Cottage Glam

Interior Designer: 

CLAUDIA BENVENUTO

With a cool palette and clean-lined furnishings, a Los Angeles designer updates her charming 100-year-old Craftsman-style cottage for a new century.

CLAUDIA BENVENUTO: It's a Craftsman-style house built in 1910, and I especially like that it's not symmetrical and that the rooms are not huge. I grew up in Uruguay and am used to smaller spaces. I think they're more congenial.

"The design of the curtains is the same in each space, and the Houlès trim is the same, but the fabric is different. In the living area, I used a thin linen gauze from Diamond Foam & Fabric to allow as much natural light as possible into the room. In the adjacent den, where the television is, I used a thicker Rogers & Goffigon linen from Cowtan & Tout, which keeps out all the light."

"I like wood to be either very light or very dark. These are the original floors, so they have a lot of nicks and dings. They look much better with a dark stain. I keep them very shiny with a product by Bona, a company that's been around almost as long as this house."

"I don't think it's exactly masculine, but it's less obviously feminine. I like a tailored look, with strong lines and contrast, which seems more contemporary. I do like bedrooms to be a little more feminine than the public rooms."

Elle