For Los Angeles-based designers Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield, beautifying spaces isn’t about dedicating blueprints to particular times or places. It’s about expressing relationships: affairs between scale and texture, vocabularies of colour and proportion. It’s about unions of the old and the new – the modern and vintage – or what the design pair has branded ‘modage.’ “A lot of old Hollywood history, a lot of the opulence of the icon era of Hollywood – are big factors of inspiration … But just like in fashion, you have to have a modern twist or an edge to it,” says Rummerfield, whose esthetic sensibilities were first inspired by her bohemian parents and artsy grandparents. “I decided I was going to be an interior decorator from painting murals on the wall in my bedroom. I just, I don’t know, I knew.”

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Just like his partner, Woodson drummed to the beat of the art scene from a young age. His father was a musician who worked with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., and while he played the blues, Woodson was drawn to colour, enrolling in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art when he was 10 for art classes. “For me, I am like [Rummerfield] … I always had this gene, if you will.” When the two first met through mutual friends in 2004, a chemical reaction likened to what happens when you mix yellow with blue together developed, making for a primary introduction that painted a green horizon for the design duo. “We literally go into the same store separately and pick the same thing,” says Woodson, a collector of vintage cufflinks. Apart from natural inclination, both designers graduated from architecture programs in the U.S.

The yin-yang principals dress client homes in effortless extravagance, reminiscing the minimalist days of Jean-Michel Frank and the faux-fur throws and crystal chandeliers that tickled Eileen Gray’s fancy. In an ode to good decorating, Woodson and Rummerfield penned their book High Style (Chronicle Books, 2008), where they include homage to the good taste of Elsie de Wolfe, who is credited for having invented the profession of interior design in her heyday. Lady Mendl, as she was commonly referred to, authored The House in Good Taste in 1913, a read that continues to have influence in the industry. The design duo is always searching for something different, offering clients a versatile experience with rare finds plucked from antique stores, flea markets and art expos from sleepy towns across the world because, “A great space tells the story of the people who spend time there,” they write. Clients include haute couture brand the House of Versace, celebrities John Travolta and Kelly Preston, and recording artists Courtney Love and Christina Aguilera.

“We are big enthusiasts when it comes to historical value of pieces and architecture,” says Rummerfield, whose grandmother collected trinkets and furniture from the 1940s – 1960s. In their design diary they explain, “Beauty is not buying your furniture from one retailer or paying top dollar. Beauty is a unique mix of objects from around the world, from the past and present, family heirlooms and mass market finds that reflect you, your life and your interests. We find beauty in the most unexpected places and find joy in sharing it with others, and we’ve dedicated our life’s work to showcasing the wonderment of living well.” Woodson currently resides in Los Angeles with his partner and dogs Petra and Niles. Rummerfield and her husband also live in the City of Angels with
five-month-old son, Jack.      www.wandrdesign.com