LIVING LARGE IN A SMALL HOME

Discover the joys of small-space living and entertaining in style and comfort.

Shari and Michael Shanfeld were empty nesters

who were ready to re-feather their nest for the next chapter in their lives. Their West Los Angeles, California, home was small at only 2,600 square feet, but their love for hosting dinner parties was large. The couple attended an open house and were so impressed by the styling that they asked for the name of the designer to take their home to the next level. The designer was Alison Kandler of Alison Kandler Interior Design.

Alison’s first impression of the Shanfelds’ home was that it looked old and tired. “They had lived there for 20 years and raised two boys,” she explains. “The floor plan was funky. It needed a complete face-lift. They wanted to move but still really liked the location. They were willing to add 300 square feet, so I made the best use of the space by rearranging rooms, widening the entry, rebuilding the stairs, opening rooms with French doors and planning out every corner.”

“Since the house is small, we stayed with a mostly soft-blue and green palette with little pops of orange and pink.”

The traditional-style home, built in 1946, had three bedrooms and four baths. The Shanfelds expressed some requests to Alison for the redesign. “They wanted to make the small house live large,” she says. “They entertain a lot and wanted a house that could hold a lot of people. They needed room for 14 guests at the dining-room table. Everyone in the family loves to cook, so they wanted a professional kitchen with all the bells and whistles. They wanted their house to feel grown up. We left room for the kids, but their rooms also serve as a guest room and art studio. Shari wanted us to reuse as much of her old furniture as possible, so I recovered, stripped and painted as needed.”

“The dining room has an ethereal feel with all of the blues, greens and floating crystals.”

Alison’s goals for the redesign were to make the home elegant and sophisticated yet comfortable. To achieve the homeowners’ requests and Alison’s vision required more than a cosmetic face-lift. “It required major renovation,” Alison says. “We took the house down to the studs. The house was really dark, so I placed skylights wherever possible. The dining room was too far from the kitchen, so I moved it to the old family room and turned the old dining room into a small den.”

Lighting played a major role in Alison’s design. “I opened up the front entry with sidelights on either side of the window and skylights above the stairs. I widened the entryway, so the house felt more open and inviting,” she says.

“Everyone in the family loves to cook, so they wanted a professional kitchen with all the bells and whistles.”

FRESH FACE. Designer Alison Kandler gave the house a complete face-lift, adding all new windows, white siding and navy-blue shutters. Sidelights were added to both sides of the front door, and a new door was added with windows at the top. “We also added the front porch, which is my client’s favorite place to sit and read a good book,” she says.

|ABOVE| SEATING PLAN. The client wanted to be able to comfortably seat as many people possible, so Alison designed two identical L-shaped sectional sofas upholstered in a pale-gray chenille with velvet and cozy chenille pillows. She reused and repurposed the homeowners’ existing furniture wherever possible. “I stripped the dark green paint off her old coffee table and gave it a fresh, natural look,” Alison says. “In the back corner, we repurposed the existing china cabinet and converted it into a tequila bar for Michael’s tequila collection.”

|RIGHT| BRIGHTER BREAKFAST. The breakfast room is more informal and open to the kitchen. “We stayed with the same blue/green palette and mixed in a touch of pink for fun,” Alison says.

|TOP RIGHT| PRICELESS ART. The focal point of the living room is a dragon wall hanging. “It is a very ornate needlepoint piece made by Shari’s mother,” Alison says. “It is spectacular in person, mostly petit point.” The table behind the sofa is used for displaying Shari’s homemade desserts during large dinner parties.

|RIGHT| RAISING THE BAR. Alison repurposed a china cabinet by turning it into a bar that houses the homeowner’s tequila collection.

|OPPOSITE| ROOM FOR CHANGE. “The dining room used to be a large family room, but my client wanted to be able to seat at least 14 people for dinner parties, so it was the perfect spot for the new dining room,” Alison says. “It also happens to be adjacent to the kitchen, so the flow works much better. An oversized crystal chandelier above the dining table adds a touch of elegance to the dining experience. “The room has an ethereal feel, with all of the blues, greens and floating crystals,” she says.

|ABOVE| SPICING UP THE KITCHEN. “In the kitchen, we were able to pop up part of the ceiling over the kitchen sink for a little drama,” Alison says. A skylight over the island helps to flood the room with natural light all day. The blue-and-green color palette is carried throughout the kitchen. The two seafoam doors at the back of the kitchen lead to the pantry and laundry room, with a coffee bar in between.