Mullholand Drive - Star Gazer

This was my first house feature I ever did and I think it's still my favourite. After all these years the home is still as seductive as when I went there. It really shows when designing not to follow trends but aim for over the top  grandeur and you will have a home that will forever wow your visitors. 

"LA is a sexy place. If you are going to live here, you want a sexy house" says Steven Silverstein, in his native Los Angeles accent. "Somewhere that puts you in the mood to have a drink - to have a party. You know what I am saying?" Steven, a semi-retired fashion photographer and his Texan wife Gina, gave themselves the unthinkable time frame of one week to find a Fifties Modern house to purchase when they moved back to the United States from Paris. 

Their agent, a former Rodeo Drive haridresser, found them a 1958 classic by architect Richard Dorman which was completely out of the, couples price range. But the pressing time frame and 'love at first sight' prompted them to seal the deal. Today it's a place that has recaptured a romantic age of cocktail parties and the silver screen.

The house was built as one of the first show homes in this exclusive area, high in the hills above Hollywood, just off Mullholland Drive. These dwellings gave many movie stars, film directors and LA socialites their first taste of life in a modern home. Its striking roof, which swoops down from seven metres at its apex to just 1.5 metres at other corners, is all that can be seen over the boundary wall, but on the other side, three walls of glass means the boundary between indoors and the green canyon below with its deer, raccoons and coyotes, vanishes. It's the nuances of different light here that Steven loves. 

The mostly original interior includes turquoise splashed on redwood, mosaic double-sided fireplace, natural wood built cabinetry and Fifties light fittings. "The reason why we fell in love with this house is because it was unchanged, it was pure. We were taken aback," says Gina. "Dorman visited us which has made us really respect the house. He said it was his favourite project".

"Although we were cautious not to change the original colour schemes, there was a little too much turquoise in this house for our taste," admits Gina. The couple decided to sand down the kitchen counter top and the wood panel walls in the den, just leaving a trace of the colour in the wall's grooves. The original mosaics in the bathroom were repaired and a new slate floor put down in the bedroom. Even the Fifties black lino tiles were retained and waxed to a sheen. "We are both preservationists at heart," she says. "I think people rush into doing up homes to quickly". 

Antique stores in LA and Dallas were scoured to find furniture by legendary Fifties designers, such as Eames, Knoll and Nelson. "Because the house has nostalgia, it felt only right to have furniture and accessories that had contemporary clean lines and bold colours to match the preiod," says Gina. 

Guests who don't want the couple's infamous Hollywood parties to end are drawn to the kitchen in the early hours of the morning. The kitchen, a cocoon in the middle of the house, is lined with rich timber. It is the only room that is sheltered from the windows overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

The Silverstein's honesty to the period could have made their interior predictable but the couple's fun choice of colour and mixture of old and new have made it unpretentious and full of character. They were given a head start by purchasing an original Saarinen Knoll table and a chandelier from the previous owner which had been in the house since it was built. They also inherited some Eames chairs which, after their tattered shark skin covers were stripped off, revealed their original coloured fibreglass.

Steven has always had a love affair with Fifties and Sixties glamour. "I grew up in LA. I grew up with cars with fins. I saw turquoise mixed with white and colourful interiors. This way of living is in me from my childhood," he says. At 223 square metres it is small but, he says, "Who needs a McMansion to be happy? I have always dreamt about living in a house like this".

All pictures by photographer Richard Powers

Brent Bolthouse - American Dream

I was channel flicking this afternoon and found myself watching MTV's show The Hills. Please don't tell anyone! The show instantly sent my mind back to when I went to the creator and actor of the shows AMAZING home. 

First meeting Brent Bolthouse I instantly had a huge crush. Good-looking, super successful and a lover of restoring old masters how could I not. 

In Hollywood, some say your cool credentials depends on whether you've received an invitation to a Brent Bolthouse production party. Dubbed the 'King of LA Nightlife', this party-planner has a golden Rolodex bulging with A-list contacts - Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lindsay Lohan to name just a few. 

Like many Hollywood hopefuls, the potential of this Los Angeles home had been overlooked - until discovered by Brent, a passionate buyer with an eye for true star quality. 

But with a glamorous 'day' job that essentially means working all night, this is one man who is in desperate need of time out in the best and most relaxing surroundings, which explains why he says his greatest indulgence is his home. 

Located in the East Hollywood Hills, with sweeping views of the city below and the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance, the home was designed by legendary American architect John Lautner. 'It's not a large home by LA standards, but Lautner's design means that it never feels claustrophobic', says Brent. 

I found it tough to get this house published and looking at the beautiful pictures by photographer Richard Powers again I do scratch my head and wonder why. This house is a star who deserves to be in the spotlight. 

You can check out more of this story and the history of the home in this months Australian Inside Out magazine.