Loaf is a Los Angeles–based practice led by Alfie Koetter and Luke Studebaker. The studio’s website is wittingly found at meetloaf.org. As to why the firm is named after a hunk of bread, Studebaker simply explained, “We’re just loafing around!” But the duo’s humor isn’t just on the surface, a sense of joy runs through their work, including a recent garage conversion and bathroom remodels for a home in Los Feliz, California.
The client, a Hollywood music composer named Jeff, needed a place to work from home that offers privacy from the rest of the residence and family and features acoustic separation. The detached 216-square-foot garage, located at the back of the home, was the likely spot for a music studio. Loaf approached the conversion by maintaining the rectangular plan without adding additional walls. Instead, the duo opened up one wall to the adjacent garden.
New millwork then perimeters the remaining three sides, creating space for equipment storage, seating, and surfaces to work on. The millwork, done by Aaron Hauser, dominates the small space—while rising up to the acoustic performance required. The custom perforated plywood panels not only adds to sound quality but also creates a dot pattern that offers visual levity and an abundance of functionality. “We worked with the millworker to determine a perforation pattern for the panels, which were made on a CNC mill,” Studebaker, who has also written for AN, told AN Interior. “Although arranged in a grid, the dots are scaled to give the panels not only a graphic but also a tactile quality; the latter being furthered by the fact that the same circular cutout is also used for cabinet pulls. The regular spacing of the dots on the panels also allows for a functional modular system: shelves and light fixtures are mounted through the holes, cables running behind the panels can be pulled through at regular intervals to connect different equipment.”
The studio enclosed the space by encasing the roof joists in a painted wood trim to create a coffered ceiling. The effect gives vertical dimension to the space while embracing its tight parameters.
After the music studio was completed, Loaf tackled the bathrooms. Both the primary and guest bathroom were reconfigured with new tiles, skylights, new fixtures, and improved storage and layouts. As Jeff and his wife Claire recently welcomed a new child, the primary bathroom was updated with a tub and ledge to better accommodate bathtime. Here white tiles with brown grout clad the walls and shower, framing the enlarged, fluted glass window above the tub. Pink cabinetry adds a pop of color to the space, finished with sconces from RBW and Jasper Morrison.
“When designing bathrooms we like to think of them as opportunities to be indulgent with color and materials,” continued Studebaker. “In their use of color, both bathrooms stand out from the rest of the house. We proposed a two-tone color scheme for the guest bathroom, and the client settled on pink and green. The green picks up colors from the exterior: the green patio and the greenery of the garden. This color connection is made stronger by the fact that the bathroom has a door to the outside garden, which also allows it to be accessed by the music studio without having to walk through the house.”
The green and pink border continues around the room like a wainscot for which the fixtures and storage are organized around. A skylight above the shower helps define the room’s planes and textures. It’s finished with brass details and marble backsplash that houses a sink from Nood. The bathroom features a door that opens onto the garden, nearby to the new music studio for Jeff to better impress clients, tying both projects neatly together.