LA Modern

All photos by Richard Powers

I was watching Four Christmas's the other night and I couldn't help but notice one of the location homes used at the beginning of the movie I had visited myself a couple of years ago. When I was there with photographer Richard Powers it was a perfect sunny LA day and the owner Steve Shaw was as gorgeous as his home.

Born in Manchester, ex-boyfriend to Dannii Minogue, photographer Steve started his career in Miami as a cruise-ship photographer. In 1998 he swapped Hawaiian-shirt-toting holidaymakers for celebrities in Los Angeles: think sexy yet timeless images of A-list glitterati - from Hilary Swank to Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba and Kylie Minogue - for glossy magazines such as Vogue, Esquire and British ELLE. His eye for high-impact style came in handy when creating his Venice Beach pad. Inspired by his childhood obsession with James Bond's boys' toys and his love of American architect John Lautner's seminal buildings, Steve designed and built this home combining industrial sleek with sensual Seventies textures. The result is LA-style modern luxe, with a voluptuous vintage. Does it deliver as a bachelor pad? "I have my Aston Martin parked in the garage and I photograph beautiful actresses in the studio, so yes! The other night when a Hollywood producer friend held a screening here, I used one remote to turn down the lights, shut the blinds and open the curtains hiding the screen. This house has fufilled my boyhood fantasies!" says Steve.

If you have any questions about furniture or textures please ask in the comments