November 14, 2024

Madera Sells

Home & Real Estate

Inside Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s Nurturing Los Angeles Refuge

Inside Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s Nurturing Los Angeles Refuge

Cadiz, who grew up in Hollywood and labored for years as a set decorator earlier...

Cadiz, who grew up in Hollywood and labored for years as a set decorator earlier than transferring into residential design, clearly understood the task. “Viola and Julius have such vibrant personalities, however their home was very minimal—50 shades of grey,” the designer observes. “They requested for one thing not too fussy or pretentious, one thing comfy, a spot to chill out and recoup their vitality. However additionally they needed one thing particular, a feast for the eyes and the spirit. Discovering the right combination was the important thing,” she continues.

Cadiz and her workforce obliged their high-profile purchasers with soothing, refined inside ensembles the place understated backgrounds are punctuated with vivid artworks and ornamental accents, many within the type of graphic wallpapers: a metallic Matthew Williamson design with a dragonfly motif—symbolizing transformation and self-realization—on the ceiling of the first dressing room; a coral-toned palm frond paper in a visitor room; and, within the dwelling gymnasium, a dynamic hand-screened wall masking derived from Andy Warhol’s Polaroids of Muhammad Ali. “When you consider The Champ, you consider his braveness and resilience, his contributions to the US and the world,” Tennon says of the, um, punchy sample. Provides Davis, “Having him there, watching you, actually retains you on the treadmill.” (Primarily based on the physicality of her extraordinary efficiency in The Girl King, the motivation has clearly paid off.)

A customized sectional lined in a Schumacher cloth is joined by a Palecek cocktail desk and lounge chairs within the household room. {Photograph} (over hearth) by David Ballam.

Regardless of their bustling careers and hectic schedules, when dwelling Davis and Tennon take pleasure in spending time within the kitchen—centered on an expansive island beneath glass globe pendants—which isn’t any mere showpiece. “Proper now we’re making ready to have 50 folks for Thanksgiving, and Viola and I are doing all of the cooking. We’re not taking part in,” Tennon insists, earlier than providing some sage recommendation on making ready a succulent smoked turkey. If the kitchen is the social coronary heart of the house, the couple’s bed room, bathed in shades of pale yellow and ivory, is its placid soul. Along with using plush appointments and muted colours, Cadiz enlarged the tub within the bathtub to accommodate the couple’s penchant for bathing collectively after lengthy days on the set and within the highlight. “We discuss, we chuckle hysterically, we reconnect,” Davis says of the indispensable amenity. “Our definition of house is a sanctuary, and that is undoubtedly a sanctuary.”

The colour palette within the main suite kicks up a notch within the cozy sitting room off the bed room, the place pinks, golds, and hints of inexperienced animate the subdued backdrop. The furnishings embody a pair of midcentury lounge chairs garnered at a Hancock Park property sale. “It’s good to have furnishings that tells tales, issues with historical past,” Tennon avers, describing the classic items and public sale finds that pepper the home. Certainly, he’s one thing of an authority—except for his intensive appearing and producing credit, he spent almost a decade working in a Santa Monica furnishings showroom known as Prince of Wales, which specialised in English antiques and reproductions.