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John Hill’s Brentwood home shows how a 1959 midcentury house can become vivid, warm, and unmistakably family-oriented without losing its architecture. Working with designer Leah Ring of Another Human, Hill and his wife, Maria, kept the house’s white panelled shell intact and used paint, wallpaper, lighting, rugs, and furnishings to create distinct moods—from a creamy-yellow bedroom to a dark-blue movie room and a jewel-box powder room.
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The Los Angeles house sits in Kenter Canyon and is shared by Hill, Maria, their children Cecilia and Jackson, and their dog, Crackers. The complete room-by-room account appears in Architectural Digest’s 2022 home tour; important details such as the address, size, architect, and exact paint colors were not published.
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The color works because it is layered over a restrained architectural base. Ring kept the home’s white panelled walls and ceilings largely neutral, then allowed each room to carry its own concentrated color, pattern, and texture. Rugs, upholstery, bedding, wallpaper, and one-off furniture establish the palette without disguising the 1959 structure.
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That distinction mattered to Ring. She described the goal as combining old and new, introducing “bold prints and patterns and colorful accents,” while avoiding retro pastiche. The result is midcentury in proportion and material, but not a museum recreation of the 1950s.
The house also balances two different clients’ histories. Ring had previously designed Hill’s Venice recording studio with masculine materials such as leather and dark wood. The Brentwood brief had to work for the whole family and feel “really cheerful,” rather than repeat the studio’s darker atmosphere.
What did Leah Ring change, and what did she leave alone?
Ring did not remodel the house. The previous owners had already preserved and renovated its architecture, so the new work consisted of paint, wallpaper, light fixtures, and furnishings. According to Ring, installation began in August 2021 and finished by the end of that year, based on the October 5, 2022 publication date.
That limited intervention is the project’s most useful lesson for a painter: color can recalibrate how a room feels without rebuilding it. White ceilings and panelled walls remain a continuous visual framework, while the furnishings provide the stronger changes in mood.
Several inherited or original elements anchor the scheme. Outside the main bathroom window is a shimmering sea-blue ceramic wall by modernist sculptor Stan Bitters, original to the house. A cream lacquer coffee table and Vitsoe shelving came from the previous owners. Hill uses the shelving to display a Grammy alongside books, sculptures, and personal artifacts; the published story does not identify the award’s category or year.
How is color used in each room?
Living room: a gathering space built from blue, olive, and warm leather
The living room is the family’s main gathering place. A periwinkle-blue loveseat from Amsterdam Modern sits near a painting by Mara de Luca inspired by light and clouds. A circular ceiling pendant by Roll & Hill supplies a sculptural focal point, while vintage leather safari chairs sourced through Etsy add a rougher, more tactile note.
A plush olive-green sofa by Nickey Kehoe softens the room’s cooler blue. Hill said the family spent Christmas there, making fires, playing music, and gathering around a midcentury piano he found and traded for his childhood piano. The room therefore reads as a functioning family room rather than a staged conversation area.
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Office: citrus upholstery and a checkerboard floor
Ring turned the office into what the caption calls “a colorful burst of inspiration.” A pink checkerboard Moroccan berber rug sourced through Etsy establishes the floor pattern. Two vintage 1960s Poul Volther–style chairs, upholstered in citrus fabric, provide the bright seating moment.
The maple desk is a custom collaboration with Los Angeles studio Arbor Exchange. A teal sleeper sofa from Design Within Reach sits elsewhere in the office. These are separate placements; the documented account does not describe a second set of Volther-style chairs.
Children’s media room: a five-color sofa as the centerpiece
The children’s media room echoes Jackson’s bold bedroom. Ring designed a modular sofa in five colors, using Teflon-treated fabric for practical durability. Small wooden tables by Matthew Philip Williams and a striped Dash & Albert rug keep the room playful without relying on novelty furniture.
A HAY Bonbon shade supplies the deliberately quirky light fixture. In the shop module, the striped rug is called the Catamaran Striped Rug; the story does not publish a measured size.
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TV room: the deliberately darkest room
The TV room is the visual counterpoint to the bright common areas. Ring painted its panelled walls a moodier dark blue because it was already the darkest room. She designed an L-shaped burgundy linen sofa large enough for Hill, Maria, the children, and Crackers to watch movies together.
