Just like stumbling upon a rare antique and restoring it to its original beauty, finding the ultimate home—often in the least expected place—requires both imagination, conviction and elbow grease.
This was exactly the mindset of interior designer Brooke Abcarian, founder of Carian Design, and her husband, Scott, who were ready to settle down after five years of renting in West Hollywood. They entrusted Realtor Jackie Fiske, a Palos Verdes native, to help find a single-family home for their growing family. After exploring different neighborhoods and touring several houses, all while Brooke was pregnant with their first child, they came across a 1920s Spanish-style bungalow in Redondo Beach brimming with potential.
“I was ready to give up,” she recalls. “I was thinking: I’ll have the baby, and we’ll deal with this later. But Jackie and I went on one more weekend trip. This was the second house we saw, and the minute I saw it, I just knew.”
On the drive back to their rental, she stopped at Redondo Shores Shopping Center and called a friend who lived nearby.
“Even the shopping center was so cute,” remembers Brooke. “I told my friend: ‘I think we’re going to raise our kids here.’ I loved the area so much. In West Hollywood, I had to validate my parking just to go to Target. Everything here felt a little slower.”
Although Brooke and Scott—both Florida natives who attended Florida State University—fell in love with the quaint, 1,200-square-foot dwelling just a 10-minute walk to the beach, it needed extensive work, including a new roof, electrical, plumbing and landscaping.
“Maybe because I’m a designer, I like a project,” explains Brooke of the three-bedroom, one-bath house. “It was a wild time with so much going on, and Scott had to take the reins on the renovation.”
When it came to designing the interiors, Brooke infused a relaxed, collected, California-inspired aesthetic by mixing modern finds with meaningful artwork and pieces from Facebook Marketplace, Chairish, 1stDibs.com and Vintage on Point.
“I always knew I wanted this project for my portfolio, and what better opportunity to use your own house to show your capabilities?” adds Brooke. “When something is for me, I feel way less pressure for it to be perfect. The only parameter I’m trying to meet is: Does this bring me enough joy to bring it into my home?”
Brooke’s design stamp shines on nearly every space, with layers of cherished items and nostalgic objects. A gold elephant knocker on the front door, a gift from Scott, conjures memories of their honeymoon in Cambodia. In the living room, century-old oak floors and a brick fireplace painted in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White provide a backdrop for an Emmy sofa from Design Within Reach and a vintage 1950s walnut credenza topped with an African statue inherited from Brooke’s paternal grandmother.
The gallery wall displays a photograph by Bankpyt—a Thailand–based photographer Brooke discovered on Instagram—and a black-and-white floral piece made from paper fragments by Alessandra Williams. A mirror from Brooke’s maternal grandmother, a former art teacher, hangs above the fireplace. Brooke’s own abstract gradient painting brings a modern touch in the corner.
“I wanted something to offset the vintage charm, so I painted it myself,” notes Brooke. “I think a lot of my decisions are instinctive—putting things together and seeing what works. I have this old mirror from my grandmother, and I knew this was the only place it fit. But it goes well with some of the newer elements and things I grew up with, like the copper horse statue on the mantel.”
In the adjoining dining room, a vintage brass Sciolari chandelier—once a fixture in Brooke’s childhood home—illuminates the space outfitted with signed lithographs by Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso. A dining table from Nutmeg Table Company has become the gathering place for dinner parties and Mommy and Me group meetups.
The primary bedroom features a white oak bed from Akron Street flanked by brutalist-inspired nightstands from Mid Century NoHo.
“I wanted this to be calm since the rest of the house is so crazy with the kids,” adds Brooke. “I made the acrylic painting with clouds with help from my daughter. She was crawling and rolling around on it in her diaper. There’s still grass stuck on it from her, so it’s sentimental.”
The kids’ room, now shared by their 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, is slathered in a deep Avon Green by Benjamin Moore (a wink to her daughter’s middle name, Green) and outfitted with an Ikea crib and a pastel painting by Brooke’s mother depicting her childhood neighborhood in Puerto Rico.
“My mom did this when she was 6 years old, and it’s my favorite piece of art,” explains Brooke. “She claims the art gene skips a generation, but her painting proves otherwise.”
Brooke’s office, awash in a calming clay hue, is decked with a vintage Pollock chair by Knoll purchased on OfferUp and artwork by Kristjana Williams and Scott Reinhard. They also remodeled the kitchen, replete with an original 1957 O’Keefe & Merritt stove and Heath tile, and overhauled the bathroom with a new vanity and fixtures.
Beyond the family treasures and keepsakes woven throughout the home, Brooke appreciates the outdoor elements, like a wind chime left by the previous owners and a lemon tree that yields delicious fruit for lemonade.
“I love that it feels very personal to us and that a lot of the art or items have a story,” shares Brooke. “It’s warm, inviting and kind of nestled. It’s not overdone. Every decision we made, I would make the same one again.”
Minding the Mantel
Create Balance
“Try not to use too many small objects to avoid a cluttered look. You want to create visual balance without being perfectly symmetrical. It’s easier to mix things with different shapes, such as a frame with a straight edge and an artifact with an organic shape.”
Look Outside
“Vary the heights and shapes and try different groupings. Flowers or branches are always a plus. You don’t even have to go out of your way. I’ve cut some branches from our yard many times and placed three or four arranged in a vase—it looks lovely. Try things out, stand back, live with it a bit and then reassess. There’s no right or wrong.”
Get Introspective
“It’s nice to have something old, with patina. I always love things that have a story, and since your mantel will be a focal point, it’s a good place to incorporate something that brings back a good memory.”
