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"When I first bought the house, I was single and the amount of space didn’t bother me," says Jade. "But with two people living here and three pets, it made sense to make improvements."
Jade remembers just how fortuitous it felt to find her Los Angeles house. She had been visiting the city for some time, embarking on what she calls "the long move" from her home state of New York.
Jade works as a psychotherapist but has a background in botany and farming, so she was hoping to land in a neighborhood that had access to nature but wasn’t too far removed from excitement. She found it in Mount Washington, a historic enclave in the San Rafael Hills in northeast L.A.—a place set in the midst of sprawl yet topographically removed from it. "It’s surrounded by nature, and there’s so much wildlife, but it’s also so convenient," Jade says.
Jade, Zander, their dog, and their two cats moved back into their home last May after a complete revamp by Laun. "Doing this renovation was a fun way to figure out how we wanted to spend our time in this space," Zander says. "There were so many decisions, but they made us figure out how to work together."
Photo: Ye Rin Mok
Before: Foyer
After: Foyer
Laun moved the entrance to the south of the house to create a larger kitchen and bathroom. A T.M. Cobb front door and Zia terrazzo tile in Alexander are accented by the custom cherry millwork, which conceals storage space and a litter box.
Photo: Ye Rin Mok
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: How a Couple Made Their 700-Square-Foot L.A. Cottage Feel Grand
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Read More
By: Kelly Dawson
Title: Before & After: How a Couple Made Their 700-Square-Foot L.A. Cottage Feel Grand
Sourced From: www.dwell.com/article/before-and-after-mount-washington-cottage-renovation-laun-d27a924e
Published Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:59:09 GMT
