What L.A. Design Week/end Says About the Next Westside Renovation

Los Angeles Design Week/end wrapped on Sunday, and the most useful takeaway for anyone buying, selling or renovating on the Westside came from a roundup of what the city’s designers say is coming next. The short version, in Domino’s words: less perfection, more personality.

I spent years on the product side of high-end design, and a lot of time since then on job sites, so I read these trend pieces with two questions. What is actually buildable? And what does it do to the value of a house? Here is my read.

Warm wood is coming back to walls and ceilings. Block Shop co-founder Hopie Hill pointed to wood-clad walls and ceilings as something she loves seeing in interiors right now. That is a very different instinct from the white-box minimalism that dominated Westside flips for a decade. Wood cladding is also real carpentry. It needs a good framer, a good finisher, and a plan for how it meets the windows and the lighting. Done well, it makes a room feel finished. Done cheaply, it reads as a theme.

Color is moving onto the floors and the trim. Several designers mentioned red, from gloss red paint to oxblood, and one vintage dealer described painting her studio floor a rich brick red. Others talked about curtains with real fringe and detail, tile countertops, and laminate used boldly in kitchens and baths. Most of this is cheap to try and cheap to undo, which is exactly what a seller should want. A bold paint choice is a weekend. A bold structural choice is a lease on your buyer’s patience.

Adaptability is the quiet idea. Showroom LA’s Laura Niles talked about folding, modular, multi-purpose pieces. On the construction side, architectural designer Ben Warwas opened a recently completed JADU during the week, a junior accessory dwelling unit of 500 square feet or less. Small, flexible space is no longer a compromise. For a lot of buyers it is the point, whether that means a guest suite, an office, or a place for family.

What this means if you are selling. Buyers in the luxury range are not shopping for a showroom. They are shopping for a house that feels lived in by someone with taste. Before you spend on a full renovation, ask whether the money should go to the things a buyer cannot change easily: layout, light, plumbing, electrical, roof, and drainage. Finishes can be personal and a little unexpected. Systems need to be right.

What this means if you are buying. Look past the staging. A house with good bones and tired finishes is often a better purchase than one with trendy finishes covering questionable work. Ask for permits, ask who did the work, and bring someone who has built things to the walkthrough.

None of these trends will move a median price on their own. But they tell you where taste is heading, and taste is what a buyer pays for once the fundamentals check out. Houses that feel collected and human are going to stand out against a market full of identical gray renovations.

Construction background. Market data. No sugarcoating.

Thinking about buying or selling on the Westside? Let’s talk.