This Bel-Air Estate Is a Maximalist Daydream
More is more, as the adage goes. That’s certainly always been the motto of beauty entrepreneurs Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson. The California-based founders of the makeup brand Too Faced have always relished excess, so perhaps it’s not surprising that for them, one home wasn’t enough—even when it is a maximalist mansion designed to their hearts’ content. Their 17,000-square-foot home in Corona del Mar, featured in ELLE DECOR in March 2019, has Chanel tweed upholstery and a malachite-hued library. It is where they spend their workweek running Toy Box Brands, a beauty brand lab they started after selling Too Faced to Estée Lauder in 2016.
In early 2020, the couple bought a second home, in Bel-Air. After living in it for a year, they reached out to the designer of their first house, ELLE DECOR A-List talent Mary McDonald, whose fashion background lends her interiors a chic sense of color and pattern. “We create products that inspire people to live their best lives, so we need our own environments to make us feel like we are living that dream,” Blandino says. “Mary captures that desire so beautifully.”
While they work in Orange County, the couple’s social life tends to be in Los Angeles. They wanted a second home where they could be closer to their friends, a place to relax and entertain. Their plan was to build a house from the ground up, but then they discovered the Bel-Air estate. The original owner was the lawyer of Alphonzo Bell, the founder and developer of the neighborhood. “Instead of paying for his services, Bell gave his lawyer his pick of Bel-Air’s 600 original acres,” Blandino explains.
Family Room
The family room of Jeremy Johnson and Jerrod Blandino’s home in Bel-Air, California, which was designed in 1927 by architect Gordon Kaufmann and renovated by designer Mary McDonald and architect Mike Holz. The custom sofa and 19th-century French armchairs are in Schumacher fabrics, the cocktail table and stools are by Chaddock, and the curtains are of a Pierre Frey fabric.
Entryway
Bert Stern photographs of Marilyn Monroe hang at the end of the entry gallery. The bergères are Louis XVI, the pendants are by Formations and the wallcovering by de Gournay.
Tea Room
The tea room is enveloped in a custom wallpaper by Iksel. The custom slipper chairs are in a Casa Branca stripe, and the Dennis & Leen armchairs are in a Jasper fabric. The side tables are from KRB NYC, and the molding is painted in Brittany Blue by Benjamin Moore.
Dining Room
The dining room’s oak table and Minton-Spidell chairs were designed for the project. The custom rug is by PFM, and the 19th-century chandelier is from Z. Sierra Antiques and Decorative. The sconces are by Ralph Pucci, the curtains are of a Holland & Sherry linen, and the painting is by David Bell.
Living Room
The Jasper sofas have custom slipcovers in a Schumacher performance linen. The armchair (left) is by Baker, the cocktail table is by Maison Jansen, the rug is by Patterson Flynn, and the custom pink wall paint is by Benjamin Moore. The artwork (right) is by Karina Gentinetta.
Stair Hall
The antique pendant in the front stair hall is by Carlos de la Puente. The Empire table is from the 19th-century, and the custom runner is by Codimat.
Primary Bedroom
A custom oak bed pairs with floors painted to mimic parquet. The French swivel chairs are vintage, the custom wallcovering is by Gracie, and the curtains are of a Schumacher moiré.
Dressing Room
In Blandino’s dressing room, graphic tiles by Walker Zanger play off the shape of the octagonal center island. The custom pendant is by Paul Marra, the sconces are by Jonathan Browning Studios, the lamp is by Visual Comfort, and the Venetian mirror is antique.
And what beautiful acreage he chose, with views of rolling hills cascading down to the beach. Landscape architect Patricia Benner planted a grove of California sycamores on the great lawn to add to the mature sycamores already on-site. Forest pansy redbuds and crepe myrtles rustle outside the living room windows, while Chinese elms and hollyhocks surround the fountain in the garden. “We take a walk every morning and night throughout the property,” says Johnson. “It’s the most private, magical, beautiful piece of land in Bel-Air,” Blandino adds.
Inside, the feeling of quiet grandeur continues. If the couple’s first home was a pure Francophile fantasy, with bold colors and prints in virtually every room, their Bel-Air home is quite calm by comparison. It was built in 1927 by the architect Gordon Kaufmann (who later helped to design the Hoover Dam) in an architectural blend of Regency, French country, and Italianate influences. McDonald preserved historic features like moldings, wood paneling, and geometric floors. “I’m a classicist at heart, so I tried to retain as many original details as possible,” the designer says.
That’s not to say the renovation wasn’t extensive. The primary bedroom suite was completely redone and expanded, and the kitchen needed an overhaul. Original elements that couldn’t be saved were replicated or reinterpreted, most impressively the floors in the primary suite, which were hand-painted to look like neoclassical parquet. The bedroom transforms from neutral-toned retreat by day to sparkling oculus by night. “The room has the most incredible views,” says Blandino. “You can see the twinkling lights of the city out of the windows.”
Much louder is the Madeleine Castaing–inspired TV room, doused in rich raspberry hues with leopard walls. But most of the rooms speak more softly. The main living room has walls in the couple’s favorite seashell pink (Too Faced’s signature hue). “Instead of their preferred velvet sofas I persuaded them to try slipcovers, which they thought of as old-fashioned, in the living room,” says McDonald. She showed them a picture of what she had in mind—upholstery in a Chanel boutique—and that was the clincher. Now, box-pleated, cream-colored covers provide worry-free seating and can be removed to reveal pink upholstery underneath.
In this way, McDonald created a home that feels like a getaway—as romantic as it is relaxed. Casual has never looked more glamorous. “This house has a warm and cuddly energy that lets us take a pause and be social,” Blandino says. “We even hosted a birthday party for our friend Madonna in the greenhouse!”
This story originally appeared in the September 2023 issue of ELLE DECOR. SUBSCRIBE
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