The House That Friends Saved

In Laurel Canyon, a design duo called on a kindred spirit to help revive a mid-century marvel

Words by MARTHA HAYES
Photography by AUSTIN LEIS and YOSHIHIRO MAKINO

Ome Dezin and Ben Willett — PHOTO: Gemma Warren.

Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph, the longtime friends and founders of interior design and development studio Ome Dezin, are describing what they look for in a house. More specifically, what state of disrepair a property needs to be in for them to get excited. “Sometimes when we see houses and they’re not in a true need of repair, so it doesn’t feel like they deserve it,” says Rudolph, glancing at Kutner, who nods in agreement. “We’re looking to really transform something.”

But the Los Angeles–based duo’s latest renovation of architectural significance, a 2,920-square-foot 1960s residence nestled in the hills of Laurel Canyon, was more than they bargained for. “This was a house where there were more and more issues. Everything had to be replaced. The only things we kept were three large fixed windows,” Rudolph says.

Luckily for the pair, whose recent work of note includes an A. Quincy Jones home in Brentwood and a 1927 Tudor-style cottage once owned by the burlesque star Lili St. Cyr, they knew who to call: furniture and spatial designer Ben Willett — who also happens to be a good friend.

“I wasn’t too worried about what was going on inside because we were going to bring it back to its original glory,” says Willett, who has recently exhibited some of his sculptural takes on mid-century classics at the prestigious The Future Perfect gallery. “This was a holistic approach. And also a great opportunity for me to have an impact on every single space in the home instead of just plopping my pieces into one room.”

For their first project together, the three friends had been looking for a house that would fit both their aesthetics. “Jesse and Joelle’s style is a little more European and romantic, whereas I lean more toward California,” Willett says.

They sought to honor the property’s mid-century roots by using natural materials and to improve the flow between the interior and the outdoors. Warm Douglas fir was applied across multiple custom elements, from a slatted front door to the built-in system in the primary bedroom incorporating a desk and a daybed. Black flagstone flooring runs from the entryway to the kitchen, dining area, and study through to a backyard of lush greenery overlooking the canyon.

“One of the allures of living in California is you get 300 days of sun, so if you use the exterior you double the square footage of your home,” says Kutner, who launched the business (pronounced “home” without the H in honor of how her French husband pronounces the word, and “dezin” like “resin, which plants produce to repair themselves”) with Rudolph in 2020.

I wasn’t too worried about what was going on inside because we were going to bring it back to its original glory.

ben willett

Willett, who founded his eponymous DTLA-based furniture design studio in 2022 after 15 years working in retail and event design for brands like Nike and Uniqlo, is no stranger to Douglas fir. For Ome Dezin, it took some getting used to.

“It’s a fairly difficult wood to work with,” Rudolph says. “There’s a warmth to it that’s really special, but once it gets sun exposure it darkens, so we had to play around with varying temperature levels depending on the location.”

For Willett, the most challenging aspect was more personal. He and his wife, the cook and content creator Molly Baz, and their baby son lost their Altadena home in the January wildfires just as this project was drawing to a close. Many of the pieces that feature in the Laurel Canyon house — including an hourglass-shaped Radi Table and Chairs and glossy red Popo Chair — he had originally designed for his own home.

“Seeing the Douglas fir and my furniture pulled at my heartstrings because our home had a lot of similar elements,” says Willett, who is renting a home in Pasadena. “It’s been very, very hard. But, you know, I think things happen for a reason. We’ll find our next forever home and make it that much more beautiful.”

Warm Douglas fir is referenced throughout to honor the property’s mid-century roots. “To make it a little sleeker and sexier, we used black flagstone for the floor, which plays really nicely with the Douglas fir. It’s kind of yin and yang,” says furniture designer Ben Willett, who oversaw the creative direction of Ome Dezin’s latest restoration project. To complement Willett’s pieces, furnishings were cherry-picked from local antique store DEN and texture was added to the space by applying cc-tapis rugs to the walls as tapestry. “There’s a lot of hard edges and 90-degree angles with mid-century, so we wanted to layer in some softer materials,” Ome Dezin’s Joelle Kutner says.

That Ome Dezin were willing to trust Willett to run with his ideas across the entire project was a career milestone for him — as well as a learning curve. “I come from a world where it’s, ‘Okay, here’s your budget; it’s $2 million; here’s what we want to do.’ Whereas this was more, ‘Well, if we do this over here, then we can’t spend the money over there, and which is going to be more impactful?’ ” Willett says. “I leaned on Jesse and Joelle because I know what I think looks good and what’s important for me as a designer, but it might not always translate to a family or individual.”

Ultimately the gamble paid off. The property was purchased off-market prior to even being listed. “It taught us that even when you do something that’s a little risky, it can really pan out,” Rudolph says.

There is always a degree of risk when you go into business with your nearest and dearest, Kutner says. “You hear of people working with best friends or romantic partners and then they’re in a lawsuit together. It would be sad if that happened. But I think that Jesse and I are reasonable enough that we could probably talk our way out of any conflict.”

A complementary skills set is another reason Ome Dezin is thriving. They are currently juggling four projects, including a recently finished Mediterranean property in Outpost Estates. “It wasn’t like we set out to create a brand,” Rudolph says, marveling at how Kutner “goes into a space and emotionally feels things more than I do.” Rudolph, by comparison, is more detail-oriented, Kutner says. “He’ll get into the nitty-gritty of learning how things are made.”

“When designing, building, and renovating, it really comes down to people with different skills and know-how,” Rudolph says.

Like the Laurel Canyon house, it is a friendship built to last.