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Modern Venice Canals Home Radiates Calm

When your customers are downsizing from a 9,000-square-foot home, the first thing you need to do is help them edit. “They had been moving out of a Tudor house in Pacific Palisades with full-time staff to a more modest house in the Venice Canals, so there was a definite lifestyle shift that happened with the movement,” says interior designer Katie Leede.

Leede credits the lessons she learned after decorating the customers’ first house in the Palisades as valuable in assisting them ease into a more downsized lifestyle. “When I worked with them in their previous house, I didn’t know how to say no, so the interior reflected their abrupt shifts in design preference,” she says. “With this home, I knew beforehand that we had to stay focused on a particular aesthetic; I feel the consistency shows because the house feels cohesive and unified.”

at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple in the music and fashion industries and their kid, who is in high school
Location: Venice Canals, Los Angeles
Size: 3,500 square feet

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Leede and her customers chose on a seawater palette of greens and blues, layered in from a base of neutrals.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

This broader perspective of the living area reveals the precious view of the Venice Canals, where docked boats, tranquil water and picture-perfect scenery add value to the enviable properties in this neighborhood.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

The home is only a couple of minutes away from the bustle and verve of Venice Beach and its boardwalk. Landscaped fencing includes a layer of privacy, but not so much that it disturbs canal views from the balcony.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

“The woman of the house is a fashionista; she is supercrafty and really has a way with color. I think you may still view her flavour flavor in the decor, but we’re careful not to go overboard. We just inserted pops of color throughout the house,” says Leede.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Magenta creates its way to a bedroom overlooking the terrace by means of a powdery pigment filling, adding a rich, saturated hue to a custom-designed Lucite table.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

The house office welcomes an eclectic mix of furnishings: The customers’ own artwork is displayed above a modern sideboard, and an antique chandelier hangs above Saarinen’s iconic Tulip Table.

“In their previous home, my customers had chinoiserie decor with a lot of mirrored items and angular, hard-edged stuff,” says Leede. “Now their decor looks and feels softer; it has had a calming effect throughout the entire house.”

Katie Leede & Company Studio

A lower-level sitting area elicits an organic sense: Leede paired a live-edge table with blue and green furnishings and layered in cloth wall treatments and cream draperies, bringing the serenity of the ocean and the forest to the space.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

A mixture of textures in the inside and the movement generated from the bamboo grove out make a calming tableau inside this dining room.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Christian Liaigre chairs clad in hereford cowhide and a speckled hide carpet underfoot warm concrete floors and white walls. A macabre two-part painting by Allison Shulnik origins back the space into a marine palette.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Slatted fencing adds a different layer of landscaped privacy in the outside seating and hot tub area. The slats and landscaping lightly conceal the house from a fantastic number of tourists and inquisitive strollers passing by a few of the most enviable homes in the Los Angeles region — made popular by Hollywood romantic comedies such as Valentine’s Day and Because I Said So.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

Katie Leede & Company Studio

The master bedroom indicates the customers’ penchant for global fabrics and Asian-inspired decor. Leede custom made the headboard and ottoman with Uzbekistani cloth, adding bohemian flair to your area. Figurines and totems from eastern Asia add visual interest to the custom shelving system.

Katie Leede & Company Studio

A bunk bed makes the kid’s bedroom ready for company. Leede blew a blossom picture from Getty Images and turned it into a huge digital wall covering with the support of 4walls.

“When your children grow a bit older, you’ve got a bit more time on your hands,” says Leede. “In this instance, my customers elegant their design style and pared their dependence on having a house filled with too much stuff”

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