Museums are great cultural institutions that can provide perspective, education, or inspiration – but you wouldn’t want to live in one place.
Scaling began during the pandemic, but huge homes, spanning tens of thousands of square feet, risk feeling more institutional than home if they are not well designed. To make such a home livable, owners need to focus on a consistent design style, layers of warm materials, and other tricks to unite all those square footage. In addition, thoughtful design has more lifestyle value when it comes to future resale.
“The warm and thoughtful interior will certainly pay off on future sales of mega homes in Los Angeles’ most popular neighborhood,” said David Barnes, director of luxury real estate brokerage The Agency. “We definitely noticed a shift from the white boxes of the new development to the modern, warmer vehicles.”
First on the list of bugs, Beverly Hills-based Gavin Brodin of Brodin Design Build said, “Don’t make unused rooms. Giant rooms that were never used are, to me, the worst.”
Brodin Design Build projects range from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet, though they’ve worked on larger homes, including the 56,000-square-foot Spelling Manor in Los Angeles’ Holmby Hills neighborhood.
Creativity and originality must be balanced with consistency in large works.
“When you get to these big homes – 40,000 to 50,000 square feet – you can’t design with crazy detail. These places are so huge, you have to have consistency in color and theme throughout the house. You can’t jump from one bold room to one,” Mr. Prudden said. Others with a completely different vibe.” The larger the house, the more significant the design flow becomes.
Design using raw natural materials and drawing inspiration from nature can also resist the sterile institutional feel of large spaces, said Felipe Escudero of Felipe Escudero Studio in Ecuador.
“Geometry is certainly a powerful tool for celebrating the complex shapes found in nature,” said Mr. Escudero. “What if instead of separating the user from nature, the building could have the effect of awakening an appreciation for nature?”
Start planning the space
Before delving into the details of the finishes, lighting design, and furniture, the first step to starting a massive design project is to plan the space. Rooms don’t have to be too big. For example, a giant formal living room is unlikely to feel comfortable without proper space planning, even when it is crowded with guests.
The dining area at Park Bel Air, a project by Brodin Design Build. “Every space has to have an intention, so every space has to be designed individually,” Gavin Broden said.
Prudden Design Build
Lifestyle questions must be answered from the start. How big is the owner’s library, car fleet, or other collections? “The most important thing is that you have to create flow,” Mr. Prudden said. “You have to make the house a home, not a museum. Every space must have an intention, so each space must be designed individually.”
If homeowners hire employees, do the employees live on-site? How will they enter the house? How will they load the supplies into the house? Will the employees use a second kitchen? Will they walk around the house and use the main staircase?
“Determining home flow is critical,” Mr. Prudden said.
No two rooms are identical
When a home exceeds 25,000 square feet, it’s normal to have additional rooms. However, resist the cookie-cutter approach and repeat rooms.
No two rooms should serve the same function or serve any specific purpose.
Prudden Design Build
“Usually, we would have an entertainment floor, so you would have about 15,000 square feet in the basement for movie theaters, a bowling alley, a nightclub or bar area, a gymnasium and everything related to entertainment and sports,” Mr. Prudden said.
Mr. Escudero said that a variety of experiences within a large home can make him feel comfortable and alone.
Spelling Manor provides an excellent case study. “The entry floor was about 3,500 square feet – it was just huge,” Mr. Prudden said. The house had several bedroom suites with guest areas, bathrooms, and double wardrobes.
The base suite alone spans over 9,500 square feet. Mr. Brodin designed the entrance vestibule, a small kitchen, a living room, a sleeping area, a work desk, a large bathroom and two large closets. Even inside the closets, different areas were divided for packing, underwear, shoes and clothing.
Mr. Prudden said that some of the rooms were exceptionally large and could not be changed due to structural reasons. “For example, the formal living room was divided into two sides, so you had to use one side or the other, unfortunately,” he said.
The house had an additional living room, so Mr. Prudden converted it into an indoor and outdoor loggia. “We didn’t want to duplicate the living room, so we removed the side doors to make it part of the pool area.”
There are only a few exceptions to the clone rule, such as building additional dens and washrooms.
Spelling Manor is large enough that Mr Brodin said it would make sense to create an upstairs TV room, separate from the cinema room on the entertainment level. He said the homeowners used the upstairs room more than the cinema downstairs for relaxation.
In all of our homes there is a laundry room on the second floor. “The laundry room should be on the floor where your sheets, your bedrooms, and your clothes already are,” said Mr. Prudden. At Spelling Manor, design a smaller basement laundry room for pool towels and other odds and ends.
Working with, not against, unusual architectural details
New construction projects may have more flexible standards. But remodeling large homes can lead to complications. From a structural perspective, it may be impossible to move the walls or change the design significantly.
“We have to be creative to hide the unusual details in the design, and keep it purposeful and not afterthoughts,” Mr. Prudden said.
Prudden Design Build
High ceilings can sometimes be a good thing and make a home feel cool. Mr. Prudden said he had many clients who initially loved high ceilings but found it difficult to decorate them in any comfortable way.
“You have to have really large pieces of art, it’s unbelievable. You can’t put regular or small pieces of art on the wall,” Mr. Broden said. “Adding wood panels to the walls and ceiling or dropping the ceiling can help warm the place.” We dropped several ceilings to get the effect of a floating ceiling with a halo of light around it.”
Also, never underestimate the power of good lighting design to warm a space, no matter the size. Instead of placing lights symmetrically or shining towards the ceiling, work with a lighting designer for a personal and intentional feel. “We love working with lighting designers. They do such a great job especially in making large homes look cozy,” said Mr. Prudden.
Evoke curiosity with textures and layers
Adding layers can create visual interest. “We like to include a mix of stone, leather, metal and ornate motifs,” Mr. Prudden said.
Layered materials can have great visual gains especially for rooms that are one’s own emotions. Brodin once designed a unique 2,000-square-foot closet for a client with a penchant for fashion, including a wide selection of cufflinks, ties and watches.
Natural materials can warm up a place and make it less institutional.
Prudden Design Build
“It was like going to one of the rodeos [Drive] Men’s Fashion Stores [in Beverly Hills]Mr. Broden said. “It was the most James Bond closet you could possibly imagine. It had a secret door that led into a panic room, which then led to a back staircase.”
Mr. Prudden described built-in storage units, wardrobes, and unexpected details like champagne coolers hidden in ottomans, televisions hidden behind mirrors, and speakers hidden in the ceiling. The only problem with such a closet is that its owner may not want to leave.
The same concept applies to externals. “Instead of the cold white stucco and stonework that we’ve seen in so many mega-works in the past, warmer tones and thoughtful design elements now enhance the modern exterior,” said Mr. Barnes. “Instead of simple styles, full landscaping, bronze, warm colors, and organic materials are in vogue and help transition homes from cool-spec homes.”
Exposing raw materials, even concrete and steel, Escudero said, can add interest to a very large home. “Raw materials such as exposed concrete and steel add more comfort to the built environment and remind nature even in large projects,” he said.
“Like telling stories well, in order to make the mega-expansion feel comfortable and unified, the key is to create a variety of experiences that can change over time, thanks to their materiality, size, architecture and light.”
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