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Just months after the tragic Palisades Fire in early 2025, Leanne Ford and her husband, Erik Ford (co-founder of Buck Mason), made a move to Venice Beach. Having lost their historic Rustic Canyon bungalow in the blaze, the pair saw it as a meaningful reset. “This wasn’t a project that began from creativity, like most of my work,” Leanne shared. “In fact, the house was done and beautiful. It came from necessity. We needed a place that could hold us, ground us, and help us slowly bring Los Angeles back into our lives.”
Now, they’ve tied a bow around the project and put it on the market for new owners. The five-bedroom home is currently listed at $4.45 million, but the house shows off plenty of Leanne’s genius design ideas you can borrow (for free). Here are some of our favorites:
Little Customizations Go a Long Way
Leanne used a custom hue (aptly-named Sunset) from Portola Paints on the existing drywall, and then tapped Maneuverworks to add updated kitchen shelving and cabinet fronts. “In the living space, we designed a massive, wall-to-wall sofa based on the Ever sofa I created with Crate & Barrel, which helped soften the cleaner lines and cooler feel of the newer architecture.”
You Can Have Too Many Cabinets
An out-of-the-box idea, but one that made complete sense for the house: “We took out the upper cabinets and installed long windows in their place, since we already had plenty of storage,” Leanne says. The designer rounded everything out by installing concrete countertops and replacing the fronts below and adjacent open shelving in matching hemlock wood.
A Dining Table Makes a Great Kitchen Island
In Leanne’s eyes, kitchen islands can feel primarily task-driven whereas a table invites people to linger and talk. So she turned to Strong Coast Construction to remove a more traditional island and rearrange millwork in order to wedge an oversized dinner table in there. The swap, she says, completely changes how people use the room. “It feels more like a family space and less like a workstation, which was exactly what we wanted for this house,” she says.
Warm Finishes Create an Inviting Atmosphere
In an effort to avoid anything feeling too new, Leanne chose materials with a distinctive warmth to them. “I’m always thinking about how things feel just as much as how they look,” the designer says. “I want walls you want to touch, floors that feel grounding, and furniture that invites you to sit and stay awhile.”
An Empty Corner Can Be Used as a Studio
Even if you don’t have the space to fully dedicate to a creative practice, try carving out a pocket within your home for getting a little wild. “I think the best part of this space is the studio,” Leanne shares. “A place to feel free to create as you feel drawn to.”