LeFevre’s childhood “Sesame Street” Ernie cookie jar on the kitchen counter reveal the many moves it’s made. Even the animal figures have family significance. He noted how his childhood visits to the zoo in Madison always meant seeing two specific animals year-round. “Bears are me, penguins are my parents,” he explained.
A teapot is part of the kitchen decor.
Nesting in this house is about shifting interests and priorities. “I have plenty of cooking in my life. What I want is to be near my friends.”
So, on a recent Sunday afternoon, LeFevre and Brooks invited pals from the neighborhood and a couple of LeFevre’s fellow chefs, Sotto’s Steve Samson and barbecue master Adam Perry Lang.
Out on the deck, the couple set out a seafood spread of Alaskan king crab legs, Peruvian scallops, kusshi oysters and shrimp with accompanying sauces, and plenty of top-quality beverages.
KC Brooks yields to David LeFevre’s expertise to decorate the house, but her choices and requests are incorporated into the decor, such as a wall with mirrors in the dining room.
“This is the first place where people come over and say, ‘You’re an adult. You can hang stuff,’” LeFevre said.
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Wool blankets are rolled up into a leather tote near the fireplace.
Chef David LeFevre gives design tips:
Selecting decor: Choose items that remind you of great times with family or travel.
Purge: Get rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy.
Arranging wall space: On gallery walls, place items that are actually used and create depth by using ledge shelves, such as plate shelves, to lean pictures. Also, use small keepsakes, not just photos or art that are flat.
A large board hangs next to artwork and the bar is set up on the right.
Function is beauty: Use walls as storage for items such as cutting boards, skillets, pans and aprons.
Colorful comforts: Keep lots of blankets around, especially in homes by the beach for chilly nights. They can add real pop to your color palette and it’s easier to take design risks with them because they are inexpensive. You can always store them in a drawer.
Greenery: Plants are important to bring life into a space and to have something that needs nurturing.
Lighting: You have to have a mix of natural lights (candles, lanterns) and warm, cozy lighting.
MORE CHEFS AT HOME:
Chefs Cimarusti and Echiverri cook up ideas for their home kitchen
Chef Joachim Splichal’s home kitchen
Canele chef Corina Weibel’s home kitchen
Chocolatiers Hasty and Jacques Torres create tasteful West Coast home
