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July 24, 2016

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Home » Sunday » Home and Design

Cali home design focuses on skating, music

WHEN professional skateboarder and musician Bastien Salabanzi wanted to turn his southern California home into the perfect space for recording, socializing and peaceful solitude, he called up his good friend, designer Angela Panozza.

“I felt like changing up some of the rooms and the house has a lot of potential,” Salabanzi said. “Angela Panozzo is a good friend and I appreciate how she made the space as functional as possible. Her style is a mix of old and new and is always unpredictable.”

Originally from Bologna, Italy, Panozzo studied design in Milan and Los Angeles and grew up with an understanding of how space can influence people. Her mission is to create beautiful, unique and functional homes.

Panozzo has had the pleasure of meeting many interesting creatives since moving to Los Angeles in 2013. One of these is Salabanzi. The two initially bonded over their shared interest in antiquing and interiors so the designer was ecstatic to help Salabanzi decorate his a beautiful home.

Salabanzi’s Spanish-style home was built in 1927 and has a main house with four bedrooms and a guest house in the back garden.

Panozzo had made several changes to the space. The main house had carpet running throughout the bedrooms and hallways. She replaced this with all hardwood floors. The living room had a dropped ceiling that made the space low so she removed it and discovered beautiful arched ceilings.

“Also there were many built-ins that weren’t efficient, for example the office was just a passage room to the garden with an L-shaped low white cabinet that Salabanzi didn’t need. As soon as I saw this room I knew it had great potential, due to the skylight and the beautiful view to the back garden,” Panozzo said.

“We completely transformed it. I also wanted to maintain original elements of the architecture so we restored the windows and the dining room bookshelf.”

Panozzo said the idea was to bring out the space’s full potential while also staying true to Salabanzi’s personality and taste. “We knew it needed to be a warm, welcoming environment where his guests would want to hang and feel at home.”

Salabanzi said: “I have a big passion for skateboarding and music and I definitely need it in my home.”

As a tribute to these interests, and Salabanzi’s well-traveled background, Panozzo wanted to create an eclectic feel. “Salabanzi is a very energetic person and I wanted his home to translate his personality. The vivid wall colors for the office and music studio enhance his skateboards, art and instruments,” Panozzo said.

As for the home’s music studio specifically, Panozzo explained: “The focus still needed to be the music so I enhanced the functionality of the space for the instruments and equipment and added minimal touches of useful accessories. He loves California’s sunny weather so the skylight in the office needed to be highlighted. We utilized this space as the office to make his computer work a bit more peaceful.”

Many furniture pieces were custom made, like the record credenza in the living room, and the square dining table big enough to seat 16.

These pieces feature mid-century lines and are in solid walnut with vintage brass hardware. Panozzo designed the furniture and a mutual friend of her and Bastien, Pavel Maslowiec, built them.

The musician homeowner said the credenza holds his entire music collection so it’s probably the most special piece in the home to him.

The living room is the first space one sees when entering the house, so the designer decided to emphasize the homeowner’s tastes to this area in a blend of mid-century and vintage elements.

The presence of lots of wood makes the house warm and cozy. The photography in the living room and dining room is from an artist friend Melinda Dahl and a painting above the fireplace is from another friend, Markarian.

Q: What’s the best thing about living in LA?

A: The weather in LA is amazing: you can always be outside. It’s very conducive to an active lifestyle.

 

Q: Describe your home in three words.

A: Home sweet home

 

Q: What’s the first thing you do when you get home?

A: I get a can of Coke from the kitchen.

 

Q: How do you unwind?

A: I take that can of Coke and head straight to the studio to play my guitars.

 

Q: What’s your best view outside your window?

A: There’s one squirrel that I see every morning jumping around the backyard. We’ve developed quite the rapport.

 

Q: How do you scent your home?

A: Organically. My house smells like the food cooking in the kitchen, or the cigarettes and wine of a party, or the sand and wood of the outside. The house smells the way it wants to; I just live there.

 

Q: What’s your favorite object at home?

A: My collection of skateboards in the office. Skateboarding has shaped my career and my life and it holds a lot of good memories.

 

Q: Where do you source furniture in LA?

A: I don’t... Angela does... that’s why she’s the designer.




 

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