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A 1950s ranch in LA becomes a modern and light-filled oasis
“We’re really drawn to the mythology of Mount Washington,” Cassandra Richardson says. This was paramount when her husband and her made the decision of purchasing this 1950s ranch-style home in the historic Los Angeles neighborhood. During the early 20th century, the hilltop enclave became a cabin-filled weekend destination for Old Hollywood. Before automobiles became mainstream, a funicular connected downtown LA to the neighborhood’s crest.
“We never thought we could afford to live up there,” Cassandra explains. “But we found this fixer-upper and pushed to the end of our budget to make it happen in 2016.” Upon moving in, the kitchen was not even functional; there was no refrigerator. What little budget the growing family had left was funneled into making the space liveable and visually appealing. IKEA cabinetswere a DIY solution, and an inexpensive tile was pushed all the way to the ceiling to create an elevated look. Splurges went toward the Schoolhouse hardware and a quartz waterfall island. “We wanted to make choices that maximized our budget in ways that’d have the biggest impact,” Cassandra explains.
BEFORE: Though the wood flooring was in good condition, new windows, doors, and a fireplace paint job were on the couple’s wish list of what it would take to create their dream living room.
Little by little, over the past seven years, the couple chipped away at other renovations, reflective of their family’s evolving needs. The guest bathroom was completed, with a hyper-California theme in mind (hello, Beverly Hills Hotel wallpaper). New windows and a glass front door were installed to bring light into the entry rooms, the ceiling of the primary suite was raised, and the bath was gutted. Elsewhere, the garage was converted into a spacious home office. Not only was the slow and steady approach a budget-minded philosophy, but it was also a design one. “If you move in and automatically start gutting everything, you don’t really know what the actual energetic flow of the house is,” Cassandra says. “You have to live in a space to understand what the needs are.”
Most recently, the couple completed a total exterior update, creating a Joshua Tree–inspired outdoor oasis. Though Cassandra, a film and television development creative, managed the interior design on her own, she brought on landscape designer Sarita Jaccard to ideate and oversee the project. The concept was made for a post-2020 world that focused on outdoor gatherings, and Cassandra wanted to strike a balance between a luxurious entertaining space and a serene private retreat. Sarita came up with a mix of communal dining areas, cozy fireplace arrangements, and the show-stopping centerpiece: a cedar hot tub with unparalleled and resort-worthy views. “It really does feel like we’re on vacation back here with the hot tub bubbling and the fireplace going,” Cassandra says. Amidst an increasingly busy lifestyle with two young children, “I just wanted a space to find peace in,” she says.
AFTER: In order to create a fully closed off and retreat-like primary suite for these busy parents, the door was moved six feet further out to create an extra private hallway. Additionally, they vaulted the ceilings and added skylights for a roomier and more light-filled feel. “It’s fascinating how transformative those seemingly small changes were,” Cassandra says.
However, Cassandra warns future hillside homeowners of the potential perils of mountaintop construction. With Mount Washington’s notoriously winding and narrow streets, “Remodeling is not for the faint of heart,” she jokes. She recounts the day the kitchen’s range hood got delivered, and the driver couldn’t make it up the hill, prompting her to load the large appliance into her small hatchback. Another time, she remembers the hot tub delivery truck getting stuck. “My husband, the driver, and I pushed this 1,000-pound palette of cedar panels up the very steep drive,” she says and then laughs.
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