Ballantine House
This is the Santa Monica home my husband and I chose for our three children after years of searching, and after finally closing the chapter on our Sydney life to fully commit to becoming American citizens.
Built in the early 2000s, the home offered strong bones and an intuitive family flow — balanced, connected, just right. Rather than overhaul it, I resurfaced and refined, honoring the architecture rather than overriding it.
BEFORE & AFTER
See the Transformations
Explore the before and after of each room in this project — the problems we inherited and the spaces that emerged.
Its soul came from the pieces we carried with us — two decades of married life collected in Australia. In a city that often overbuilds, this home breathes. Indoors and outdoors exist in quiet harmony. This is not a showpiece, but a lived-in, deeply felt home.
Resurfacing and Refining a Santa Monica Family Home
Built in the early 2000s, this Santa Monica residence offered strong bones and an intuitive family flow — balanced, connected, just right. Rather than overhaul it, I resurfaced and refined, honouring the architecture rather than fighting it. The result is a home that feels both elevated and deeply familiar — a place that has been improved without losing its essential character.
This is the Santa Monica home my husband and I chose for our three children after years of searching, and after finally closing the chapter on our Sydney life to fully commit to becoming American citizens. It needed to hold everything — the transition, the new beginning, the memories we brought with us. Designing your own family home is the most personal design challenge a designer can face, and it demanded the same rigorous process I apply to every client project.
California Living Through an Australian Design Lens
Having practiced interior design in Sydney for over a decade, I brought an Australian sensibility to this California home — a respect for natural light, an affinity for honest materials, and an understanding of how indoor-outdoor flow shapes daily life. Santa Monica's coastal quality resonated deeply with my design instincts, and this project became the proving ground for my evolving California aesthetic.
The material palette draws from the surrounding landscape — warm stones, weathered woods, textured linens — while introducing moments of sophistication through custom furniture, curated art, and carefully considered lighting. Every room connects visually to the garden and the California sky beyond. The interplay between interior warmth and exterior light creates spaces that shift beautifully throughout the day, reflecting Santa Monica's famously generous sunshine.
The design language bridges two continents without belonging entirely to either. It carries the refinement and attention to detail characteristic of Australian residential design, combined with the relaxed warmth and openness that defines the best of California coastal living. This cross-cultural fluency has become a signature of my Los Angeles practice.
Designing for Family Life Without Sacrificing Beauty
A home with three children demands durability, flexibility, and practical intelligence. But it should never sacrifice beauty. This project demonstrates that residential interior design can serve the full complexity of family life — accommodating homework stations and entertaining spaces, quiet reading corners and boisterous play areas — all within a cohesive aesthetic framework.
The living areas are designed for gathering and conversation, with furniture arrangements that encourage connection. The private spaces offer calm and individuality. Throughout, the design maintains a consistent material language that unifies the home while allowing each room its own character. Fabrics were chosen for their ability to withstand daily life while maintaining visual elegance — performance textiles that look as refined as their delicate counterparts.
As both the designer and the homeowner, this project represents my most personal application of Design Duality™ — creating a home in Santa Monica that regulates, restores, and resonates for every member of our family. It proves that the principles I apply to client homes work just as powerfully in my own — a living testament to the methodology I bring to every project.
Santa Monica, California · Interior Design by Bronwyn Poole