March 27, 2026 | DESIGN & INTERIORS
a BUNGALOW REWORKED
words YUZU Editorial
photos Graham Dunn, Gabriel Yuri
Set on a quiet stair street in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, this 1940s bungalow has been carefully recalibrated rather than transformed. Over the course of a year, designer Gabriel Yuri approached the renovation with restraint—updating the home while preserving the character that defines it.
At just under 100 square metres, the single-level, two-bedroom house is modest in scale. The challenge was to modernise without losing its essence. Yuri’s approach was to work with the existing plan, light and proportions, rather than impose a new identity. His studio, New Operations Workshop—founded in 2017—reflects a similar mindset, blending architecture, interiors and visual culture into a composed, cross-disciplinary practice.
SILVER LAKE, LAYERED
The house sits near the Corralitas Red Car Trail—once part of LA’s trolley network—and within walking distance of the Silver Lake Reservoir. It’s a neighbourhood long associated with creative life and modernist architecture, home to works such as Neutra’s VDL House and Lautner’s Silvertop.
Yuri’s presence here is also personal. Splitting his time between New York and California, he acquired the house as a West Coast base while working on a nearby Neutra property in Hollywood.
BUILT AROUND A SOFA
The interior takes shape around a single piece: a vintage Marenco sofa, reupholstered in burnt orange velvet. From there, a quiet dialogue unfolds—drawing on 1970s Italian design, but grounded in a more relaxed Southern Californian sensibility.
White walls and pale oak floors set a neutral base. Pieces such as a Poul Kjærholm PK22 chair and lighting by Eileen Gray and Charlotte Perriand introduce a modernist layer, while works by Luam Melake, Wolfgang Tillmans and Hiroshi Sugimoto add depth without excess. The result feels less like a period reference and more like a mood—somewhere between Italian precision and California ease.
A LIGHT TOUCH
Architectural intervention is kept to a minimum. The original footprint remains largely intact, with existing elements—such as the bathroom’s glass blocks—carefully preserved.
Material choices follow the same logic: white surfaces, chrome details, black accents and controlled moments of colour. The kitchen stays close to its origins with all-white cabinetry, resisting current trends.
What emerges is a space that holds different influences in balance. Calm, but not empty. Relaxed, but precise.
