At Lela Becker's Soulful Midcentury California Home, Frogs, Parrots, and a Bubbling Creek Create the Soundtrack

Redwoods don’t typically grow in Southern California. But in the Pacific Palisades, one mature grove, planted experimentally in the late 1800s, is still thriving, miraculously untouched by last year’s destructive fires. “I was so enamored with those trees,” says fashion designer Lela Becker, cofounder of Mother, referring to the shaggy specimens that canopy her home. “Everything here is hidden until you get right up on it.”Becker, her husband, David, and their two daughters had been living just down the road when this property came on the market in 2019. If the lush landscape, with its soundtrack of frogs, parrots, and a bubbling creek, resonated with the Sonoma native, so too did the house: a 1955 work by San Francisco–based modernist Mario Corbett, who brought a Bay Area spirit to the site.In the entry, the tapestry is by Jean Lurçat and the cabinet is by BDDW. The house was originally designed by architect Mario Corbett. “It looked like a steamship,” remarks designer Jed Lind, whom the couple hired to restore the redwood-clad structure and update the interior design while maintaining its soul. Additional windows bring in more natural light; a slightly expanded footprint and completed second story forge new connections with the woodland surrounds; and sturdy materials like cedar, eucalyptus, teak, concrete, and metal—many of them used in the original—were all chosen to age beautifully (Case in point, the copper fireplace hood that nods to Rudolph Schindler’s Kings Road house from 1922.) The goal, says Lind, was to “lend the aura and vibe of a mid-century Northern California home.” To fill that nostalgic envelope, the Beckers called on designer Kelsey Sundberg, who conceived a fanciful storyline for the interiors. “We talked about expatriates who had traveled the world and come back to LA to settle into their dream house,” says the rising star, an alum of the AD100 firm Studio Shamshiri. True to that narrative, Sundberg stirred together touches of French Provençal, Scandinavian, and California modern styles, a mélange she cleverly calls “west côte.”The swimming pool and firepit beyond in the Terremoto-designed landscape. In the teak-clad kitchen, the sconces are by Nickey Kehoe and the lamp is by Atelier MVM. In the living room, vintage Danish chairs, a George Smith sofa, and a built-in sectional frame and cocktail table by Dusk; rug from Amadi Carpets. ART: Coen Young / MaiswrightIn the living room, for instance, 1950s Danish oak easy chairs, a custom shearling-upholstered sectional piled with cushions, and a 1950s Lisa Johansson-Pape brass floor lamp gather around the fireplace. And in the entry a Jean Lurçat tapestry hangs above a BDDW console tattooed with flora and fauna. To inject some rustic charm, Sundberg sought the help of her trusty fabricators Dusk (they also share a showroom space), who crafted custom wood pieces including cedar outdoor seating, an ebonized-oak dining table, and woven-rush chairs in the spirit of Charlotte Perriand. Elsewhere Angel City Lumber turned a felled tree into the one-of-a-kind bench—carved from a single trunk—that greets visitors at the entrance.Becker’s own collections form a sort of visual glue, adding oomph to each room. “I have piles of crystals and gemstones, plus rocks and shells the kids have found,” she notes. Lately Becker has been snatching up vintage Lalique pieces that, in this setting, have the frosty haze of sea glass. It all feels in keeping with Mother’s ethos, which Becker calls “easy California, based on growing up in the 1970s.” That vibe feels particularly present in the family area, a groovy SoCal riff on Renzo Mongiardino’s tented sitting room for Lee Radziwill. Here, a sofa slipcovered in a patchwork of paisley tablecloths is joined by a custom Dan John Anderson table inset with abalone shell and brass, a straw artwork made in the Purhépecha region of Mexico, and snuggly bean-bags. “Everything had to be super comfortable and cushy and not too precious,” explains Becker. Chimes Sundberg: “They kept adding more shearling.”A daughter’s room features a custom bed, a Christopher Farr rug, and a vintage Art Nouveau lamp. A shearling rug and pouf by Grand Splendid add coziness to the family room; table by Dan John Anderson and pendant light by Atelier Vime. As for the verdant grounds that sold Becker on the property, they have been reimagined by the AD100 landscape design studio Terremoto, who planted swaths of ferns and live oaks. “We wanted to do right by the redwoods and amplify the qualities of this unique setting,” explains the firm’s project lead Samuel Webb. On a typical day, you might find kids swimming in the pool, a surfboard slung next to the outdoor shower, and the pizza oven fired up. “We always keep the window open, listening to the creek,” Becker says dreamily. “You feel like you’re in the middle of nature.”This story appears in the September issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.