West Hollywood Design Firm L’Esperance Design Brings Unparalleled Innovation in Commercial & Residential Design to the South Bay
Post design school, Paul L’Esperance landed his first professional job for the legendary Hearst family, whose attention he had captured. When the co-founder of L’Esperance Design in West Hollywood was tasked with restoring the famous Hearst Ranch on the Central Coast of California, the design world knew to expect great things.
After the restoration of Hearst Ranch, Paul L’Esperance worked on one iconic project after another: the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento, the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and the famous (and infamous) Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, to name a few.
Since the start, Paul L’Esperance and his business partner in L’Esperance Design, Daelan Cory, have accrued an endless list of high-profile clients, including Gregg Fiene, founder of fashion brand XOXO.
It was the design of Gregg Fiene’s Manhattan Beach home that first connected Paul L’Esperance and Daelan Cory to the South Bay. Due to their proficiency in elevated design, the dynamic design team continues to cultivate thriving relationships in the South Bay, including those with well-known architects like Doug Leach, Louie Tomaro, and Michael Lee; as well as acclaimed contractors such as Zivec-Corbett, Ken Johnson, and Kassabian Builders, and more.
“Often,” shares Daelan Cory, “the colleagues we work with look to us to help them brand their look or style.” But aesthetics vary. “We’re not known for a certain design category or style; we approach each project with the intention to create something completely unique and custom for that particular client,” explains Paul L’Esperance.
L’Esperance Design offers an extensive list of design services, and the team is recognized for its expert custom designs, everything from screen-printed wallpaper, as seen in Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion, to textiles, carpet, and furniture.
“For Greystone, we reimagined intricate antique wood and leather furniture pieces by finishing them in chrome to heighten the wow factor for each room,” shares Paul L’Esperance. Greystone’s amplified screen-printed fabric wallcoverings are another great example of how the team uses oversized items in space to beguile the viewer.
“We like to add something dramatic to every space; it’s what personalizes each individual room,” continues Daelan Cory.
Equally known for their commercial work, the duo just completed the new Italian restaurant Radici in Hermosa Beach. The luxe space blends modern beach-chic style in a flora and fauna palette amid a backdrop of incredibly realistic wallpaper, screen-printed on silver mylar of an Italian village.
While scrolling through a list of a dozen or so current projects around Manhattan Beach, the grand reopening of a Beverly Hills institution that L’Esperance Design is co-designing whets one’s appetite.
“This trend-setting restaurant is filled with outstanding design, and elaborate use of rose gold,” which Paul L’Esperance predicts as the metal de jour, moving from mere trend to design imperative.
“Black interiors as relief from all the white are on the rise,” explains Paul L’Esperance of another trend (“we’re even doing hardware in matte black, which is just outstanding,” he says), along with monochromatic 3D tiles, modern mixed with antiques, and Neolith in lieu of marble.
With a differentiating list of specialty services, from artistic lighting and digital projection to art and artifact consultation, this innovative design firm is attuned to what’s now and what’s next.
“Our partnership is cohesive; I love to design organically, by hand, and Daelen is an expert with innovative technology, that it all just works,” shares Paul L’Esperance.
“Clients, developers, and contractors alike love to work with us because we like to do ‘different,’ we like to expand. Its always a fun adventure and, at the end of the day, we want the process of design and build to be fun for the client, because if it’s not, what’s the point?”
L’Esperance Design has received multiple design awards for its work, including recognitions from the California Heritage Council, the California Preservation Foundation, and the Governor’s Historic Preservation award from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. With expertise in innovative and forward-thinking design, one looks forward to being dazzled by what the firm will show next.
L’Esperance Design
Paul L’Esperance & Daelan Cory
lesperancedesign.com
Photography Courtesy of Marc Cartwright