Originality Counts
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Screenwriter Paul Attanasio and producer Katie Jacobs's Beverly Hills residence, with interiors by Karin Blake, combines East Coast tradition with an eclectic point of view.
The front entrance of the Colonial Revival house. "This is one of the most comfortable, well-thought-out places I've worked on for a family," says Blake.
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An antique French iron shooting-gallery figure, a circa 1870 American settle and a circa 1885 American high-wheel bicycle set the tone in the entrance hall.
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The design, which began a decade ago, continues to evolve. "There are walls I looked at for two or three years before I found something I liked," Blake says.
In the living room, a 19th-century French artist's model is near an antique French armoire. A 19th-century weathervane sits on an antique English low table, flanked by vintage French garden chairs.
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The dining room is accented by a 19th-century bull weathervane and tin stars. Antique Windsor chairs surround a table custom-made by Blake.
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Attanasio says his office was meant to be a place where his kids could work, too. Bookshelves line its walls. The antique English table, bordered by vintage sewing chairs, lends the air of a work-shop. "My view of myself as a writer is as a craftsman," he says, "so it fits with my image of myself." French doors open to the backyard.
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She custom-made the mantel in the family room to echo one in her house. The weathervane above it, she says, "is perfect" for Attanasio, who fly-fishes.
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Blake gutted the kitchen and, to expand it, eliminated a hallway and raised the ceiling height. Industrial windows extend across one wall. Viking range.
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Vintage trucks fill shelves in the hallway to the master bedroom. "When you put them in one group, it has more of an architectural feel," she explains. "If you had just one, it would be just cute. I hate cute.
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Blake designed the maple four-poster bed in the master bedroom. At its foot is an antique trunk; beside it hangs a circa 1880 Blazing Star quilt. A lamp made out of a mannequin is on an antique English sawbuck table. Donghia lounge chair fabric.
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Karin Blake