Cordero Studios/www.corderostudios.com
Feature: Home Theatrics
January 1, 2007
David and Elaine Maltzman’s 1920s
Italian-style villa in Beverly Hills remained untouched for eight years while
they were busy raising their family. But when they bid on and won a high-tech
home theater at a charity event, they decided to transform the house into a
California wine country retreat meets Tuscan villa with the guidance of designer Timothy Corrigan, who is based in both Los Angeles and Paris. The new design,
which combines timeless European elegance and California style, began with a
family room that morphed into a screening room.
Top: The living room. Bottom: The 1920s house is defined by elegant arches. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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“Our house had good bones and better potential,” says David Maltzman, a Los
Angeles native and real estate developer. “It was like a sleeping jewel that had
been overdecorated and reduced to a collection of different eras without
character. We always wanted to renovate the house, but it was the theater
purchase that triggered the evolution.” With three teenagers, creating a place
of style, comfort and function in 7,000 square feet was essential for the
couple. “The theater was meant to be inclusive, not exclusive like a separate
media room,” Elaine Maltzman points out. “We wanted the magic of an
en-tertaining home that we all could enjoy. The media/family room is at the
center of the house, with a drop-down screen and remote-control light and sound.
But you can’t see it unless you want to.”
Top: Above the bar is a painting by David Maltzman’s
brother Daniel. Bottom: The dining room serves as a formal space for the Maltzmans
and their three children. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Before the technology for the media room was installed, the couple began to imagine how the house might look. Drawing on their passion for Italy,
they decided to embrace the Tuscan style. “We really wanted to stick to the
Mediterranean roots and keep one style, one period,” says David. “We interviewed
a few notable architects and designers and no one was getting it. When we met
Tim, he immediately put together a puzzle and a layout.” Corrigan not only
understood their wishes, but also shepherded them into the intoxicating world of
collecting antiques. “One bit of advice,” David says with a smile, “is to get
the right person to work with you. It can save your marriage.”
Top: The powder room reflects the
owners’ desire for a European
feel in the home, with a floral wallcovering and
gold
detailing. Bottom: The master bedroom, with its canopy bed
and floral
drapery, leads to a private terrace. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Corrigan’s first objective was to create a space
that in-tegrated the interior and the exterior. "We’re very conscious about the backyard all year and wanted it integrated into the home," Elaine says. Corrigan
shifted the front door so that when you walk in, the corridor draws your eye out to the back garden. He kept the footprint of the house, but made
key changes such as elevating the back and creating a loggia, as well as
extending a field of grass and olive trees and putting in a long, simple pool,
all of which sculpted and structured the yard. Moldings and coves, arches and
the careful choice of colors complete the old-world ambience.
The Maltzmans also wanted a more indoor/outdoor feel to the
house, where art, antiques, media, kids, cooking and wine could interact
harmoniously. "I love to cook, and David collects wine," Elaine says. "We
wanted a house where friends could gather and we could make pizza together in
the kitchen, then go out in the yard and bake it, like a progressive experience
flowing from each part of the house. The community aspect needed to be
articulated in the actual design."
The furnishings are a mixture of Parisian, Austrian and Italian
finds—largely from the 18th century—that Corrigan discovered on his European
treasure hunts, and David Maltzman’s family heirlooms and art, which punctuate and personalize the spaces. "The table
on the loggia is from David’s grandfather’s old Palm Springs estate," Elaine
says. "We had it coated with a matte marine varnish so it could safely sit
outside. If we’re hosting a more formal gathering, we will eat in the dining
room. We purchased the large 18th-century mahogany dining table through a
European auction house."
Contemporary paintings, such as the one behind the 18th-century
Parisian mahogany bar in the family room by David Maltzman’s brother Daniel, and
black-and-white photographs by Jim McHugh, temper the formality. Corrigan
designed the back bar cabinetry to match the antique bar, using the same wood in
the family room’s bookshelves.
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