August 2012

AUGUST 2012

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A negative-exposure artwork of Marilyn Monroe graces the mantel. Designer Estee Stanley leads a tour of her clients’ Brentwood home. In addition to designing the house’s interiors, Stanley also devised its complete architectural overhaul, transforming it in less than nine months. Estee Stanley—the cofounder, with Justin Timberlake, of HomeMint, and one of Hollywood’s hottest fashion and interiors stylists—has made a career out of “effortless” grace. Whether she’s renovating wardrobes or houses, Stanley has a knack for making the difficulties of her labor disappear beneath a patina of calm, cool loveliness. In other words, after she’s through with them, her clients never look as though they’ve enlisted her expertise. Therefore, a stately 1920s Spanish Colonial in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood—which Stanley completely overhauled in less than nine months—gives the impression of having stood forever in a state of easy, laid-back luxury. Its layered interiors project the kind of warmth 102 Lonny AUGUST 2012 and character that seem to have developed over a lifetime. “I don’t do trends,” says Stanley. “After all, I lived through the 1980s. I know where they lead.” Throughout this three-bedroom house, then, a timeless palette of serene neutrals prevails. The home’s climactic moments—such as the master bedroom’s showstopping headboard or the living room’s oversize glass-and-metal coffee table— are achieved through texture and scale rather than color. Stanley even designed the bedrooms of her clients’ two children with endurance and comfort in mind, selecting furnishings versatile enough to evolve alongside the needs of a growing family. “A home is meant to be lived in and to express the personality of its owners,” she says. “It’s just like fashion, really. [Whether] a house or a skirt, something’s only beautiful if it’s comfortable; if it fits.” L 2012 AUGUST Lonny 103