We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.
What do you do with a crumbling garage attached to one of West Hollywood’s most charming 1930s Spanish Colonial homes? If you’re interior designer Emily Brownell of Los Angeles studio Gilded Hearth, you transform it into a pool house that never quite wants to call it a night.
The garage sat behind a home with an extra claim to fame: It was originally the personal home of the architect who designed many of its neighbors. But while the main house retained many of its original details, the garage was hardly the feature anyone would mention when recounting the property’s history.
At least, not until the owners came along. Already drawn to the interiors, they wanted an outdoor counterpart that felt just as transportive. Their reference point was a boutique European hotel—but without the obvious references. “You wouldn’t walk in and say, ‘Oh, this is so Italian Riviera’ or ‘so Nice,’” Brownell explains. Instead, they were chasing a feeling: somewhere you could show up in a swimsuit, stay for cocktails, and end the evening around the firepit.
There was just one catch: the garage was in rough shape. “It had such a lean on it that it was becoming a structural hazard,” recalls Brownell. By the time the team got to work, there was only a single wall worth salvaging. Still, rather than treat the site as a blank slate, Brownell rebuilt within the original footprint, preserving the outbuilding’s connection to the historic property while giving it an entirely new lease on life.
When You Can’t Expand Out, Expand Up
The original garage may have been small, but Brownell found a way to make it feel anything but. Taking advantage of the original roof pitch, she raised the ceiling height to 10 feet and added a dramatic coved edge. The move wasn’t purely architectural. Brownell had her eye on a sculptural Italian midcentury light fixture and a custom arched bar, both of which needed room to breathe. Somehow, the same footprint now feels twice as generous.
Give Guests a Reason to Gather
A photo of a marble-clad bar in a London restaurant stopped Brownell mid-scroll. She sent it to the homeowners, and they were just as taken with it. The slab became the jumping-off point for the custom walnut-and-marble bar, complete with fluted shelving, banded detailing, and an antique mirrored backdrop that softly glows after dark. Brownell describes it as the project’s “hotel lobby moment”—the first thing guests see when they walk inside and the visual anchor around which everything else revolves. It’s equally suited to casual poolside cocktails and larger dinner parties where a bartender needs space to work.
Let the Original Architecture Lead the Conversation
Rather than recreate period architecture, Brownell looked for ways to echo it. The warm wall color picks up on the home’s original terracotta roof tiles and tiled stair details, while curves appear throughout the project—in the coved ceiling, furniture silhouettes, millwork profiles, and the arched bar itself. The goal wasn’t to freeze the house in time. It was to create something that felt connected to its history while still reflecting how the homeowners live today.
A Mix of Eras Feels More Collected Than Correct
If she has one favorite pastime, it’s sourcing vintage lighting. Rather than leaning fully Art Deco or Midcentury Modern, Brownell focused on pieces from the late 1940s and early 1950s—a transitional period when decorative forms were becoming cleaner and more restrained. The living room medallion and vintage Stilnovo chandelier, sourced from Italy, perfectly capture that balance, bringing just enough flair to complement the home’s historic character while aligning with the homeowners’ contemporary tastes.
The Powder Room Is the Perfect Place to Take Risks
The powder room punches well above its square footage. Because it’s reserved mostly for guests, Brownell figured this was where all bets could be off. A custom vanity brings sculptural curves into the space, while a dramatic onyx backsplash follows suit. Vintage Italian lighting adds one final flourish. It’s proof that some of the most memorable moments in a home happen behind a bathroom door.
Create Destinations, Not Just Seating Areas
Warm wood floors inside give way to limestone paving outside, instantly shifting the mood and creating a series of distinct entertaining zones: a custom firepit for cooler evenings, a generously scaled dining area for dinner parties, and a bespoke daybed made for long afternoons by the water. The whole space is designed around one idea: that it’s never quite time to head back inside.
