Once you’ve lived at the beach, it’s hard to return to a landlocked lifestyle. So when Los Angeles natives Ryan and Donnie Dixon Haden traded their bungalow in bustling Santa Monica for a 1970s house in the secluded Hollywood Hills, they hoped to bring the relaxed, coastal vibe with them. “We wanted a more traditional home,” says Ryan. “We definitely saw the potential to turn this house into exactly what we wanted.” With the help of local contractor Mauricio Battiata, the couple began opening up the home and adding classic details such as wainscoting and crown moldings. The Hadens may have had a clear vision for updating the architectural design, but when it came to the interiors they were stuck. Fortunately, they were already acquainted with just the person to get things moving again: Orlando Soria, the West Coast creative director of the decor service Homepolish. Soria stepped in to help the couple tackle the remaining remodeling dilemmas, then quickly moved on to bringing their classic-meets-coastal dreams to life. The designer played up the home’s abundant natural light with a fresh palette and organic materials, such as linen upholstery, pale-wood pieces, and sisal rugs. For a darker dining room and library, Soria went with saturated shades, using navy-blue and hunter-green wall colors in the respective spaces.
Before & After: A 1970s Hollywood Hills Home Gets a Classic Renovation
