Leopard Scalamandré Meets Minimalism in a 1925 Laurel Canyon Craftsman

Interior designer Harrison Soll and stylist Rodney Burns share a 1925 Craftsman house in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles — roughly 1,400 square feet of rented space where two opposed design philosophies now coexist under one bohemian roof.

The couple met five years ago, in the fall; by New Year's they were together. "I didn't think it was going to be a relationship," Soll told AD. He credits shared taste for the match: "We always found a throughline with design." That throughline now runs through nearly every room of the house.

Burns owns Church, a West Hollywood vintage boutique, and has worked with Lenny Kravitz as a stylist and creative collaborator for the past 15 years. Kravitz has seen the results firsthand. "The mix of Rodney's early- to midcentury style mixed with ethnic expression next to Harrison's bold minimalist modern approach seamlessly blend together," the singer told AD.

What can renters actually change?

The house is rented, and that constraint shaped the project. Soll obtained permission for two alterations: retiled a bathroom and installed a new vanity. The doe-patterned wall-to-wall carpet in the living room was an "ask for forgiveness" move — one his landladies ended up loving. His partner took longer to persuade. "The carpet took many dinners of conversations between the two of us," Soll said.

The compromise runs through the furniture. Soll calls himself a minimalist; Burns does not hedge. "I'm a maximalist to the umpteenth power," Burns said.

How do the two styles split the house?

• The office leans toward Soll: a midcentury desk and a 1970s tapestry.
• The dining room holds a Sergio Bustamante table and a Chinese Art Deco rug as its main attractions.
• The living room belongs to Burns's sensibility: a couch upholstered in leopard Scalamandré, zebra-hide chairs and a sinuous De Sede sofa.

Even the maximalist gesture has a limit. The animal-print couch carries a block of plain leather upholstery. "I just think it would have been too maximalist to do a full Scalamandré sofa," Soll said.

The living room also gathers brass sculptures — a Maison Jansen palm tree and a Sergio Bustamante monkey — plus bronze figures sourced from an Arizona estate sale and several sculptural artworks.

The architecture itself resists tidiness. The main bedroom is not a perfect square, so a stainless steel bed from TTMM appears set on a diagonal; in fact it follows the room's angular geometry.

What does the blend amount to?

Soll describes the overall effect as Afrocentric with, in his words, a little bit of Ralph Lauren. The couple has taken their time, tinkering and adjusting rather than staging a single reveal. "Our visions have mingled," Burns said.

One item remains unresolved: a blanket basket. "We still haven't found one we agree upon," Soll said. The house demonstrates what two professional eyes can achieve inside a rental's limits — permission letters, one carpet gamble and a five-year negotiation over pattern, not ownership.