Step Inside a Jeremiah Brent and William Hefner

By Catherine Hong

Photography by Trevor Tondro

How many of us swore to ourselves that when we grew up, we wouldn’t furnish our houses the same way our parents did? Call it a declaration of decorating independence—the inalienable right of each new generation to reject chintz, midcentury modern, or whatever furniture Mom and Dad picked out back in the day. Married couple Kevin and Nahal Danesh admit that for them, this is absolutely the case. Both born in Iran, as young children they immigrated with their respective families to Los Angeles, where they grew up in the area’s Persian American Jewish community. They were introduced by mutual friends during their senior year of college (he was at UCLA, she was at USC), and, says Nahal, “we’ve basically been together ever since.”

Later, as a married couple feathering their nest together, the two realized yet another important commonality. Nahal and Kevin say they had little interest in retreading the type of furnishings they both grew up with—a look they affectionately describe as “very ornate,” “very Louis XVI,” “very gold-accented,” and “very bring-it-from-Iran.”

In the family room, a sectional sofa by Twist Custom in a Jab Anstoetz bouclé surrounds a plaster cocktail table from Collected By.

“No disrespect intended,” laughs Kevin, an attorney, “but we did not want a home that looked like our parents’!” The houses they admired tended to have clean lines, natural wood, neutral palettes, and plenty of breathing room. “We loved the same kind of serene, modern houses,” says Nahal, a dietitian. The more they looked, the more they realized they were drawn to the work of one architect in particular: Los Angeles–based William Hefner. “His homes feel beautiful and timeless,” notes Nahal. “So we pursued him.”

“We 1,000 percent stalked him,” adds Kevin.

The couple originally approached Hefner about remodeling their existing home in Beverly Hills, a project he turned down due to its scope. Over the next few years, they periodically checked in with him to see if any of the houses he had built were coming up for sale. (“We almost closed a deal to buy one, but it fell through,” says Kevin.) Finally, in 2018, the couple found an ideal property with a deep, flat lot in Brentwood. “We were like, Thank God! Maybe now we can get William to build us a house!” recalls Kevin.

In the living room, a bronze waterfall console separates two camelback sofas by ModShop wearing a Rogers & Goffigon wool. Custom Pierre Talus cocktail tables by Galerie Ground; 1970s Morentz glass-and-brass pendants.

The staircase spirals around an Eric Roinestad chandelier from The Future Perfect.

Completed in August of 2022, the structure Hefner designed is a classic Mediterranean-style house of brick and stone laid out in an L shape around a courtyard—but with an arresting sleek glass-and-steel wing across its middle. “I loved that Kevin and Nahal were open to trying something different,” says the architect, who describes his imagined narrative of the house as a centuries-old building in rural France updated with a modern extension. “It’s these moments of juxtaposition when things get interesting,” he says. Wide arched passageways, tall arched windows, and monumental glass-and-steel doors that open directly into the backyard and courtyard erase the boundary between indoors and out and flood the house with sunlight. The swooping pearl-white plaster central staircase—a pet project of Nahal’s—is arguably the most impactful statement, providing a sculptural counterpoint to the square lines of the house and emphasizing the connection between the upper and lower levels.

Kevin, for his part, is happy to point out his own pet project: the living room’s marble-clad bar. “We use it all the time when entertaining,” he says with delight. It serves as a cozy gathering spot when the couple host small groups, and a central pillar of the action when they throw significantly larger parties, like their older son’s bar mitzvah for 300 guests last fall and the Shab-e Sal party they recently held in honor of Kevin’s niece and her fiancé at which they hosted 200 revelers. “We stationed three or four bartenders behind the bar and turned the entire living room into a dance floor,” says Kevin.

In the kitchen, Arteriors stools upholstered in a Larsen Fabrics linen blend pull up to the paonazzo marble–topped island. Cabinets of reclaimed wire-brushed white oak; Obsolete pendants; Lacanche range; Thermador refrigerators; Waterworks sink fittings.

