Magni Kalman Design Reimagines a Previous Los Angeles Project for New Pair of Collecting Clients

The first time around, the residents wanted everything clean and crisp, in keeping with the house’s boldly contemporary architecture by Richard Landry of Landry Design Group.

The new owners, an art-collecting British businessman and his wife, have different tastes and sought to give the place a more welcoming feel without compromising the Southern California style. “The husband was used to that English sensibility of layers upon layers,” says Magni Kalman principal Jason Kalman. “But this being Los Angeles, that aesthetic had to be stripped down to a certain extent while still making him feel comfortable and at home.”

A big part of achieving that was surrounding him with art from the couple’s notable collection, including works by 20th-century masters such as Alexander Calder, Roberto Matta, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Hans Hofmann, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí. “He’s a very seasoned collector, somebody who has a great eye for everything, from French glass to Surrealist paintings,” says James Magni, the other half of the Magni Kalman duo, who are highly regarded for light-filled projects that balance robust modernism and livability.

For starters, they made a number of changes to the interior architecture. In addition to softening some details, they broke down larger rooms into more intimate spaces and reoriented the family room to take advantage of the striking views.

Magni and Kalman left in place one of the home’s most dazzling architectural elements, the entry’s expanse of sculptural white marble panels by Zaha Hadid, their rippling relief pattern playing off the curve of the wall and stair. To complement that impactful gesture, the designers outfitted the space with an elegantly muscular Paul Evans table and graphic abstract works by Alexander Calder and Adolph Gottlieb. “There’s this nice juxtaposition,” says Kalman, who points out how this composition sets the tone for the rest of the home. “Brutalist furniture, with its texture and patina, elegantly counterposes what we see in the architecture.”

Throughout the home, Magni and Kalman added appealing finishes and a certain earthiness to align with the husband’s tweedy, intellectual vibe. In the living room, they wrapped the marble fireplace in soft plaster, covered the seating in sumptuous upholstery, and installed a flat-weave rug to bring in just the right amount of warmth. A pair of vintage Gianfranco Frattini chairs upholstered in a soft blue de Le Cuona velvet join a tailored Magni Home Collection sofa and a woven-leather Poltrona Frau bench. As elsewhere, it’s the art that takes precedence. “A Robert Motherwell and a Hans Hofmann together are quite commanding, so everything else moves down the scale in terms of hierarchy,” says Magni.

Given the museum quality of the art, Magni and Kalman felt it was essential to have vintage furniture with provenance and gravitas. They scoured galleries, auctions, and showrooms for important midcentury designs that they mixed with select contemporary pieces. “The homeowner wasn’t interested in having a lot of brand-new furniture,” says Kalman. “He didn’t put pressure on us by saying, ‘I need to have every single piece all at once.’ He wanted to take time to find the right ones.”

That patience paid off with discoveries such as the Edward Wormley chairs and Paul Evans sideboard that grace the dining room as well as an Ole Bjørn Krüger tile-top cocktail table and a T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings chair installed in the family room. The mix of periods and eras comes together with just the right amount of friction with the contemporary architectural envelope.

It’s remarkable to see how a place that had been crisp and edgy could so gracefully transform into an elegantly understated home. “With an art program this impressive, we knew everything needed to be of a certain caliber while being slightly muted,” says Kalman. In the end, the results prove that design has no need to shout to make a bold statement.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Spring Issue under the headline “Different Strokes.” Subscribe to the magazine.

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Magni Kalman Design Reimagines an Earlier Los Angeles Project for New Pair of Collecting Clients

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Paintings by Hans Hofmann (left) and Robert Motherwell highlight one end of the living room of a Beverly Hills home updated by designers James Magni and Jason Kalman. A Magni Home Collection sofa and side tables, paired with vintage Daum lamps, face a table made by Denise A. Tuite in the style of Diego Giacometti, who created the ostrich sculpture. A Poltrona Frau bench stands in front of the fireplace.

Photograph by Roger Davies

In the entry, marble wall tiles designed by Zaha Hadid for Citco wrap around the Caesarstone and plaster staircase, which is overlooked by an Alexander Calder work on paper. A 1970s Paul Evans center table greets visitors near the door, while artworks by Joan Miru00f3 (left) and Sandra Blow are displayed in the hallway beyond.

Photograph by Roger Davies

A Roberto Matta painting is mounted over the living room fireplace, with pedestals displaying sculptures by Auguste Rodin (left) and Georges Braque on either side. The midcentury Gianfranco Frattini armchairs are clad in a blue de Le Cuona velvet, and the sofa’s accent pillows are covered in Loro Piana and Jim Thompson fabrics.

Photograph by Roger Davies

In the dining room, a William Turnbull painting adds a chromatic splash above a circa-1969 Paul Evans wall-mounted cabinet that hosts a Tang dynasty horse, with a Salvador Dali sculpture standing nearby. Vintage Edward Wormley chairs surround the custom-made table, topped by a Lalique vase.

Photograph by Roger Davies

In the dining room, a floating sideboard by Paul Evans and a bold red artwork by William Turnbull are coupled with Vu00e9nus de Milo aux Tiroirs by Salvador Dalu00ed, which offers a Surrealist take on the famous statue housed in the Louvre. According to the artist, the drawers inserted into the sculpture offer a look inside the body to the soul of the Greek goddess.u00a0

Photograph by Roger Davies

Architect Richard Landry devised the original architecture for the house, which includes expansive terraces and a pool area outfitted with Tribu00f9 furniture.

Photograph by Roger Davies

To play up the indoor-outdoor lifestyle for their British client, the designers maximized the comfortnof the terrace by adding bleached teak planks to the ceiling, layering rugs, and even reupholstering a sofa and Magni Home Collection chairs meant for interiors in performance fabrics by Perennials and Holly Hunt. u201cThe program was to make this outdoor room an extension of the living room,u201d says principal Jason Kalman.

Photograph by Roger Davies

Walls upholstered in leather with stainless-steel inlays line the primary bedroom, with a Magni Home Collection bed is flanked by Fendi Casa lights installed behind bespoke nightstands with Lalique lamps. The chaise lounges are by Minotti, the curtains are of a Zimmer + Rohde fabric, and the custom carpet is by Sahrai.

Photograph by Roger Davies

In the wifeu2019s en suite bath, Magni Kalman orchestrated a dynamic mix of materials, including quartz countertops and floors by Caesarstone, silver-leaf-fronted cabinetry, and a chaise by Fendi Casa. u201cOur female clients often request a neutral background for where they get ready,u201d explains Magni. u201cIf theyu2019re looking in the mirror to check their appearance, a lot of color or pattern can be distracting.u201d

Photograph by Roger Davies

In the living room of a Los Angeles home conceived by Magni Kalman Design, a Man Ray sculpture joins a pair of vintage Paul Evans lounge chairs, while a bold tapestry after Alexander Calder punctuates the entryway.

Photograph by Roger Davies

Bold juxtapositions abound throughout this Beverly Hills home. For example, a Brutalist vintage Paul Evans chair swathed in a tufted pink fabric by Chivasso sits before a canvas by William Scott titled Opposite and Equal (1961). u201cThereu2019s this very masculine chair that completely changes with the subtle fabric, and then it creates this dialogue with the very dark and saturated color of the painting that frames it,u201d says James Magni of Magni Kalman Design. u201cThatu2019s really exciting to me.u201d

Photograph by Roger Davies