Interior Design Stars Around the World You Need to Know – Mansion Global

Chet Callahan of Chet Callahan ArchitectureLos Angeles

Blending historical precedents with progressive ideals, architect Chet Callahan imbues spaces with what he calls romantic functionalism.

We create form through careful consideration of the natural, the built environment and the future uses of the site, he said. We aim to create environmentally sensitive buildings and enhance our clients and our communitys experience.

A case in point is Mr. Callahans renovation of a 1934 Spanish-style home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles to fit the needs of its new ownersa young family of four.

He preserved the historical architectural details of the house, including the plaster cove moldings, the wooden floors and the wrought-iron embellishments. And he made it one with the landscape by adding large picture windows to, as he said, bring green leafy views inside.

He treated the interior spaces as a blank slate, painting the walls art-gallery white to accommodate the familys colorful contemporary art collection and added sleek yet comfortable furnishings.

The living room, for instance, features a faux-beamed ceiling with plaster corbels that is illuminated by a glittering crystal chandelier reminiscent of a full moon. The furnishings, which include a plum-colored tufted sofa in velvet, speak of the past, while the spare white bookshelves, where volumes are arranged by the color of their covers, bring the room into the present tense.

The new interventions, he said, have been rendered with minimal ornamentation as a juxtaposition to the existing features of the home, the clients vibrant art and the surrounding garden.

Before opening his eponymous firm in 2017, Mr. Callahan, who is 39, worked for Marmol Radziner + Associates, XTEN Architecture and AGPS.

His firm has worked on a variety of projects, including a multi-generational compound in Culver City; an artists complex in North Hollywood; and the re-envisioning of Los Felizs oldest estate.

A two-time winner of Interior Design magazines Best of Year (2007 and 2014), Mr. Callahan, became interested in design at a young age.

I used to watch my dad build furnitureand just about everything else, he said. And I went antiques shopping with my mom.

Read more:
Interior Design Stars Around the World You Need to Know - Mansion Global