The challenge was this: How do you take an empty box and turn it into a getaway that even your in-laws will love? Once a woodworking shop and music studio, this accessory dwelling unit behind a home in Venice Beach needed to be transformed into a guest cottage. The owners, Lacey Uhlemeyer, a world traveler and documentary filmmaker, and Rendell Johnson, a engineer who has a love of music and woodworking, wanted it to be a place their in-laws could stay while visiting.
Los Angeles designer Claire Thomas was called in to make the magic happen. Originally built in the 1920s, the 500-square-foot structure now includes a bedroom, a wet room (featuring a shower and tub), kitchenette, and music corner (which Thomas calls the “smallest speakeasy on the planet”). Inside, it looks like the setting to a fairytale, with imported textiles, “Goldlilocks’ flooring” (a medium-tone wood flooring from DuChateau), and golden Fireclay tile arranged in a vintage pattern. The kitchen, which features a custom copper backsplash, is the star of the show.
“I really wanted to reference the late 1920s,” Thomas says. “I love going to the past for inspiration.”
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Guided by Uhlemeyer’s love of travel and “Amazonian explorer energy,” Thomas utilized Dunn and Edwards rich San Miguel Blue paint, wallpaper from British purveyor Lewis and Wood, and other unique details, such as a stained glass window she sourced from the Pasadena Architectural Salvage, to complete the look.
The Kitchen
“Copper has this amazing luminous quality to bounce around and make the kitchen seem like a focal point rather than an afterthought,” says Thomas, who used it for a custom backsplash. Besides going with the unexpected material, she uncovered an original window that the previous owner had plastered over, bringing life back into the kitchenette. It’s now a functional, beautiful area that will evolve over time as the copper surface patinas.
The Bedroom
The homeowner’s 90s mint green armoire went from shabby-chic to architectural with a quick coat of paint. “Instead of fighting it, it became a piece that really complements the space now and adds structure to that wall,” she says. Thomas reupholstered the couple’s headboard with Chiapas fabric from The Folk Project, a company that sources fabrics ethically from Central and South America. Bedding: Coyuchi. Sconces: Hudson Valley Lighting Group. Surfboard: custom, Priscilla Witte.
The Bathroom
The tiny original bathroom was expanded to create a fabulous wet room. Thomas’s best find, three-by-three yellow Fireclay Tile placed in an Art Deco pattern is a cheery addition. “It wasn’t originally supposed to be a wet room,” Thomas remarks. “But it was the most economic way to get a shower and tub in there.”
Plumbing Fixtures: Signature Hardware.
The Music Room
Johnson loves to play the piano in his freetime, so was adamant that the project include a music room. The area, which basically consists of the piano and bistro seating area, is made moody thanks to wallpaper and a vintage stained glass window. “By putting stained glass over a modern glass window, “You create a fake window,” Thomas explains. Rug: Rejuvenation. Yellow Bench: Joybird.
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