9233 Swallow Drive Project

The design project for the home at 9233 Swallow Drive, in Hollywood Hills’ Bird Streets, was the second collaboration between Dean Larkin and Bradley Bayou. The project was another favorite of Dean Larkin’s and an important one for Bradley Bayou, who was making the transition from fashion to design. The impressive 5 bedroom/5.5 bathroom home boasts 7,500 square feet, but what makes the home spectacular are the details.

One such detail was the use of stone walls, which Dean attributes in large part to Bayou’s love of materials.

Dean notes, “Our intent was to design 3 large European-style stone walls. We wanted to create the impression that the plaster was falling off, making them seem as though they were pre-existing, and that the house was built around them.” The walls helped form the interior spaces, but they also created a unique backdrop for the external shared spaces and gave added privacy.

One unique element of the home is the master bath, which Dean admits is close to the favorite bathroom he has ever done. “The inside completely integrates with the outside part, where you can’t tell if you are in or out. And the glass divider is the perfect thing to put at the end of the hallway because you get a tease of it without seeing the whole bathroom.” The koi pond with a paving stone path flows around the outer edge and beside the large built-in tub. When the tub is filled, the water looks the same color as that in the pond, adding to the feeling that you could be outside rather than inside.

Dean loves the vacuum lift elevator in the home at 9233 Swallow Drive, which is reminiscent of the elevator in his Macapa project. He expresses his feeling that “basements should not be dark and dreary, but someplace you want to go to.” Describing the intentional “peek” into the basement from the top of the elevator into a pool, which entices one to wonder what could be down there, he notes, “With our projects you are never going to be disappointed in that situation because there is always a payoff to reward a journey.”

Bradley Bayou is, according to Dean Larkin, “an absolute joy to work with.” Before moving into design, Bayou was a well-known fashion designer, with the stance that fashion should be for any body shape. He wrote a book called “The Science of Sexy” in 2006 affirming his philosophy that women should dress to fit their own unique shapes. He became an advocate for change in the fashion industry when he learned that his daughter was suffering from bulimia, due in large part to a desire to fit into the ideals of society. As a designer Bradley Bayou is known for using raw materials and a location’s surroundings to create an interior design that is unforgettable.

Dean Larkin Design was established in Los Angeles in 1999. This modern architecture firm maximizes the intrinsic potential of a location while meeting each client’s specific lifestyle, business or institutional needs. Dean Larkin is very familiar with both historical and contemporary homes in So Cal and the entire Los Angeles area, and the firm endeavors to achieve a complexity that is multi-layered with an effortless elegance. Dean Larkin also enjoys working with other designers as he did on the 9233 Swallow Drive Project. For a design that is modern and innovative, unlocks your location’s innate potential by making specific use of light, views and more, and is uniquely designed for the way you live, contact Dean Larkin for a consultation.