A Renovated California Tudor Tailor-Made for Modern Life
Los Angeles design company Bungalowe turned a cramped 1920s Tudor home into a modern sanctuary perfect for a family. Take a tour to see the dramatic transformation.
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A New Vision
For their first design project, Bungalowe took on this home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood, 15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, and transformed its cramped square footage into a four-bedroom, four-bath, 2,996-square-foot sanctuary perfect for a modern family. Bungalowe owners and husband-and-wife team Karan and Sapna Aggarwal bought the Eagle Rock neighborhood home in 2018. The old house, perched on a 20,000-square-foot hillside lot, was in need of renovation to accommodate a family’s 21st century lifestyle. "The house was solid, but it was small," Sapna Aggarwal says. "The original square footage was 1,608 square feet, but that included an enclosed patio."
A Design-Minded Family
Before: Ready for Renewal
The mustard yellow, textured stucco house had a portico across the front that hid the homes's classic Tudor lines. In addition, the attic under the steep gables was unfinished. "There was a bunch of existing square footage, we just had to finish it. That gorgeous architectural space under the roof, those crazy angled spaces were always there, but never utilized."
Simplicity Is Everything
Narrow windows flank the gas fireplace in the living room. Black wall sconces complement the clean lines of the windows, hearth and mantel.
Form and Function
French doors in the small den lead to the back yard. "We call it the den, but it can be a playroom, a sitting area, a work area or just for hanging out," designer Sapna Aggarwal says. "We really focus on allowing form and function to come together."
Step Up
Original narrow-plank hardwood floors throughout the house were replaced with new wide-plank flooring. "I wanted a nice, warm floor that was inviting and gorgeous but doesn't draw your attention. It feels like it belongs," Sapna Aggarwal says.
Go With the Flow
Fit for a Family
The designers’ plan called for removing interior walls and reconfiguring space to open up "super-tiny" rooms into spaces that are open and inviting. "We were really able to work with our team of architects and engineers and make it a super-open, functional space that would fit a really good-size family," Sapna Aggarwal says.
The Long View
A large island provides a comfortable work space in the kitchen. The open plan from the living and dining area through the kitchen and den means plenty of light and space, and allows clean sight lines to the backyard.
Kitchen Revision
The old kitchen had dark plank and beam ceilings and cabinetry and tilework that made the space feel heavy. "It had a very early '90s vibe," Sapna Aggarwal says. "That was a night and day difference from what we wanted for our house today," she says of the clean, bright new kitchen space.
Custom Kitchen
Millwork and cabinetry in the kitchen are handcrafted and custom-made for the space. The large island is whitewashed oak; the ebony-stained built-in designer pantry showcase is handcrafted and custom made.
All in the Details
A Bit of Cozy
Space and Light
Indoors Meets Outdoors
At-Home Getaway
Space Master
Luxury Defined
Step Outside
Classic and New
Open and Welcoming
Storage and Showcase
The ebony handcrafted built-in kitchen pantry provides closed cabinet space and a glass-front cabinet and open display shelves: “Plenty of storage to keep everything that you need tidy and organized,” Aggarwal says.
Under the Eaves
The steeply pitched roof of the house means a 13-foot vaulted ceiling upstairs, which was originally unfinished attic space. Furnishings in the front upstairs bedroom mirror the crisp lines of the casement window.
All the Angles
Tucked In
Soft Touch
Private Luxury
Warming It Up
Above It All
The rooftop deck off the upstairs master bedroom is a perfect setting to enjoy designer Jonathan Froines’s hillside landscape. “It was really important for us to feature the 20,000-square-foot lot, and it was as important for us to create the outside areas to speak to the inside areas as well — a cohesive indoor/outdoor situation,” Sapna Aggarwal says. “Our goal is on form and function, to bring them together to create spaces that are not only beautiful, but highly useful.”
In the Wash
Out of Hiding
Looking Back
Patchwork additions -- an enclosed patio and another room at the back of the house --were removed and re-imagined. “We pushed it out and it’s more cohesive now,” Aggarwal says. Double doors allow access to the backyard from the den.
