Read the article from Architectural Digest

By Kelly Dawson Photography by Michael Clifford Styled by Amy Chin

Brian Boyle went off script: He wanted principal designer Daphne Nauleau to work with him. The only catch? He didn’t have a home to renovate just yet, and he thought Nauleau could help him find one.

“I don’t know how many people are friendly enough with their designers to say, ‘Let’s go on house tours together,’” Nauleau says. “But that’s Brian. He’s a television writer and producer, so he’s very collaborative.”

They met in early 2022, when Boyle, who has written for Friends and Veronica’s Closet, was living with his two teenage sons in a Larchmont address that was charming but much too small. He was searching for a place to entertain, a hub where friends could swing by to enjoy his home-cooked meals and cocktails, while still feeling comfortable for kids. “I was so impressed with what she did at my friend’s house, it was so colorful and interesting,” Boyle says. “So as we were touring homes, I’d say, ‘Can you do that to this house?’ and she’d say, ‘No,’ until we toured one where she could.”

Set on a quiet cul-de-sac in Los Feliz, the nearly 5,000-square-foot property they found was built by famed LA architect Paul Revere Williams in 1927. It had the character Boyle desired and Nauleau felt honored to work on a piece of Los Angeles history. Once Boyle got the keys, he brought in architect Wolfram Kroninger and builder David Kaufmann. As a team, they opted to leave much of the stately exterior the same while modernizing the indoors with a better flow and cohesive style.

“There were quite a few spaces that had been awkwardly cut up and renovated throughout the years, like an ’80s bathroom next to one that had been redone in 2016,” Nauleau says. “The house also felt very flashy, with a lot of black lacquer and gold. I wanted to open things up and bring the palette back down to earth.”

The renovation knocked down a wall between the living room and kitchen, and added an entry point to this area from the main hall. Upstairs, the separate bathrooms of two bedrooms were combined into a jack-and-jill configuration for Boyle’s two sons, while his primary suite stole square footage from the closet to make a spot for a standalone tub. “We did a lot of custom millwork, like the bar in the living room and the fireplace surround,” Nauleau says. “We also rebuilt the deck and refinished the pool.” By the end of construction, the house retained its five bedrooms alongside four bathrooms.

Nauleau says that Boyle surprised her with his willingness to experiment in interior design, something, he says, that comes from working on cartoons. “I’m used to seeing bright colors all the time, so it’s comforting to see it at home,” he says. Nauleau created renderings that showcased how colors and patterns would splash across rooms, projecting a personality that would be balanced by dark woods, clean expanses, and woven textures. “These choices speak to each other throughout the whole house,” she says. “For instance, the red paint in the library is the same shade of paint on the dining room ceiling.”

It’s been about a year since Boyle and his two sons moved in, and Nauleau says that she’s routinely invited over. “That’s what he’s all about,” she says. “Making people feel comfortable.”