This Native Angeleno’s Historic Home Is Where Paris, Palm Springs, and Greenwich Meet

Plenty of people with an affinity for older things fill their homes with antique collections, but textile and interior designer Sean Leffers takes his love of aged pieces to a whole new level. In fact, even his Los Angeles home is a nearly century-old California artifact. Built in 1937 by architect Paul Williams (who famously designed the homes of such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz, among others), the four-bedroom bungalow now houses some of the rarest and most beautiful antiquities in existence.

As a lifelong Angeleno, Leffers knew this neighborhood well and felt certain it would be where he wanted to lay roots for his young sons and himself. “When I first bought this house, I would say it had a really East Coast-by-way-of-Palm-Springs feel,” he explains. “Like somewhere located between Connecticut and maybe midcentury Palm Springs.” The historic exterior certainly informed Leffers’ design process, as every room is chock-full of special treasures he’s either had for years or collected on trips, from various antique dealers with whom he’s become friends, and commissioned from artist friends.  “I love antique furniture that is maybe not always the super deep Restoration Hardware-level of comfort, but I think, you know, not everything has to be a lay-flat bed.”

Photography: Elizabeth Carababas // Styling: Austin Whittle

The Light-Filled Living Room

For the most part, living rooms are off-limits, as they’re traditionally the more formal sitting room on the main floor of a home, but in Leffers’ house, the living room is actually the main hangout spot. He designed it to be a place where people would naturally gravitate and explore their various seating options, all of which are arranged in a circle to invite conversation. At the center of the circle is an antique Mughal-style daybed-turned-coffee table from Rajasthan, India. The light fixture, he says, “is designed by Mario Fortuny, originally an amazing master, one of the most iconic lights of all time.”

Light-Filled Entry With Few Furnishings

Even designers change their plans mid-process, and Leffers is no exception. Originally, he budgeted for checkered concrete tiles in here and, after a year of budgeting, he decided against it. “I had always loved the floors in Bunny Mellon’s house, where she just painted them in a really simple way,” Leffers adds. That’s what he ended up doing in here. He kept the furnishings simple, opting for only one table, a Gustavian antique topped with a figure of a Buddha and various crab sculptures. “I love Buddhas, and I especially love Gandhara Buddhas. [Gandhara is an ancient kingdom where Pakistan and Afghanistan are now.] I’m a cancer, I love crabs, and these are little Japanese crabs that started being made after the end of a long period of war in Japan,” Leffers notes.

Classic Canopy in the Primary Bedroom

At first glance, the primary bedroom appears simple and quiet, but getting it to look that way was no easy feat. The entire second floor suffered from uncomfortably low ceilings, so Leffers reconfigured the entire roof to offer each room up here a ceiling height of at least 12 feet. He also swapped the sash windows for French doors to give it a more open-air European feel. The most obviously enticing feature, though, is the canopy bed, which Leffers has carted from home to home over the years. “I’m a big fan of canopy beds,” he admits. “This one I’ve had for a long while, and every time I move it, it falls apart a little bit more, so this might be its last installation.” The quilt, an American antique, is the only pop of color in the otherwise intentionally quiet yet bright room.

The Office-Inspired Primary Bathroom

Leffers’ bathroom is another second-floor space that got the royal treatment during the home’s renovation. “It was completely built out, including a big shower in the corner that had just a sort of little archway to get inside, and built-in vanities around the entire space. So we knocked all of that out, and put two of these Regency-style vanities from Scotland in that feel much more like fine furniture than a vanity,” Leffers explains. The tub, a nickel piece inspired by Princess Margaret’s, and the old Moroccan rug create his favorite vignette in the room, though.

A European Kitchen in California

One of Leffers’ biggest design nightmares in his house was the suburban-style kitchen complete with too much upper cabinetry and an oversized island, all of which gave it an outdated feel. His first order of business was doing away with the island and putting an antique farmhouse-style table he found in Ravello, Italy, in its place. Next, he removed the upper storage and installed Mind the Gap wallpaper.

Gone With the Screens, In With the Books

The previous owners used this cozy space as their TV room, but that wasn’t how Leffers planned on utilizing this space. “I am like way more pro-book than TV, so we turned this little room into a library.” Architect Tim Barber got rid of the enormous television and its accompanying accouterments and installed a built-in flanked by two tall and narrow windows. Luckily, Leffers’ age-old sofa by Peter Marino was the perfect size. “It was probably one of the first expensive pieces of furniture that I ever bought. And the leather is just so good,” he notes. “The longer I have it, the nicer it gets.”

A Dining Room That’s a Feast for the Eyes

The dining room houses one of the most luxurious finds in the whole home: the 1960s Carl Malmsteen table, which is surrounded by Regency-style chairs from the Philippines. “The table was one of those rare instances when I just could not find what I wanted for less than an exorbitant price,” Leffers explains through a laugh. What garners the most attention, though, is the Galloper Kim piece hanging on the wall behind the table. “She actually just won the MacArthur Fellowship (also known as the MacArthur Genius Grant), so she’s officially a genius,” Leffers adds.

The Not-so-Little Boys’ Room

Leffers’ sons sleep in this sophisticated space where patterns and colors marry well. Furnished with two antique four-poster beds that Leffers found in an antique shop in Mallorca, the room takes on an elegant Mughal look, courtesy of the arches on the far wall. As for the nightstands, the boys share a Gustavian desk between the beds.