Tess Twiehaus wasn’t sure if her client would bite when the first update she proposed for her kitchen was covering the backsplash in black zellige tile. She hasn’t met many first-time homeowners who would dare to go that dark. But to the interior designer’s surprise, the 30-something-year-old who works in fashion took her up on it. “So we were like, let’s black out the whole area,” says Twiehaus. She and her team at Tess Interiors carried the glossy squares from Zia Tile onto the floating shelf and even across the vent hood, enveloping a wall that was once clad in a strip of orange tile and steel. The dramatic result felt extra fitting for her client. “She’s a local, L.A. Eastside girl who knows all the cool places, dresses really cool, and hosts a lot,” says Twiehaus.
It might seem counterintuitive to opt for superdeep colors in a small, 1,500-square-foot house, but Twiehaus saw an opportunity to highlight the Spanish-style architecture that was hidden by too-bright paint and cold metal accents. “There were these beautiful plaster details and cove corners, but then there were quirky materials that felt like your typical Tuscan remodel from the early 2000s,” she recalls. Read on to find out how she turned the dated bungalow into a moody retreat.
Gain Storage With a Drawer-Filled Galley
The kitchen’s lack of storage was obvious to everyone. The problem? There wasn’t a whole lot of room to add more cabinetry. One option would have been to cover up some of the windows, but Twiehaus wasn’t willing to compromise natural light so quickly. Instead, she decided to work within the existing layout, first opening up the threshold leading into the dining room; that way it matched the large archway on the other side. Losing a wall forced her to embrace a simple galley layout, which she and the cabinetmaker, Reform, maximized with deep drawers. “We did end up gaining storage, because all the storage we added was just so much more meaningful,” she says.
Riffing on the black zellige backsplash, they chose a fusion quartzite countertop—a natural, durable stone that made Twiehaus and her client gasp when they saw it at the stone yard. The matte terracotta floor tile helps diffuse all the glimmer coming from the cooktop zone.
Finish Shelving With a Skirt
To give the dining room some Spanish flair, Twiehaus replicated the cove ceiling from the living room in this area, too. The curved edges felt like a natural starting point for new plaster shelves, coated in a custom hue by Sydney Harbour. And knowing her client would want to stash board games and lesser-used cookbooks out of sight, she added striped fabric panels along the base. The designer’s go-to curtain maker customized the skirt, but Twiehaus suggests it’s easy to re-create with tension poles and some sewing tape.
Push Back on the Fireplace TV
Play Tub Tetris
In order to squeeze a contemporary black tub from Signature Hardware into the home’s only bathroom, Twiehaus stole some space from the guest bedroom closet. In a game of Tetris, she situated the 66-inch-long tub perpendicular to the double-sink vanity topped with blue-green quartzite. The designer continued the travertine theme from the living room in this space in the form of fluted shower tile and mosaic floor tile, both from Clé Tile.
Go Monochrome in the Bedroom
Drenching the primary bedroom in bespoke green plaster by Sydney Harbour was a nod to the owner’s style (it’s her favorite color) and the lush backyard. “You feel like you’re up in the trees in this house,” Twiehaus shares. By stealing square footage from a small balcony outside, she expanded the space and, most important, gained a spot to build a custom closet for her client’s equally cool wardrobe.
Originally published in Domino Magazine
Text by Lydia Geisel
Photography by Nick Glimenakis
