Shakespeare might’ve said, “If music be the food of love, play on,” but the design set would respectfully disagree: A beautiful home – one that’s tailored to reflect those who live there – can be just as nourishing as a mouthwatering meal or melody. Such was the case for Elspeth Keller Scott, founder of Keller Scott Studio, and her Los Angeles home. The designer first locked eyes with the midcentury residence after attending a particularly fruitless open house nearby. “Wow,” she recalls telling her husband, actor Reid Scott. “Talk to me when a house like that is on the market.”
Fate was on her side when that exact house went on the market. Scott initially fell in love with the architecture, which she says evokes the works of Eichler, Ellwood and Koenig. So once the home was hers, she wanted to preserve its bones. “We didn’t move one wall, but we literally touched every single surface in the house,” she describes. “We just really wanted to make it look like it had existed in the house since 1968.”
With her own spin, of course. The previous owner dressed the home in a “beige suit,” but Scott’s use of muted blues, grays and burnt orange celebrates the home’s rich history. “I do love to infuse color, and that truly just comes from a feeling,” Scott shares of her approach. “It’s an art, not a math problem. I can just sort of feel what the right ratio of color is.”
Though Scott took a more restrained approach to color – as she puts it, “This isn’t a maximalist house” – the painted arch that occupies a once-bare wall in her dining room brings an unexpected “wow” moment to the retro digs. “If we were going absolutely by the book, you wouldn’t see so many arches,” she explains. “You wouldn’t see so much color. It would be colder and a little bit more serious here. But no, that’s not the vibe.” The curved fresco – painted in Valspar’s Toasty Fireplace – is paired with a custom “hospitality shelf” from Joseph Paul Company that gives guests a convenient spot on which to rest a beverage during a dinner party.
Equally joy-sparking is the lapis velvet headboard that flanks the primary bedroom, though Scott argues the shade is shockingly versatile. “I’m a blue fan forever, and that’ll never change,” she declares. “It almost feels somewhat neutral to me.” When paired with a curved leather bench from Claude Home and angular light fixtures, the suite strikes a balance of old and new.
But it’s the quieter moments, the spaces that really yield to the home’s architecture, that nourish Scott. Case in point: the sun-drenched living room, which she admits was a big selling point. “It’s really a place – to entertain, unwind, reflect – in case anyone has time for reflection,” she notes.
After all, this home didn’t just provide shelter for Scott and her family; it was also a creative reawakening. “I actually had a 10-year screenwriting career prior to design,” she reveals. “This house was really the impetus for me to change careers. It became a confidence booster and my design calling card.”
“Art is really important to me,” Scott shares. “Choosing art with a client is always an adventure — and even more so with my own husband, Reid,” who, as an actor, travels often. While the two don’t always share identical tastes, both were drawn to the image of a father figure returning home, a theme that resonated deeply with them.
Photography by Jess Isaac.
Styling by Jaclyn Cartier.
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