Name: Tour the Silver Lake Home of an Avengers Production Designer and an Artist
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Tour the Silver Lake Home of an Avengers Production Designer and an Artist

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Skip to main contentClare Crespo enjoys poking fun at Silver Lake, the Los Angeles neighborhood historically associated with all things bohemian, indie, alternative, and artsy. She calls the area Fraggle Rock, a reference to Jim Henson’s hallucinogenic 1980s television puppet show of the same name about a group of zany characters inhabiting a fantasy world all their own. Of course, among the stalwarts of Silver Lake, few are as archetypally Fragglicious as Crespo herself and her husband, James Chinlund. She’s an artist, designer, and conjuror of gorgeous, magical things sprinkled with pixie dust. Chinlund is a fellow dream weaver, a production designer whose credits include movies such as The Batman and Requiem for a Dream. Together, they are two of the brightest stars in Silver Lake’s firmament of eccentrics and oddballs.Yet despite their creative bona fides, the couple’s own 1950s-era home had until recently been somewhat short on enchantment—one of those cobbler’s children without shoes situations. “Seventeen years ago, we purchased the most boring, nondescript house in the world,” Chinlund recalls. “We convinced ourselves that we could make something great out of it,” Crespo adds. “But then life happened, and we got busy with work and family. Now, after nearly two decades, we finally had the time and the will to do something.”The renovation of Casa Crespo-Chinlund is a testament to the transformative power of a few carefully plotted architectural interventions and material shifts. Chinlund found kindred spirits in architect Alan Koch and designer Karen Spector of the firm Lovers Unite, his collaborators on the project. “The house sits on a great site, but it never really took advantage of its natural assets,” Koch says of the mission. The absorption of an underutilized outdoor balcony at the back of the house into the interior—the renovation’s boldest move—provides a literal case in point for leveraging natural assets. “By bringing that space inside we were able to create a whole new social arena. The new bench is where people naturally gravitate,” Koch says, describing the generous built-in banquette that now stretches out beneath the window wall.“You never really felt the amazing view unless you physically went out onto the balcony. It was like an extra layer between you and the landscape,” Crespo explains. “Now, the view is the main event. I can’t believe the birds we see, even though they’re the same birds and the same yard that have always been there.”The reconfiguration and reimagining of the formerly dark, cloistered kitchen also transformed the main floor. “We worked around the existing architectural elements and used cabinetry as camouflage for awkward structural conditions. The single wood column on the countertop allowed us to open the whole space,” Koch says. The new kitchen features a copper hood and counters of green slate, fulfilling Crespo’s demand for more color while staying true to Chinlund’s design sensibility. “I like honesty in materials, not applied color,” he avers.Throughout the home, Chinlund devised new architectural details in wood—light boxes, slatted ceilings, wall surfaces, and fascia—that lend a Japanese quality to the interiors, something he refers to as a “sake cup aesthetic.” In many ways, the look is a throwback to his first apartment in New York City, a petite studio he adorned with slatted light boxes. “Light is so important in my work. For me it’s the beginning of every design,” he explains. “Here, we were able to create lots of different light looks and light levels that allow us to shape different experiences.”The decorative elements of the house dovetail neatly with the soulful yet unpretentious architectural envelope, spanning unimpeachable classics such as Michael Ducaroy’s Togo seating to curiosities like a giant chair that was used as a prop for a Roberto Cavalli shoot that Chinlund worked on with photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Ultimately, the mood of the home reflects both the love and care of the Lovers Unite team as well as the spirit and talents of the estimable homeowners. “James brought so much feel for texture, material, and detail,” Spector concludes. “And Clare has this amazing, far-reaching sensibility. She picks the oddest things and finds the charm in them.” And after all, that’s the Fraggle Rock way.Most PopularMost PopularMost PopularMost PopularInside a Creatively Reimagined Connecticut Country EscapeJane Keltner de Valle and AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle breathe new life into the charming 1863 houseInside a 1920s Tudor Revival With a “Shaker Deco” KitchenDistinct historic styles come together in the home of two New York transplantsStep Inside a Historic Manhattan Apartment Transformed by Design Star Ryan LawsonHome to James LaForce and Stephen Henderson, the loft blends references and wit from near and farStep Inside an Atherton Family Home That Welcomes the Outdoors InOhara Davies-Gaetano and Ken Linsteadt Architects deftly synthesize their clients’ passions into a property

Skip to main contentClare Crespo enjoys poking fun at Silver Lake, the Los Angeles neighborhood historically associated with all things bohemian, indie, alternative, and artsy. She calls the area Fraggle Rock, a reference to Jim Henson’s hallucinogenic 1980s television puppet show of the same name about a group of zany characters inhabiting a fantasy world all their own. Of course, among the stalwarts of Silver Lake, few are as archetypally Fragglicious as Crespo herself and her husband, James Chinlund. She’s an artist, designer, and conjuror of gorgeous, magical things sprinkled with pixie...

Tour the Silver Lake Home of an Avengers Production Designer and an Artist

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