“The Maximalists” home tour

Johanna and Andy McElfresh are the kind of couple who work well together on home improvement projects. She admires the way his brain works. “Fish [Andy] is really about the process and I’m all about the look,” she says. “He gets great joy from figuring stuff out.” He admires her artistic vision. “I would never be able to think up the things she does,” says Andy of his decorator wife.

The entry features pale avocado walls and a 1930s-era Tree of Life from Johanna’s grandmother who lived in San Miguel de Allende during the late ‘30s.

Dashiell McElfresh races upstairs to his room, past the double-height portrait wall.

Andy McElfresh created a plastic stencil with his laser cutter, taped it to the steps, and painted the yellow and blue chevron design on the stairs in two days.

Inspired by over-the-top designers like Tony Duquette and Kelly Wearstler, the couple have decorated the home with lots of flair -- Andy jokingly refers to them as “The Maximalists.”

A pendant (left) illuminates the Mediterranean home’s stained glass window while a colorful glass pendant (right) illuminates one of the home’s many flea market finds.

The living room features a wide assortment of seating for game nights, parties and karaoke. The ceiling is painted in a checkerboard pattern of different green tones.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times )

At the McElfreshes’ place, less is clearly not more. “Just call us The Maximalists,” Andy jokes as he glues a sparkling spiral on top of a ceramic head bust, shown here, in the living room. Johanna describes herself as cheap but likes to spend money on quality textiles such as the colorful Kravet fabric on the chair, at left.

Hand-blown eggs decorated by Andy McElfresh.

Every wall in every room is covered with art, many of them inexpensive paintings found at flea markets. In between paintings, Johanna has installed ceramic plates, medals, guitars, crucifixes, wooden fish (a homage to Andy) and mounted bullhorns. The giraffe painting was found online at Chairish.com.

The standup piano, painted blue, blends in nicely with the living room’s color palette of green, blue and brown. “Brown is a great grounder,” adds Johanna. “It makes everything look better.”

From left: Tommy Hogan, Johanna McElfresh and Andy McElfresh enjoy the living room. Johanna and Hogan, friends since high school, once owned a thrift store together in New York and still collaborate. “Everything I learned has come from him,” she says. Adds Hogan: “Less is a bore.”

The kitchen and breakfast room were originally separated by a door. The couple took out the door and built the archway, shown here. They also redid the countertops and lower cabinets and kept the upper cabinets. To preserve the period look, they matched the existing ‘30s tile with new tile from B&W Tile in Gardena.

A swinging door located between the kitchen and dining room is upholstered with slick green vinyl and finished with elegant nailheads.

The dining room, which is furnished with French antiques, is punctuated with Christopher Hyland wallpaper in a palm frond motif, a Chinese Deco rug and a sparkling crystal ship chandelier from Z Gallerie.

When pricey white coral wall sconces from Currey & Co. arrived looking “too new,” Johanna McElfresh added coral sprays and glittering napkin rings from Z Gallerie to give them a Tony Duquette-inspired update. “I walk a fine line between elegant and tacky,” she says.

A crystal ship chandelier from Z Gallerie, $999.

A bullhorn is mounted over the door. “I always put horns over doorways,” says Johanna McElfresh. “I always joke, ‘Don’t let he horns kick you on the way out.’”

Schumacher wallpaper in the bathroom adds drama and takes the eye away from dated tile.

The maximalist theme prevails in Johanna McElfresh’s office, which she describes as her “ode to Kelly Wearstler.” Here, bright yellow lacquered custom cabinets and walls mix with a leopard print rug, black and white striped daybed and coral-colored chandelier. The frames, at left, are from Ikea.

Andy’s office, by comparison, is located in a closet off of the master bedroom. The juxtaposition is not lost on the comedian, who hosts a weekly “Edumacation” podcast where he teaches indie filmmaker Kevin Smith about science. He recently posted a photo of the tiny office on Twitter that got a lot of laughs, complete with a detailed list of 46 items including “Aeron chair bought in tech bust for $100” and “registration for home-built boat.”

Jessie (right) strikes a pose in the outdoor living room. The outdoor sectional, in purple Sunbrella, is from Crate and Barrel. The painting is from the Santa Monica antique market.

A miniature 50th birthday card of sorts by Andy, the pieces of which he created with a laser cutter and later glued and painted.

A camel garden seat Johanna found at a consignment store in Palm Springs.

The backyard, patio and pool area.

A blue door both stands out against a mild toned building and blends in with the natural colors of the backyard.

The black-and-white Greek key tile pattern in the pool was inspired by the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle.

A termite-eaten rooster in the yard belonged to the home’s previous owners.