While celebrity chef Ludovic Lefebvre was able to make a 1970s pink tile kitchen work when he cooked remotely with Selena Gomez during the pandemic, his family home was undeniably still in need of a significant upgrade. For the Los Angeles–based gourmand and his wife, attorney and business partner Krissy Lefebvre, getting to know the hillside residence they purchased in late 2019 became a much more intensive experience than they had anticipated. After all, ongoing lockdowns meant that the couple were spending a lot more time at home—so that renovation process experienced some unforeseen complications. Nevertheless, the challenging circumstances failed to dampen the couple’s enthusiasm. “It was good to spend time in the house to understand exactly what we wanted,” Ludo explains, shedding light on his optimistic outlook.
Reimagining the four-bedroom Spanish Revival–style house marked the second time that Houston-based interior designer Marie Flanigan and Melanie Hamel of Marie Flanigan Interiors collaborated with the couple. “Krissy and Ludo are so fun,” Flanigan says. “They add so much character and design point of view.” The home was designed by Los Angeles architect Johannes Van Tilburg and had been occupied by just one family since it was built in 1973.
Ludo and Krissy, who have 10-year-old twins, Luca and Rêve, knew what was best to leave alone. “The renovation was about keeping the bones because they’re so beautiful,” Krissy says. Over the tight eight-week project timeline for their fall of 2020 renovation, which was helmed by Patrick Ahounber of MODAA Construction, the floor plan stayed intact. The same was true of the terra-cotta tile flooring, textured stucco surfaces, archways, and most of the wrought-iron chandeliers.
The spacious dining set from Gabby Home is ideally suited to hosting dinners. L.A. artist Patrick Martinez originally made the neon sign for Trois Familia restaurant in Silver Lake. Now, in this new setting, it serves as a piece of art.
Other elements required a more hybrid approach. When wall-to-wall carpeting was removed, concrete floors were revealed. “I wanted to preserve history and beautify the flaws—if you want to call them that,” Krissy notes. Informed by their travels in Japan, the couple opted to fill the concrete cracks in with bronze-colored epoxy in a nod to the kintsugi tradition.
As for the kitchen, it was (somewhat obviously) an intensely personal consideration for Ludo. “I love separate rooms. When I’m in the kitchen, I don’t need to see my couch or my fireplace,” he says. He didn’t want to recreate the open plan and expansive island the family had in their previous house. Growing up in France, “the kitchen has its own table, and you have a table for the guests,” he explains. (The Lefebvres typically eat around their Williams Sonoma Home dining set, which is illuminated by a Lawson-Fenning chandelier in a space that’s adjacent to yet distinct from the kitchen.) An original painting by Ludo—one of many by the chef-cum-artist on display—sets a welcoming and eclectic tone for the entire area.