House Skylight

The first thing you notice when you pull into the driveway that leads to the newly constructed Cajrati Crivelli house in Bel-Air, designed by London-based architect Felicity Bell, is the sheer expanse of space around the property. Lush greenery surrounds the house on its 6,053 m² property.

A modernist Southern California design influence plays a role throughout the home. Natural light is the focus and everywhere you look, the room seems to expand. Incredibly tall windows, white walls and towering marble pieces pull you into the main room and then out towards the back yard with its flower gardens, spectacular views of LA and an infinity pool overlooking downtown. There’s also a lap pool in the basement that can be heated for those brisk mornings in LA’s cold weather.

Concrete communication with nature in the Crivellis’ house. Large manual exterior venetian blinds were designed by Bell to keep the sun out on hot summer afternoons and to capture the cascading LA winds that seep into the canyons around town when the temperature drops in the evenings, sometimes 25-30 degrees.

The colors used in the decor are more natural: beige, white, brown and here and there there are also some dark accents to create a striking contrast. Because of this and the use of materials such as natural wood or marble, the house looks very luxurious.

The fireplace in the main room, designed to entertain the guests, creates a chic yet inviting ambience. In the meantime, all of the furniture and many furnishings (outside of London’s Victorian period antiques) were also designed by Bell.