Living Down In Chinatown

Enter the Dragon. Moving into a former restaurant in the heart of LA's Chinatown inspired one family to embrace the colourful style of this vibrant area. I had to send photographer Richard Powers to snap this home for me. I think this week for me it's all about colour! I hope you don't mind?

Los Angeles' Chinatown is in the middle of a renaissance - new housing and transport links have created a thriving district filled with great bars and art gallaries, as well as a multicultural 24 hour street scene. Still it's not everyone who would want to move in a former Chinese restaruant and transform it into a home that embraces the original vibe - and even fewer who could manage to do it in a contemporary way! 

 

Having started out as a popular cabaret spot, in the Eighties this place became Madame Wong's - a punk club that played host to bands like Blondie. But it was languishing as a furniture warehouse when American property developer Dan Bernier and his architect wife Amy Finn Bernier fell for it and turned it into a fun family home fro their sons Lewis and Moe. I love its playful mix of retro-meets-industrial furniture, a fusion of East and West that never gets too kitsch.

"I love colour and have never been afraid of it. With the high ceilings we decided to break the colours up into horizontal bands so that no single shade would overpower the effect" shares Amy

"We love to have our stuff on show for easy access, but to stop it looking cluttered we have chosen pieces that match the colour palette"

All pictures by Richard Powers

"When it comes to getting the details right, it's about sticking to the colour palatte and having a sense of humour," says Amy.