UNTIL THREE YEARS ago, Loree Rodkin surrounded herself with dramatic, gothic-inspired furniture. After a trip to Bali, the Los Angeles-based jewellery designer had an epiphany: her home was going to be a Balinese sanctuary. 'I came back to a house where there was stuff everywhere,' says Rodkin. 'It had cathedral ceilings, which weren't going to work for what I wanted to do. So I sold it, bought a new house and completely redid it in three months. I designed everything myself - all the rugs, the fabrics, the whole look and feel of the place.' The result is a 3,500-square-foot ode to minimalist calm in a one-storey home tucked in the hills above the prestigious Sunset Plaza area of Los Angeles. When Rodkin first bought the place a few years ago, it was a standard 1960s-style tract house that was, in her opinion, not even remotely usable. 'It had little windows, sliding doors and a backyard filled with dirt,' she says. All that remained after she gutted it were four walls. Rodkin converted two of the original four bedrooms - one into an office, and the other into what she calls her winter closet. The guest room is in a muted shade of pale green, with the walls covered in seagrass - which appears in many rooms in the house - and features soft lighting provided by rustic-inspired hanging lamps. Indian elephants and a Victorian painting bought at a local antique store give the space a multicultural flavour that permeates the rest of the house, which otherwise is Balinese in influence. Many of the floors are limestone, imparting a clean, cool sensibility. Other details include a hammered nickel sink. 'I shipped a lot of things back from Bali, and almost designed the house around them,' says Rodkin. Despite the simplicity of the decor, she says she is all about luxury: the walls of her bedroom have pleated-silk surfaces, and her bed is covered in quilted silk. 'I like really luxurious fabrics,' she says, referring to the padded leather and shagreen (derived from stingray) that appear throughout the room. Rodkin has spared no expense in the master bathroom. The bathtub, in which she frequently enjoys two-hour soaks, is one of her favourite places to watch television (her 19-inch flat-screen set is encased in the pale-green tiled walls). Water gushes into the tub from metal grooves, which are set beneath an ornate wooden carving. Natural light pours in through skylights, and the pale marble is an attractive counterpoint to the dark-wood fixtures. A plush beige chaise longue atop an animal skin rug adds to the luxe look. 'I was really inspired by the Park Hyatt in Tokyo when I was doing this bathroom,' says Rodkin, who remembers that, as a child, she would go to friends' houses and rearrange the furniture. 'I was so mesmerised by that hotel. The lobby and halls took my breath away. I just walked into the lobby and it brought me to my knees.' Since moving into her new home, Rodkin, whose extravagant bejewelled creations are sold through Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, says her design sense has changed. 'I got rid of chaos in my interior,' she says. 'And it left me open to create other things. It's like this place is a big canvas. I'm not distracted. Everything I have has its place. ' Rodkin moved with only two pieces of furniture from her old house - a 17th-century clawfoot Victorian dining table and an authentic Tiffany lampshade that hangs above it. The main sitting room is as comfortable as it is pristine. The beige and cream couches are in soft fabrics. Collectibles such as 100-year-old African fertility sculptures and gilded Victorian columns add to the eclectic interior. Rodkin has put an emphasis on lighting, placing spotlights throughout the house - even her wardrobe lights can be dimmed. 'I had to educate myself about what appeals to me visually,' she says, pointing to a modernist, round leather-covered table holding a glimmering bead-covered 1950s lamp. Even the kitchen is filled with artefacts, which suggests it's not a part of the house she often uses. 'For me a kitchen is maybe a toaster and a coffee machine,' she says. Nonetheless, the black granite countertops and state-of-the-art culinary equipment give the room a luxurious feel. Rodkin has paid as much attention to the exterior of the house as to the interior. The tranquility of the outside space is reminiscent of a Bali resort, complete with teak deckchairs, an outdoor fireplace and a stone statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesh. The gardens, with their planted bamboo and stone fountains, have a distinctly Asian feel. Rodkin's successful renovation inspired her to create similar interiors for friends and clients. 'I like to design a house a year,' she says. 'When I'm designing a room, it helps me create jewellery as well. It's always an evolution.'