A Charlotte Perriand–inspired white-oak coffee table was made with Arbor Exchange. It is distinct from the cream lacquer coffee table inherited from the previous owners, which sits with the Vitsoe shelving elsewhere in the house. The dark wall color, burgundy upholstery, and pale oak table create contrast without adding architectural ornament.
Kitchen: pattern concentrated around the banquette
The kitchen keeps its dark-wood table but gains color through the banquette. Its seat was reupholstered in a print from S. Harris, with patterned back fabric from St. Frank. Vintage olive-green counter stools sit beneath the island, repeating the olive note used in the living room without making the kitchen a matching set.
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Powder room: a jewel box in gold and teal
The powder room is the most compact and most theatrical space. Gold-and-teal floral wallpaper by House of Hackney turns it into what the story describes as a jewel box. A Gio Ponti FA33 reproduction mirror adds a crisp modernist outline against the dense pattern.
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Primary bedroom: creamy yellow against dark wood
Dark-wood closets made the primary bedroom feel less bright, so Ring painted the room creamy yellow and introduced additional pattern through the bedding. She described the goal as calmer, “but not too overwhelming.”
Enamel sconces by Lumfardo flank a vast walnut bed with nightstands, another Arbor Exchange collaboration. Bedding by Hawkins New York and a quilt from Commune Design add pattern without competing with the yellow walls. The published shop cards identify the sconce as the 1950s Long Arm Sconce, the sheet as a Simple Linen Flat Sheet, and the quilt as the Studio Ford for Commune Reversible Quilt.
Main bathroom: a lavender refresh around existing marble
The main bathroom retained its existing marble-top vanity, which was refreshed with light lavender paint. A black pennyround tile floor grounds the otherwise pale scheme. A brown patterned vintage rug and a solid-wood Amish stool supply warmth.
Through the bathroom window, the original Stan Bitters ceramic wall provides the strongest color event: sea-blue glazed forms that shimmer outside the room rather than compete with its interior finishes.
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A deep-blue floral rug from Anthropologie inspired Cecilia’s bedroom palette and décor. The room combines a Room & Board bunk bed, a blue Poppin desk, and a velvet blue chair from Pottery Barn Teen. Here the rug does the planning work first; the furniture follows its blue family instead of introducing unrelated colors.
Jackson’s bedroom: bright doors and striped bedding
Jackson’s room is “very fun and very vibrant,” centered on a selection of Benjamin Moore paints for the closet doors. A green Blu Dot Stash Desk and bright striped Pendleton bedding continue the color-blocked approach.
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Ring said Jackson loved the palette, so the furnishings were planned to feel masculine enough for him while remaining fun. The article does not identify the Benjamin Moore color names or codes, nor does it publish a Pendleton pattern number.
How do the furniture choices balance vintage, custom, and ready-made pieces?
The house does not rely on a single sourcing category. Vintage pieces, inherited furniture, catalog goods, and custom work sit together so that no room feels uniformly new or overly curated.
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- Inherited and original: the Stan Bitters ceramic wall, the cream lacquer coffee table, and Vitsoe shelving.
- Vintage: the living room’s leather safari chairs, the office chairs, the kitchen stools, the bathroom rug, and the Amish stool.
- Custom: three one-off Arbor Exchange collaborations with Ring—the white-oak TV-room coffee table, the walnut primary-bedroom bed with nightstands, and the maple office desk.
- Ready-made: pieces associated with HAY, Poppin, Blu Dot, Room & Board, Pendleton, Dash & Albert, Hawkins New York, Commune Design, and other retailers.
The three Arbor Exchange pieces are collaborations, not current catalog products with reorderable model numbers. Likewise, the vintage chairs and rugs should be understood as sourcing references, not guaranteed identical products still available today.
What did the documented shop items cost?
