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A lush, mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon was a creative haven for icons like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Carole King in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Decades later, record labels still send artists from around the world to this legendary Los Angeles locale in the hopes of igniting melodious magic. That’s how Ben Garrett and Rae Morris, two British pop musicians who were starting their careers, first met so far from home.

Ben, Rae, and their daughter Mila sit in the leafy courtyard near the entrance to their home.

It took five years from their introduction for the couple to start dating, but they always considered sunny La La Land to be their relationship’s place of origin. So when they purchased a North London town house together, the modernist architecture and groovy aesthetic of midcentury California were obvious sources of renovation inspiration.

Ben, who performs with the stage name Fryars, and Rae had a clear vision for their space, so they enlisted like-minded architect Louis Hagen Hall to execute on the feel-good vibes and make structural updates necessary to achieve them. The Studio Hagen Hall founder completely gutted the building—which had been arranged as bedsits with a kitchen on each story—and started from scratch.

Guitars double as decor in the recording studio.

The first priority was the basement, where Louis crafted a professional-grade recording studio and writing room with soundproof construction and acoustically-insulated doors and windows. A separate ventilation system provides clean air without making a peep, and a massive curtain can wrap around half the perimeter to prevent any echo. “You can make a lot of noise down there and hear very little upstairs,” he says.

“One thing that’s impossible to replicate is the L.A. weather,” Ben says. “It does feel quite perfect when it’s sunny. It’s completely and utterly as we had planned it.”

On the ground level, a plush platformed seating area with goldenrod velvet cushions and salmon-colored carpeting is reminiscent of John Lautner’s signature conversation pits—but elevated rather than sunk. The U-shaped bench, which features cubbies in the base, faces six smoked mirror panels that cleverly conceal the television when it’s not being used for a cozy film screening.

Dim lighting offers a mellow nighttime ambiance.

The adjacent dining nook mixes vintage furniture, like an Eero Saarinen Tulip table and Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs, with bold art by Jesse Kanda and microcement floors that weave a consistent, contemporary touch through the entire home. “We were all quite conscious of not trying to make a deliberately retro house,” Louis explains. “We tried to avoid making a pastiche and instead produce a modern take on it.”

“There are only three or four main materials being used everywhere. I think any more than that gets a bit mental,” Louis says.

The idea for fluted glass upper cupboards came from a coffee shop Louis visited in Oslo.

Custom elm joinery and unlacquered brass hardware adorn the semi-closed kitchen and tunnel-like hallway, which is lined with hidden pocket doors that maximize the small footprint. Each one camouflages a functional entity, like utilities, closets, and a toilet. “It’s not a big space, but there’s absolutely everything here,” Ben says. “We never run out of storage.”

“Ben and Rae were adamant that the whole bathroom be part of the bedroom and I—being a massive prude and the most British one out of all of us—was kind of aghast at the idea,” Louis admits. The trio compromised with a heavy linen blackout curtain that can be used as a divider.

The abundant use of cork tile is a nod to Hungarian architect Ernő Goldfinger, who was friends with Louis’s grandfather. The natural material is at once sustainable, water resistant, and insulating.

An airy glass and steel balustrade encases the sculptural staircase that leads upwards, where the open main suite combines Ben and Rae’s bedroom and bathroom. With raw plaster walls, original wood beams, cork tile, and fluted glass shower doors, it’s a tranquil departure from the spirited decor below. Yet whether the duo is working on a new album, entertaining friends, or singing their baby Mila to sleep, the design around them is endlessly inspiring.