Canyon Ranch

In the leafy folds of Mandeville Canyon, a classic 1950s ranch house has been quietly reborn.

What was once a patchwork of dated renovations has been restored to its midcentury soul and then thoughtfully elevated for the way a growing family actually lives today. The brief was clear: create a home that could host lively gatherings yet still feel intimate and functional for everyday life. The result is a seamless dialogue between past and present.

LOCATION

Brentwood, CA

COMPLETED

2022

AREA

2,555 SQFT

An exterior entryway of a mid-century ranch house with white plaster walls and a ribbed wood entry door with long blackened brass handles and two sidelights. There are steps going up with groupings of pots and a potted plant.

The clients’ preference for white guided a restrained neutral palette throughout the main living spaces, allowing texture, material, and carefully placed color to do the talking. In more private rooms, richer hues emerge, giving each zone its own distinct atmosphere without disrupting the home’s overall calm.

An entryway of a mid-century ranch house with white plaster walls and a ribbed wood entry door with long blackened brass handles. There is a black console table with a table lamp and a vase of flowers with a organic shaped mirror hanging above.

In the Entry we designed custom ribbed oak door with blackened brass handles fabricated by Rahil Taj of Studio RAH. In the Living room a green velvet “Odell Sectional Sofa” from Soho Home anchors the space.

A living room in a mid-century modern home with vaulted wood ceilings and white walls. An olive-green sectional sofa in anchored by a cream rug with a black marble coffee table. A red abstract painting and console table are in the background.
A living room in a mid-century modern home with vaulted wood ceilings. An olive-green sectional sofa in anchored by a cream rug with a black marble coffee table. A black and white patterned lounge chair sits in front of a brick fireplace.

At the heart of the home sits the original brick fireplace, still the natural gathering point. Beside it, a custom wet bar turns evening cocktails into an effortless ritual. Its doors are finished in moody blue-stained oak and trimmed in oil-rubbed bronze; the interior of the upper cabinet is lined with smoked mirror, adding a quiet glamour that catches the light.

A cream brick fireplace in a mid-century modern home with vaulted wood ceilings. An olive-green sofa, black marble coffee table and black and white patterned lounge chair sit under a modern glass chandelier.
A wet bar with blue-grey stained wood, brass frame and stone countertop. Glass and brass shelves sit ontop, styled with alcohol bottles and books.

The kitchen presented the most complex spatial puzzle. A cramped early-2000s remodel with the dreaded peninsula countertop had long outlived its usefulness.

A modern kitchen with white marble island and walnut cabinetry. Two pendants hang about the island. Full height cabinets house a wine fridge and a coffee bar.

Full-height storage conceals a hidden coffee bar and appliance station, ensuring the counters remain clear and the architecture remains the focus.

A remodeled kitchen in a mid-century modern home. Walnut cabinets with stacked white finger tiles on the backsplash. A white shelf above holds glasses and art. There is a plastered hood above the range and a large marble island.

By reconfiguring the floor plan, we widened the kitchen, introduced a generous island, and carved out a new powder room from previously underused square footage. Custom walnut cabinetry with integrated hardware anchors the space; upper cabinets were deliberately omitted to keep the room feeling open and modern. “Trave Pendant Light” by Bert Frank & “Journey Sconce” by Signe Hytte for &Tradition.

A dining room and kitchen in a mid-century modern home. The dining room has a cream brick wall, black wood dining table and a linear pendant. The kitchen has been redesigned and is modern with white stone, white tile and walnut cabinetry.
A powder room with a stacked white cement tile wainscot and olive green plaster walls. There is a white concrete sink with a floating wood shelf underneath. An organic shaped mirror and a allied maker sconce is above the sink.

In the new powder room the walls, finished in moody green Roman clay set a dramatic tone, while an organically shaped mirror floats above cement tile, balancing softness with structure. “ADA Aperture Sconce” in cast glass by Allied Maker & Kast Concrete “Elm Mini Sink” in white.

A hallway in a mid century modern home, with white walls, wood oak floors and grey surface mount can lights. Large paintings of foliage cover the walls.

A hidden door in the living room wall leads to the home’s most unexpected space: a former den transformed into a speakeasy.

A moody den with grey wallpaper, dark grey ceiling and walnut and brass built-ins that house the television. There is a blue velvet sectional sofa with a wood coffee table styled with candlesticks, books and a horse statue.

Accessible only to those in the know, the room is layered in deep blues and classic Mad Men atmosphere. Built-in walnut-and-brass cabinetry lines one wall and houses yet another bar, creating an intimate retreat that feels worlds away from the sunlit main rooms.

In the primary suite, storage had long been scarce and the bathroom lagged behind the rest of the house. The entire layout was reworked, borrowing underutilized space from the public hallway.

A custom walnut closet in a mid century modern remodeled home. The built-in dresser has integrated wood pulls with sconces, a mirror and a vase of flowers above.

Custom walnut cabinetry now lines the interior corridor which sits opposite a generous walk-in closet. At the built-in dresser “Axis” sconces by Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort flank a blackened brass mirror.

A bright and modern primary bedroom with grey wallpaper, a white boucle channeled bed sits ontop of a chunky area rug. Floating oak nightstands and brass sonces flank the bed.
A bright, modern bathroom in a mid century modern home remodel. A walnut floating vanity with a marble countertop. The backsplash is horizontally stacked rectangular ceramic tiles. There is a custom wall-to-wall walnut medicine cabinet above.

Inside the primary bathroom, a bespoke wall-to-wall medicine cabinet provides ample storage, while a floating walnut vanity includes a lower counter dedicated to makeup. Terrazzo floors, creamy white ceramic tile, and white travertine surfaces keep the palette serene; Sean Lavin’s “Orbel Three-Light Bath Sconces” for Visual Comfort add a refined finishing note.

A mid century modern bathroom remodel. Terrazzo floors and white ceramic tile walls. A walnut floating vanity with a marble countertop. There is a custom wall-to-wall walnut medicine cabinet above.

What emerges is a house that honors its midcentury bones while serving a contemporary life. Neutral and luminous in its public rooms, richly atmospheric in its private ones, it is a home designed equally for long evenings of entertaining and the quiet rhythms of family.

A balcony with two wooden rocking chairs overlooking canyon views in a Mandeville canyon California home.

COLLABORATORS

General Contractor, Studio RAH

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