Design, build, style, shoot.
This is something that brings me so much happiness- to document all the work that goes on top of… the work. I love all the small moments, capturing the angles and little items I select to bring a story to the photos, as much as I love selecting and designing all that gets built. Photography and styling are old loves- what opened the door to so much for me. Going to the flower mart at dawn to find something just right or just weird enough to work perfectly. Things I’ve been missing and intend to do more of this year.
Finished in 2025, I’m so happy to share this project’s quiet elegance — a perfectly proportioned kitchen that sits in the center of a beautiful home full of historic charm that I wanted to highlight in this design. A primary bath that feels luminous and warm.
I love designing most a timeless space with a little restraint and a little bit of whimsy. Something that anchors you to a past, to a feeling. I love the beams we fabricated and stained to complement the kitchen island, and how the millwork here recedes into the kitchen walls.
How the lighting are works of art on their own and bring so much personality to their posts.
I love the stonework and floating integrated vanity with marble-faced drawers.
As always, I am so grateful to the many skilled hands it took to get us here. And for my client, Claire who believed in the vision from day one. ❤️
Venice, completed 2025.
An exploration of warmth, restraint, and craftsmanship—an intimate space where materiality does the storytelling. We designed and built every element to feel quietly architectural, from the custom deep stained white oak cabinetry with integrated rails and rhythmic paneling to the softly honed stone countertops and full-height backsplash that wrap the room in subtle texture. The built-in banquette tucks beneath sunlit windows, complimented by a custom square sink window and dutch door stained to match the cabinetry. Integrated appliances and carefully aligned millwork emphasize proportion and symmetry, allowing the natural grain of the wood to become the focal point.
I love the juxtaposition of the chandelier with the minimal kitchen. It *might* be my favorite part.
Thank you so much to Kristin and Andrew for inviting me into your home and for all your kindness. And thank you to the many skilled hands that made this project beautiful.
Swipe all the way through to see where we started 🤍
And thank you Dylan. He passed this project to me along with a Google Drive of 300 photos from his visit, after an optimistic initial meeting before his health declined again. Going back through those last night made me cry and also laugh at all the things he took note of. I don’t really do “before and after” but I loved them too much not to. He really enjoyed seeing the construction photos of everything I worked on - and the job site gossip, of course. He asked me to keep sending him “construction porn” always. It makes me so sad he didn’t get to come see it complete, among a million things he didn’t get to do. Shooting this, posting this, is so bittersweet. The last few months he’s been gone, everyday, ESPECIALLY on hard days, I remind myself how lucky I am to still be doing this work. That I still get to complain about problems (but I’m trying not to complain anymore! Watch the sun rise. Pet my dog. Watch my amazing son grow up. (BIG shout out to Silas too for hauling half our stuff out to Venice on a Sunday and helping me with this shoot 💕)
None of last year will ever make sense, but goddamn if I won’t try and carry the torch xx
Carthay Square:
The Primary Bath
Quiet in her elegance. But not quite simple.
Soft curves and a fully integrated, custom fabricated calacatta sink with stone drawer faces to match. Smoked murano glass sconces for a little bit of glamour. Custom flush medicine cabinets. Limestone cobble from @ecooutdoor , the perfect matte white tiles from @cletile in a mismatched pattern which avoids a rigid grid look.
We relocated and reworked all framing and plumbing here to create more space, a better flow, and privacy from the toilet (out of frame in the corner to the left of the shower), and added a large cabinet to ground the bathtub and echo the milllwork downstairs. I wanted to create the condition for two walls to hold the floating vanity, and we took over space from two closets to create a plan that feels nicely proportioned with plenty of storage added back in. I love the textures and tones with the swooping curves of the plumbing fixtures from @calfaucets , soft edges on the stone, flowing curtains, arched shower entrance, and matte white bathtub from @vintagetub
#interiordesign #primarybathroom #interiordesigninspiration #bathroominspo
A very special project completed in 2025
Carthay Square:
The Kitchen.
This renovation was for a lovely client seeking a fresh chapter—one that invited friends back into her home. Her taste was innately so aligned with mine; I think at our first meeting we were even wearing the same shoes. I wanted to create warmth, elegance, and timelessness to complement the home’s beautiful historic character—something that had been a bit stripped from the kitchen but preserved so thoughtfully throughout the rest of the house.
How lucky was I on this project to use all the greats: @incommonwith / @sophieloujacobsen —one of my all-time favorite sconces—Mullen pendants from @slow_roads , @devolkitchens fixtures and cabinet hardware, and clay pavers from @orcaliving . Walls and ceiling are my most loved @portolapaints limewash- Eastwood. The island was one of those crazy miracles found online that somehow was exactly the height and size we were searching for—down to the inch in terms of proper clearance from the drawings.
Thank you so much, @clairfornia503 It was a true blessing to meet you and help you create this space. May you and yours be so happy in your new home. I’m deeply grateful for your trust in me, and your grace, kindness, strength, and the light you bring into the world are incredibly special. Thank you for always making cookies for our meetings, and for all the countless ways you took care of the crew.
It made my heart so happy hearing your little girl practice her piano here.
For this shoot, I wanted to capture what I always envisioned life here might look like—prepping a meal as the shadows change, barefoot on the tile.
The connection to the version of ourselves we strive to be is so deeply influenced by what surrounds us and what we look at every day. My design process is shaped by this kind of visual language.
Photos to come.
And yes… the primary bath suite is next.
Hi! I'm Lauren, founder of @designassemblyla
I'm starting a new series taking you along for the full design, custom build, and landscaping process of this very cool mid century home in LA. It's going to be fun! See you after demo ⚡#renovation #interiordesign #designandbuild #interiordesigninspiration #grwm
Design Assembly Landscape.
A quiet progression over the last few years of what I love most: making things more beautiful than I found them, and hopefully evoking a sense of tranquility, inspiration, and a little bit of magic for those who walk them.
I have been working on landscape projects for a while now, and if you've been following my chaotic construction stories, perhaps you saw this garden coming to life. I am so happy to show you a first look at my favotire landscape project I've had the pleasure of working on. Thank you so much to my wonderful clients, @emmahollyjones and @franklinjleonard for bringing me on, and thanks to the amazing crew who made the vision come to life.
More soon 🍃
