HOLLYWOOD STAR

The LA home of the founders of Atelier AM has it all – drama, relaxed beauty and, yes, the required pool for lazy days in the sun

- FIONA MCCARTHY

Sitting under the brushwood shade of the pergola in Michael and Alexandra Misczynski’s Los Angeles garden, soothed by the surrounding olive trees and cool blue waters of the swimming pool, Michael says of their family home in the West Hollywood hills: ‘People can’t believe we’re only a few hundred feet from the bustle of Sunset Boulevard. Here, it really does feel like you’re somewhere else.’

However, this dreamy scene might never have existed had the couple not moved fast to snap up the property in front of their Spanish-style, three-storey villa when it came up for sale in 2017. It was a bold move, made mainly to preserve their magnificent existing view that stretches past the Chateau Marmont hotel and then out towards the twinkling lights of downtown LA, but also to accommodate two boys who needed more space to grow and be with friends.

What they hadn’t expected was how it would ‘completely change our lifestyle,’ says Michael. Rather than use the second property to expand their existing house, they transformed it to feature a garden, pool, pool house and pergola – inspired by Massimo Ferragamo’s Castiglion del Bosco Tuscan estate, a favourite holiday destination for the family – which provides them with somewhere to relax with friends. ‘We never really entertained in the main house,’ he says, ‘but we use this more than I thought we would.’