When filmmaker Hannah Fidell and artist Jake Longstreth found their Los Angeles ranch house in 2022, the first thing Fidell thought of was Texas. The serene courtyard between the main structure and the small garage reminded Fidell of her time living in the South, and she loved the idea of their daughter, Lizzie, growing up with a connection to the outdoors. A comfortable flow was already present in the main house, and while it had been updated, the character was still there. But the couple was perplexed by the secondary space on their property, which seemed half done; they started searching for a designer to help them reimagine it.
After being introduced by a mutual friend, Fidell and Longstreth immediately hit it off with the Lovers Unite team, Karen Spector and Alan Koch. “We had this garage, which was semi-finished and with a lot of very primary colors,” Spector recalls of the mismatched carpet tiles. The previous owners had built it out as a TV and work zone, but not in the way that would work for the family that was now living there.
See how they turned precious real estate into an at-home retreat that everyone loves, below.
Move the Doors—And Make Them Sizable
The home had previously been owned by two architects, who had made some updates to the garage before Fidell and Longstreth bought it (a few rooms had been carved out, including one that was soundproof, which they surmised was for instrument practice). In addition to a gut renovation, the other main objective that Lovers Unite wanted to accomplish was connecting that space to the rest of the home.
Between the two structures exists an intimate, foliage-covered area that, before the changes, was already ripe for convivial affairs. Making a few clever moves to reconfigure openings to the garage meant that Spector and Koch wouldn’t break the couple’s budget while still creating better circulation. First, they swapped the side door’s hinges from left to right and then added expansive double doors that look out directly onto the patio. They also added stairs and built-in planters (great extra seating for parties) to the new entry.
Fidell says that the small yet thoughtful adjustments made all the difference in how they, and others, experience the space. “We recently had a big party at our house. There was karaoke in the cabin, and people were outside in the back zone. And then in the front yard we had people sitting and eating, and all the doors were open,” Fidell fondly recalls.
Utilize an Artistic Material
“Hannah needed a space to be creative at home [to] watch films and do some writing,” Spector says. “So we thought, why not make the garage into a vacation cabin at home so it could really feel like a contrast to the rest of the house?” Words and phrases that bubbled up for Spector during the dreaming phase were woodsy, earthy, and a hug in the backyard. Cue the plywood and cork.
The two materials were an organic choice; Fidell says they evoked a series of large-scale silk screens of trees by Longstreth that now hang in the space. The combo also brought in a ton of warmth, which Spector notes can be a leap for artist clients, who often prefer studiolike white walls and concrete floors. Filling all the nooks and crannies with ceramics (by the likes of Sean Gin, MHCeramics, and Victoria Morris) and incorporating various artwork from Madeline Donahue, Jonas Wood, and others only upped the cozy factor.
The resulting feel, Fidell adds, is like bringing the outdoors in—something she really appreciates as someone who spends much of her time inside staring at a screen. “It’s transportive. I’m quickly able to get into a zone when I’m working there,” she says.
Furnish It for Work…
As a filmmaker, Fidell spends a lot of time taking in movies, reviewing scripts, and sketching out lines. To outfit the now cabin-ified garage, they needed a super-comfortable yet sturdy sofa that wouldn’t swallow her while working. Instead of trying to find exactly the right thing at a big-box store or from a DTC brand, they opted to have a custom couch crafted and covered in Wolf-Gordon Barrington upholstery, which just added to the honey-hued environment. Laying down a pale green rug from Nordic Knots kept things grounded and evoked the couple’s sofa that the studio also designed for the main living room.
…And for Playtime
“We have a 3-year-old, so we can’t live in a museum,” Fidell says. “We love having people over. We don’t want to worry if something gets ruined or broken.” The Douglas fir marine-grade plywood paneling, as well as cork flooring and walls, that Spector and Koch initially pitched naturally fit into that ethos, as did the hardy, nonprecious furnishings like RAD Furniture stools, vintage accessories sourced from Nickey Kehoe, and built-in cabinets with integrated pulls (no fingerprint-covered hardware here). The escape they needed, it turns out, was hiding right in their backyard.