Architectural Digest’s “Shop it out” module printed the following list prices on October 5, 2022. They are historical figures, not verified November 2026 prices, and the presence of a product card does not prove that the family purchased that exact item.
| Item | Associated room | Price when listed | Retailer shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio Ford for Commune Reversible Quilt | Primary bedroom | $400 | Commune |
| 1950s Long Arm Sconce | Primary bedroom | $1,600 | Lumfardo |
| Simple Linen Flat Sheet | Primary bedroom | $225 | Hawkins New York |
| Sky Key Desk | Cecilia’s bedroom | $425 | Poppin |
| Chamois Midnight Wingback Swivel Desk Chair | Cecilia’s bedroom | $369 | Pottery Barn Teen |
| Gio Ponti FA 33 Wall Mirror | Powder room | $2,875 | Design Within Reach |
| Catamaran Striped Rug | Children’s media room | $538 | Wayfair listing |
| Bonbon Shade | Children’s media room | $475 | HAY |
| Stash Desk | Jackson’s bedroom | $550 | Blu Dot |
| Waverly Bunk Bed | Cecilia’s bedroom | $2,199 | Room & Board |
Prices checked November 2026; the figures above remain the October 5, 2022 list prices reported by Architectural Digest. No prices were printed for the Benjamin Moore paint, Pendleton bedding, Nickey Kehoe sofa, Amsterdam Modern loveseat, Roll & Hill pendant, House of Hackney wallpaper, the two banquette fabrics, the Anthropologie rug, or the Etsy-sourced vintage pieces.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who is John Hill, and what can safely be said about the Grammy?
John Graham Hill is an American record producer and songwriter best known for alternative-rock work. The biographical record on Wikipedia says he produced the entirety of Cage the Elephant’s Social Cues, which won Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. It also records Producer of the Year, Non-Classical nominations at the 57th and 62nd Grammy Awards.
Architectural Digest says Hill displays “his Grammy award” on the Vitsoe shelving. Because the house story does not identify the trophy, it is more accurate to say that a Grammy is displayed than to assign it to a particular category or album. His writing and production credits extend beyond the 2022 house feature, so a short career description should not be treated as a complete current discography.
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Which facts about the house remain unpublished?
The feature does not provide an architect, street address, lot size, interior square footage, bedroom count, bathroom count, sale price, Benjamin Moore color codes, Pendleton pattern code, or the identity of Hill’s Grammy. Those omissions are important: figures from other Los Angeles midcentury houses cannot be transferred here.
For example, a 2024 Dwell profile of a Tujunga bungalow concerns music producer Max Hershenow and lighting designer Nick Davidson, not Hill. A Forbes report on a Harry Gesner house gives figures for a different Hollywood Hills property. Neither story supplies missing facts about the Kenter Canyon home.
How can a painter borrow the project’s color strategy?
Start with the architecture rather than a decade label. Keep a neutral continuous surface—such as white paneling or a light ceiling—so stronger colors have somewhere to register. Then assign each room one clear emotional job: gathering, concentrating, sleeping, watching films, or playing.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstall- Map fixed elements first. Note dark wood, existing tile, marble, original art, and any view through a window. In this house, the dark closets drove the creamy-yellow primary bedroom, while the existing blue ceramic wall enriched the bathroom.
- Choose one anchor color per room. A rug, sofa, wallpaper, or painted closet can establish the starting hue. Cecilia’s floral rug led her room; Jackson’s closet doors led his.
- Repeat selectively. Echo olive, blue, or warm wood in another object, but do not make every room use the same palette. The living room and kitchen share olive notes while retaining different identities.
- Use darkness intentionally. A dark-blue TV room can feel intimate when the furnishings support it. Dark paint is not a mistake if the room’s purpose benefits from enclosure.
- Mix eras through texture. Pair vintage leather, inherited shelving, custom wood, and contemporary upholstery. The contrast keeps a colorful room from becoming a theme set.
Ring’s work demonstrates that a midcentury home does not need period-perfect furniture or a full renovation to feel coherent. Respecting the shell, then making confident decisions about paint and pattern, allowed this family house to become personal, practical, and visibly alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was John Hill’s Brentwood house newly built for the family?
No. The house was built in 1959 and had already been preserved and renovated by its previous owners. Ring’s commission focused on finishes, lighting, and furnishings rather than structural construction.
What exact Benjamin Moore colors were used on Jackson’s closet doors?
The published home tour names Benjamin Moore as the paint source but does not identify color names, numbers, or finish specifications. Any precise swatch attribution would therefore go beyond the available record.
Is the Stan Bitters ceramic wall inside the bathroom?
It is outside the main bathroom window, where it can be seen from inside. The installation is original to the house and acts as a major visual connection between the bathroom and the exterior.
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The TV-room table, bedroom bed with nightstands, and office desk were described as one-off collaborations with Leah Ring. They should not be treated as current catalog items with standard sizes or model numbers.
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