When it came to the interior design of the house, the Daneshes discovered another design crush in Jeremiah Brent, the AD100 designer whose luxuriously low-key modern aesthetic and unapologetic affection for soothing beiges, chalky whites, and grays intersected perfectly with theirs. “Jeremiah understood exactly what we wanted, but he also managed to push us out of our comfort zone,” says Kevin, who credits the designer for talking him into installing the antique black marble fireplace mantel in the primary bedroom (“It came out of a château in France, which at first sounded crazy to me”) and opening his mind to the beauty of vintage lighting (like the rare midcentury floor lamp by Italian architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni that elegantly punctuates a seating area in the living room, which he admits originally “made him nervous”). For Brent, no aspect proved too small, too large, or too infuriating. He designed the elegant bronze snake handles adorning the bar’s cabinetry but also wrestled with the contractors for weeks to get the house’s exterior bricks cut, washed, and rewashed to achieve the perfect impression of centuries-old weathering.

The façade of the Studio William Hefner–designed house.

He also brought to life what might be the best-used dining room in the neighborhood. Here, around a custom white oak table that comfortably seats 16, the family hosts a lively Shabbat dinner for their parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews (all of whom are based in LA) once a month. When the dinners run to 20 guests or more (a not uncommon event), tray tables are brought out and the sleek upholstered banquette is put into service. “Kevin and Nahal may have rebelled against their parents’ decorating style, but the truth is, everything they’ve done here is with their extended family in mind,” says Brent. “Every decision they made was rooted in comfort and personalization.” In other words, it’s a house built on love and tradition—even if there are no Persian carpets in sight.

This story appears in AD’s July/August 2023 issue. To see this home designed by Jeremiah Brent and William Hefner in print, subscribe to AD.

In the entry hall, a pendant by Obsolete hovers above a custom travertine table by From Europe to You. Gio Ponti wall mirror; 1970s French candelabra; moellon stone console; undulating sconce by Edition Modern; antiqued marble mosaic tile by Country Floors.

A club chair by Twist Custom in a Zinc sheepskin and a vintage Danish lounge chair and ottoman in the living room.

A Steinway & Sons grand piano stands in the living room. Walls finished in plaster by KAMP Studios.

Custom stools pull up to an althea arni marble bar in the living room. Bespoke bar cabinet by Jeremiah Brent Design fabricated by Bananas & Hammocks; Édifice White Stoneware Table Lamp by Elisa Uberti.

Another view of the kitchen.

In the dining room, a massive custom ash dining table by Open Door Furniture is surrounded by Nathan Lindberg upholstered chairs. Studiotwentyseven Cointrin pendant lamp; bespoke credenza; painting by T.J. Bohm.

A powder room features a custom mural by James Mobley Design. 19th-century French vanity mirror from Galerie Half; French art deco alabaster sconces purchased on 1stDibs; custom nero marquina pedestal sink.

In the primary bedroom a pair of open-back Swivel Lounge Chairs by Vladimir Kagan stand in front of a Louis XVI–style nero marquina fireplace mantel from Galerie Marc Maison. Vintage glass globe lights; mahal hand-knotted wool antique rug by Marc Phillips.

A custom marble tub by From Europe to You with Waterworks fittings makes a sculptural statement in the marble-clad primary bath. Nickey Kehoe vanity stool; custom nero marquina herringbone tile flooring.

The younger son’s room is outfitted with a bespoke climbing wall by Slab + Steel. Bold chairs from Forom; oak Merton table from A+R ; custom bed; area rug by Commune for Christopher Farr.

Looking into the kitchen.

Hector Finch’s Michele Lantern hangs above a bluestone dining table by From Europe to You surrounded by dining chairs by Irony in the outdoor dining area.

Another view of the courtyard. Lompoc Cobblestone Pavers by Sepulveda Builders.

The family poolside. Custom lounges by BuildLane with cushions of a perennials shearling; Pottery Barn umbrellas; antique stone planters by Olive Ateliers.

Looking toward the poolhouse.

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