When designers Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn of House of Rolison first stepped inside the 1930s estate tucked into the Hollywood Hills, the structure still had presence—but its personality had been dimmed. A developer’s years of cosmetic cover-ups had muted the home’s original charm, layering over the Colonial Revival spirit with generic updates and disjointed flow.

But rather than gut and gloss over the past, the design duo saw an opportunity to unearth it.

“It was clear the home had a soul—it had just been layered over,” they recall. “Our instinct was to bring that soul forward again with intention and depth.”

What followed was a deeply considered restoration that merged moody elegance with tactile restraint, grounding the home in its heritage while reimagining it for the present.

Finding Rhythm in the Past

Amanda and Taylor approached the project not with a demolition plan, but with respect. Their process was led by a single idea: thoughtful restoration.

“It means taking your time. It means asking why before asking how,” they explain. “Not everything needs a facelift—sometimes the best design decision is to pause and leave something exactly as it is.”

With that mindset, they preserved details that held architectural weight—stained glass panels, the home’s original roofline, and a rare set of Delft fireplace tiles that now rest elegantly within a room painted in deep blue to complement, not compete. Elsewhere, decisions were made with gentle edits: widening transitions to create visual continuity, enhancing sightlines to harness the natural light, and softening the compartmentalized layout without surrendering to open-concept trends.

“The point wasn’t uniformity,” they say. “It was intimacy and rhythm.”

A Palette With Patina

Throughout the home, old-world charm doesn’t shout—it simmers. Amanda and Taylor defined the term not by its clichés, but by its materials: aged brass, unlacquered finishes, plastered walls, reclaimed wood. A palette of deep maroon, inky navy, and creamy limewash sets the tone—dramatic yet balanced, never heavy-handed.

“Color was built around emotional response—spaces that feel calm, grounded, contemplative. It’s more about atmosphere than color theory,” they explain.

The result is a moody, layered environment that feels both luxurious and lived-in. Every surface invites touch. Every corner rewards stillness.

Light as a Design Partner

While the home’s original bones offered elegant proportions and dramatic rooflines, Amanda and Taylor made deliberate moves to amplify its natural light. They enlarged windows in strategic places and introduced divided lites—gridded panes that direct the sun like a spotlight across walls and floors. Limewash and plaster finishes were chosen not just for texture, but for the way they interact with light, allowing it to drift softly through rooms and animate surfaces with subtle movement.

“The real surprise was the bathroom,” they recall. “The way the veined marble captures golden light made that space unexpectedly emotional. It’s cinematic.”

Materials With Memory

Nowhere is the house’s personality more pronounced than in the material selection. The most surprising moment? The brick exterior—sourced entirely from Facebook Marketplace.

“It was one of our favorite finds,” they say. “Each brick came with its own imperfections and history. It gave the home a kind of textural honesty that’s hard to replicate.”

The reclaimed brick wraps the façade and reappears in the backyard and pool surround, where its raw texture contrasts elegantly with more refined finishes. It’s a study in tension—just like the black roof and contemporary outdoor columns that create a deliberate, almost architectural push and pull between vintage charm and clean-lined modernism.

“That balance is where the house finds its rhythm,” the designers note. “Clean lines beside patina, simplicity against character.”

Objects of Meaning, Rooms With Soul

Throughout the home, objects were curated with care, not abundance. The stained glass, once hidden in the kitchen, now graces the dining room—reframing light, mood, and meaning. Rooms were designed not to match, but to evolve together. Texture leads the narrative. Tactility is paramount.

“We think about how something feels to the hand before how it looks to the eye,” Amanda says. “Texture creates intimacy. That’s what keeps a space from feeling too formal or staged.”

Even the designers’ most personal moment in the project—those reclaimed bricks—speaks to their larger design ethos: imperfection as invitation.

The Art of Thoughtful Restoration

For those dreaming of a similar lived-in elegance—even without the benefit of a historic home—Amanda and Taylor offer this advice:

“Edit more than you add. Invest in fewer pieces with more story. Lived-in charm comes from contrast, not coordination.”

And for those restoring an older home?

“Let the house speak first. Then respond with restraint and imagination. It should feel like a collaboration between your vision and its memory—not a takeover.”

In a design culture that often favors the new and glossy, House of Rolison reminds us that age can be an asset, texture a teacher, and history a collaborator. This Hollywood Hills home doesn’t just honor its past—it lives beautifully within it.

Credits:

Photography by Nils Timm and Gavin Cater.