Rebuilding Pacific Palisades: How I’m Helping Bring One of L.A.’s Most Storied Neighborhoods Home

I have always considered Pacific Palisades one of the great American neighborhoods — the kind of place where winding canyon trails meet breathtaking ocean bluffs.  I was always caught by how mid-century modern homes sit next to Spanish revivals and Cape Cods.  The more time I spent there, I met locals who were part of generations of families that built a life around Sunset Boulevard's slow curve toward the Pacific. Ever since I moved to Los Angeles in 2002, I've always loved this neighborhood.  I've loved seeing it grow and evolve.  I've enjoyed its hiking trails and proximity to the water.  As a Los Angeles interior designer working between Miami and the Westside, I've watched this community with a lot of love, and over the past year and a half, with a lot of heartbreak too.

The January 2025 Palisades Fire was the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history by structure loss.  The fires tore down nearly 7,000 homes, schools, and small businesses in a matter of days. It's the kind of loss that doesn't have a tidy before-and-after.  And yet, walking those same blocks today, I see something else too: the efforts to rebuild taking shape after a long process that is far from over. As of the most recent counts, more than 340 rebuilding projects have broken ground across the Palisades; still a long way to go. It's slow. But it is happening, and it matters.

For homeowners rebuilding in Pacific Palisades, bringing an interior designer into the process early can help coordinate space planning, architectural details, lighting, finishes and furnishings before costly construction decisions are finalized. As a Los Angeles interior designer working on new construction and full-service residential projects, I believe the strongest rebuilds happen when the homeowner, architect, builder and interior designer collaborate from the beginning.

I didn't come to Los Angeles to build a client list. I came on a business trip by sheer luck while still living in Chicago.  (My boss wasn't able to do the trip, so I came in her place. But that's a story for another time.)  Like many, I instantly fell in love with the city.  It felt like home even during that initial visit.  I grew up in Miami, so I was accustomed to driving everywhere, warmer weather, and sunny days.  But L.A. touched me deeper.  It fulfilled my curiosity about Hollywood and movies that made up a large part of my childhood.  Over twenty years in, as I split my time between Los Angeles and Miami,  I've had the opportunity to not only be a resident of the city but also work on interiors and appreciate the city at an even deeper level.  I understand the neighborhoods more.  And in the Palisades — the light, the canyon-to-coast geography, the way this city treats a home less like a shell and more like an expression of those living in it - the rebuilding after the fire becomes a new chapter for many residents.  

Much of that comes from time I spent alongside people in entertainment, many of whom called the Palisades home — producers, executives, and creatives who build worlds for a living. It taught me to read a room differently: where's the drama, where's the pause, where does the eye want to rest, and where does it want to be surprised by an unexpected moment.  And so, that's really the lens I bring to every design project: this isn't just square footage being replaced or reimagined. It's a story being rewritten, and it deserves to be told well and told collaboratively.  

I have always admired the eclecticism of Palisades; it's one of the key elements that made it so special to me. It was never a neighborhood of cookie-cutter architecture. Spanish Colonials adjacent to 1960s post-and-beam moderns; a Cape Cod might be two doors down from a contemporary glass-and-steel build. That kind of variety is exciting and thrilling to me.  The idea that you can move fluidly between a historic-inspired rebuild and a bold, modern new construction without losing the thread of who the family is.  

That's where my studio's design philosophy — what I call Fearless Curation and Modern American Maximalism — feels especially appropriate for this moment. It's a layered, personality-forward approach built on color, pattern, and texture that celebrates an eclectic sensibility rather than flattening it into a single "coastal chic" look. As families rebuild in the Palisades, many are approaching it as a genuine second chance: an opportunity to build the home they always wanted, not just replace the one they lost. That's a conversation I love having because its personal and real.  

Rebuilding from the ground up is a different beast altogether.  It calls for a different process than a renovation and for interior designers to get involved far earlier than most homeowners expect.  Over the years, I've worked on various new builds.  As I lay out in detail on my new construction and custom home design page, the most successful ground-up projects bring interior design thinking in from day one — often before an architect or builder is even secured.  That said, it really depends on the interior designer you're hiring.  Some feel more comfortable working only on decor and finishes, and others, like myself, like to collaborate with clients from the very early stages.  

For Palisades families rebuilding right now, that early involvement can be especially valuable:

• Space planning & flow — designing layouts around how your family actually lives now, not just how the old house was laid out
• Architectural details — thinking about millwork, ceiling treatments, and built-ins while the framing stage is still in play
• Finish selection — sourcing flooring, tile, countertops, and cabinetry ahead of installation deadlines
• Lighting design — being strategic with electrical layouts before walls close up, so fixtures are both functional and beautiful
• Material coordination — collaborating on surfaces, from foundation to furnishings, feels like one cohesive story

To be transparent, I am not an architect, builder, or contractor, and I never try to be — those professionals are essential, especially in a rebuild environment with evolving permitting requirements and fire-hazard building codes. What I do is act as your design advocate throughout that entire process: translating inspiration into a clear vision, protecting that vision through every framing decision and change order, and making sure the home that comes out the other side feels unmistakably, personally yours — not a generic spec rebuild.

Not every Palisades project starts from an empty plot of land. Some homeowners are working with partial rebuilds, insurance-funded renovations, or homes that were spared but need refreshing after months of smoke, dust, and disruption. A lot of different scenarios at different stages in the rebuild or remodel process.  My full range of studio services covers a lot of what we can help with — full-service interior design, kitchen remodels, new build collaborations — with the same client-first process no matter where in the rebuilding timeline a family stands.

Collaboration is really the operative word here. I work alongside builders, architects, contractors, and — especially in this environment — insurance teams and public adjusters, respecting each professional's expertise while advocating fiercely for design quality. In a recovery landscape where so much already feels out of my client's control, I try to make the design decisions feel like the one part of the process that's exciting again.

There's no softening what the Palisades community has been through. Losing a home is losing more than a structure — we can't downplay that. I don't take that lightly, and I don't think any design conversation about this neighborhood is honest if it skips past that.

But I've also watched this community show up for itself in a way that says everything about who lives here. We're coming together and taking steps forward. It's not the pace anyone would choose, and for those still waiting, every month matters. But the Palisades is coming back — and it's being rebuilt by people who love this neighborhood enough to fight for its return.

If your family is rebuilding in Pacific Palisades or anywhere across greater Los Angeles, I'd be honored to be part of that next chapter. Request a consultation and let's talk about what home looks like next.

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