When designer Mandy Cheng first visited this home in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, it had been recently tidied. “The owners did their best to hide everything,” she says with a laugh. “The things they couldn’t hide, they stacked very neatly against the wall.” But by Cheng’s second visit, the secret was out: “I realized how badly they needed storage and a more open, seamless floor plan with defined spaces.”

Lack of storage wasn’t the only problem. The house had originally been built in 1965, just down the street from Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Ennis House, and had a very unique, semicircular footprint. However, the proportions of the rooms felt off, and the functionality was limited.

Before: Kitchen and Living Room

“The rooms were either too small or too big,” says Cheng. “The spaces felt disjointed. They didn’t function the way they needed to for this young, growing family. And due to its original nature, it felt outdated both functionally and aesthetically.”

The kitchen was closed off, and too small to fit the family of four comfortably, while the large living room had plenty of space, but no wall to hang a TV. There was a sofa and coffee table, but none of the family members felt compelled to hang out there, so it was mostly used for toy storage. Meanwhile, the kids’ bedroom was also too big, and with the TV in there, it’d become the de-facto family lounge.

After: Kitchen and Living Room

In order to streamline the proportions and enhance utility, Cheng first opened up the kitchen to the living and dining spaces. The large bedroom-turned-lounge was converted into two bedrooms, so each of the children could have their own retreat. The parents’ bathroom was also stripped of its old finishes and brought up the scratch. “The master bathroom was carpeted before. Enough said,” says Cheng.

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The home’s angled walls proved challenging, and the designer bought a digital protractor to plot out the new design and ensure accuracy. “I measured the space for the kitchen at least eight different times over the course of the project because laying out the kitchen cabinetry needed to be perfect, and I was dealing with a sloped ceiling as well as a 30-degree turn right at the big ceiling beam,” says Cheng. The main bathroom, located at the end of the semicircle, was shaped like an asymmetrical trapezoid.

For Cheng, those awkward angles provided opportunities for custom storage solutions tucked all over the home. “I was able to create angled cabinetry everywhere to maximize the wall space and use every square inch of the angled rooms,” says the designer.

“My solution for the unused living room was to custom-design a TV lift cabinet to help define the living room space, offer a reason to gather on the sofa, and provide additional storage,” says Cheng. “The back of the lift cabinet has open shelves for decor and small toy storage, while the benches on either end have seats that lift up to stash larger items.”" layout="wide" credit="Photo by Madeline Tolle" photoUserId="6374788784082673664"/>

Before: Hallway

After: Hallway

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Cheng grounded the new material palette with new engineered white oak floors throughout. “Because the house is angled and the ceilings are low, it’s easy for it to feel cramped,” says Cheng. “By running the same flooring throughout and in the same direction regardless of the angle of the house, it makes the house feel much more spacious and comfortable.”

The designer kept the rest of the palette unfussy, merging the natural wood tones with white walls and softly textured upholstery to create layers without pulling focus from the home’s inherent character. “It’s an understated midcentury home with some classic details: it has a ‘less is more’ approach,” says Cheng.

Before: Children’s Bedroom

After: Children’s Bedrooms

Before: Main Bathroom

After: Main Suite

After: Laundry Room

More Before & After:

Confetti-Like Brick and a Secret Passageway Bring Whimsy to a Melbourne Edwardian

A Funky ’70s Condo in Oregon Gets a Soulful Makeover

Project Credits:

Builder: Praew Thisoda

Interior Plants: Kim Thai Nursery Chinatown

Interior Design: Mandy Cheng Design / @mandychengdesign

Cabinetry Design & Installation: Mandy Cheng Design & D&P Cabinetry

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Before & After: A New, Open Plan Irons Out the Kinks of a Semicircular Home in L.A.