How do you create a sense of timelessness inside a historic Mission Revival mansion?

“You need to bring in all eras,” says Los Angeles designer Patrick Dragonette, who mixed vintage furnishings with modern décor in the dining room he designed for the Wattles Park Designer Showcase, open to the public through April 16. “That’s what makes it fresh.”

For the second year, Los Angeles-based interior designers were invited in to modernize the 1907 estate in Hollywood for “today’s lifestyle.”

A salon wall in the living room by Woodson & Rummerfield’s House of Design. The portrait is of Norma Talmadge from 1925, found deep in the basement of the house.


The result is that the house, which is owned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, is now a showcase for the latest design trends found in some of L.A.’s most exclusive brick-and-mortar stores.

Once inside, visitors will move through newly decorated rooms on two levels, with some offering panoramic views of Los Angeles.

In the dining room, Dragonette upholstered the walls with inexpensive purple velvet fabric he purchased from Home Fabrics in downtown Los Angeles. “I like layers,” he says, noting the gimp braid trim on the ceiling that cost $1 per yard. In an opulent touch, he added a crystal chandelier from Blackman Cruz and a vintage brushed stainless steel dining room table.

Another L.A. interior designer who worked on the mansion, Nicole Gordon, says she tackled the master sitting area by being respectful of the existing architecture. “I updated the room by using modern art,” she says of the room that also features a bronze and glass coffee table by Chuck Moffit, a masculine leather couch and a $19.99 pendant lamp from IKEA.


In the sun-drenched kitchen and butler’s pantry, designers for Williams Sonoma Home demonstrated how to complement a dated sink and countertop with small additions: dramatic dark gray walls, modern glass pendant lights and whimsical wallcoverings.

From a private retreat designed as an escape from technology to a living room anchored by a stunning salon wall, Wattles Mansion’s latest transformation is an entertaining look at what you can do by experimenting with a variety of styles and periods.

What: “Hollywood History: The New Classics”

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays through April 16


Where: Wattles Mansion, 1824 N. Curson Ave., Los Angeles

Tickets: $40.

Information: (818) 281-3536; wattlesshowcase.com

lisa.boone@latimes.com


Twitter: @lisaboone19

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