The main room, designed for entertaining, can be almost entirely open to the outdoors, or shuttered to shade it in high temperatures
Pulling into the gated driveway leading up to the newly constructed Cajrati Crivelli house in Bel-Air, designed by London-based architect Felicity Bell, the first thing you notice is the sheer vastness of the space around the property. Lush greenery surrounds the house on its 6,053 sq m site.
A modernist southern Californian design influence is at play throughout the house. Natural light is center-stage and everywhere you look the space seems to expand. Impossibly tall windows, white walls and towering portions of marble draw you into the main room, and then out towards the backyard, with its flower gardens, spectacular views of LA and an infinity pool that faces downtown. There is also a lap pool in the basement, which can be heated for LA’s nippy, cold-weather mornings.
Concrete communes with nature at the Crivellis’ house. Large, manual, outdoor shutters were designed by Bell to help block out the sun on hot summer afternoons, and to help capture the cascading LA winds that percolate in the canyons around the city when the temperature drops in the evenings, sometimes by 25 to 30 degrees.
The colors used in decor are rather natural: beige, white, tan and there are also some dark accents here and there to create an eye-catchy contrast. Due to that and the use of materials like natural wood or marble the house looks very luxurious.
The fireplace in the main room, which was designed for entertaining guests, helps create a chic yet inviting ambience. Meanwhile, all the furniture and many of the fixtures (outside of the Victorian-era London antiques) were also designed by Bell.
In the backyard, flower gardens bloom below spectacular views of LA and an infinity pool that faces downtown
The shades used for interior decor are soft and neutral and visually expand the spaces even more