Lago Vista, 48 residential units perched upon a hillside above Echo Park Lake, was built in 1972. This particular unit, which I purchased in 2011, was home to Morris himself for many years, but had gone through some changes since his departure. As a partner in the design firm Studio Sucio, former project architect at RCH Studios, and former Director of Design for Kelly Wearstler, it was just what I was looking for when I found it in 2011—a great little modernist nest to feather.
Nestled beautifully into a lush landscape, the long horizontal international style buildings, were conceived as low cost housing with high ambitions by architect Allyn Morris. With expansive views, ribbon windows, abundant natural light, and generous terraces, Morris designed under a Corbusier- meets-California ethos. With a light touch on the interior finishes, my personal cache of 70s and 80s vintage furnishings, and pieces collected from the many hotel projects throughout my career, I made it my own.
The Remodel
The original 1972 finishes were already gone and replaced with some challenging materials before I arrived: orange granite counters, faux-wood thermofoil cabinets, pergo and white carpet floors. With an eye to reducing waste and controlling costs, some elements would stay and some would go. The orange granite stayed --if I could make that look cool, it would be a victory. I purchased bleached oak flooring from a hotel project I had underway. I adopted a door from the trash pile at the Avalon Hotel remodel. The second level bedroom floors got new wool carpet from a favorite vendor’s remnant stock. The popcorn asbestos ceilings were removed (properly) and the orange peel walls were plastered over by my handy husband. The kitchen cabinets remained and were painted, but the exposed refrigerator was replaced with a compact Liebherr with new casework built (again, by my husband) to conceal it. The orange granite counters and backsplash remained. The bathroom got a new Philippe Stark Duravit toilet, the faucet got switched out for a black Delta unit, but the orange granite again remained—made fresh by the black and white walls, glossy black painted vanity, and mauve painted floors. The simple globe vanity light stayed; though not original, Allyn Morris was big on these. The bedrooms got new closet doors and oak dowel handles inherited from yet another hotel project.
The Styling
I looked at my collection of furniture; prototype pieces from various hotel projects, vintage finds, art of both high and low pedigree, and found they were all friends, and my new condominiums was the perfect place for them. A set of 3 Ettore Sottsass Mandarin chairs for $250 and a big credenza with glossy black bullnose were found on Ebay. A prototype mirror that was for a hotel sits in the bedroom vestibule. An impactful piece of art from my friend Kelly Wood went over the Living Room Credenza, and some kitsch 70s girl art went here and there. A Moroccan Camel bench and a nearly Gio Ponti Peacock rattan chair found for a hotel project flank the fireplace. A solid bronze and smoked glass coffee table designed for a Wilshire residence sits on the patio. A pair of parchment table lamps designed for yet another hotel, and gifted to me by the vendor, sit on my Goodwill faux-parchment nightstands.
Lago Vista Residence, by Leslie Barrett of Studio Sucio
