Designers Alexi Rennalls and Sam Gnatovich of Simo Design in Los Angeles have made a healthy business of acquiring aging houses with “good bones,” rehabbing them, and putting them back on the market. A few years back, they were lucky to find a sprawling, 1948 Beverly Hills estate that had been carefully maintained (by owner Mary-Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959) but was woefully out of date. They gave the home a dramatic front entry with a modern glass and steel staircase. But the primary entrance, located off the garage, received a more casual, family-friendly update. It’s now lined in fully custom cabinetry on two walls, with storage space for shoes, coats, mail, and more. See the rest of the house in Before & After: A Former Miss America’s Beverly Hills House, Transformed, and let’s take a closer look at the mudroom.
Above: The custom mudroom rack is white-painted wood cabinetry against a wall of white ash wood. Its modern styling is complemented by just-rustic touches such as handmade, unpolished brass wall hooks and the house’s original, 1948 brick floor. Photograph by Jessica Sample, courtesy of Simo Design.
Materials
Above: Elsewhere in the house, Simo used creamier whites like Swiss Coffee and Dove Wing (both from Benjamin Moore). On the storage unit, they used a crisp white, like Benjamin Moore’s Super White. Photograph by Mel Walbridge for Remodelista. Above: The storage unit backs up against a wall of white ash paneling. For reference, a four-by-eight-foot White Ash veneer sheet is $72.50 at Woodcraft.
Hardware
Above: These Square Metal Hooks are made in Japan of unpolished solid brass. They’ll develop a patina over time; $18.65 each (but currently out of stock) at Analogue Life. (Consider the Round Metal Hooks if you need something immediately.) Above: Add these solid leather Cabinet Loop Pulls in gray, offered in three sizes and four metals and starting at $5.75 each, from 3 Twenty Leatherworks in Southern California. They’re also available as Handles, to match the lower cabinets shown here.
Furniture
Above: If a custom design is not in the cards, try a configuration from Pottery Barn’s Wade collection, which includes entryway storage benches, towers, and wall-mounted cubbies. The Three-Piece Tower Set shown here is $2,829.
Accessories
Above: Ikea’s Flådis seagrass basket folds down into a low basket or stands tall (as shown) to hold maximum gear; $12.99. (For seven more options, see 8 Favorite Belly Baskets: They’re Popular for Good Reason.) Above: The Ibiza Tote is made of woven rafia with dark brown leather handles; $120 at Shopbop. Above: Though it’s barely visible in the image up top, a jute rug will help keep shoe dirt at bay. Pottery Barn’s Round Jute Rug is currently on sale, starting at $107 for a six-foot rug.
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