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

My New Banner

What do you guys think of the new banner? Honestly! The photo is by my mate Richard Powers. This was one of our first international houses we worked on together about six years ago. It's still one of my favourite shoots that brought me a lot of good luck.  You can view more of the house here

Living Down In Chinatown

Enter the Dragon. Moving into a former restaurant in the heart of LA's Chinatown inspired one family to embrace the colourful style of this vibrant area. I had to send photographer Richard Powers to snap this home for me. I think this week for me it's all about colour! I hope you don't mind?

Los Angeles' Chinatown is in the middle of a renaissance - new housing and transport links have created a thriving district filled with great bars and art gallaries, as well as a multicultural 24 hour street scene. Still it's not everyone who would want to move in a former Chinese restaruant and transform it into a home that embraces the original vibe - and even fewer who could manage to do it in a contemporary way! 

 

Having started out as a popular cabaret spot, in the Eighties this place became Madame Wong's - a punk club that played host to bands like Blondie. But it was languishing as a furniture warehouse when American property developer Dan Bernier and his architect wife Amy Finn Bernier fell for it and turned it into a fun family home fro their sons Lewis and Moe. I love its playful mix of retro-meets-industrial furniture, a fusion of East and West that never gets too kitsch.

"I love colour and have never been afraid of it. With the high ceilings we decided to break the colours up into horizontal bands so that no single shade would overpower the effect" shares Amy

"We love to have our stuff on show for easy access, but to stop it looking cluttered we have chosen pieces that match the colour palette"

All pictures by Richard Powers

"When it comes to getting the details right, it's about sticking to the colour palatte and having a sense of humour," says Amy.