London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 25, 2025

How One Designer Lovingly Preserved a 1920s L.A. Mansion

How One Designer Lovingly Preserved a 1920s L.A. Mansion

Cliff Fong updated a Mediterranean-style home in Hancock Park, setting the stage for gutsy art and iconic modernist furniture.

Style, according to Cliff Fong, is about possessing a singular sensibility. Having worked in fashion in a former life, the Los Angeles–based interior designer, who operates under the firm name Matt Blacke, takes an approach informed by the personal style of fashion icons: “They’re never head-to-toe in Saint Laurent or Gucci,” he says. “It’s about the mix.”

In Fong’s latest project, a 1927 Mediterranean-style mansion in L.A.’s historic Hancock Park neighborhood, his fashion-forward philosophy resounds through the home’s various eras of art and design. In the dining room, where the original oak paneling is almost a century old, the dining table is a 21st-century work by Rick Owens, embodying the high-low ethos by combining petrified wood and plywood. The delicately wrought ceiling lamp is 1950s Serge Mouille, whose distinct graphic language abounds in the house’s many vintage Stilnovo lamps and sconces of his design. Fong compares such pieces to a favorite handbag or accessory-“things you can always count on to make your look work.”



Sonya Roth, Fong’s client and a managing director of Christie’s auction house, lives here with her three children: 10-year-old Anabel, 7-year-old Colette, and 3-year-old Henry. She and her late husband, Josh Roth, bought the house together in 2017, charmed by the grand archways that carved clear views from one side of the house to the other. They were in awe of many of the original architectural flourishes, including the curves of the grand spiral staircase, but they did not love the outdated finishes or the “10 million sconces,” Sonya recalls. “It was very heavy-handed.”



The couple had the dark hardwood floors replaced with neutral shades of reclaimed French marble, and the living room’s ornate plaster fireplace replaced with one in 17th-century French limestone. They chose both their materials and their furniture to match the historical weight and authenticity of their art, a collection they began together in the mid-2000s as they became fixtures on the L.A. art scene.



Sonya was an active patron of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the nonprofit LAXART, and before Josh passed away in 2018, he had bridged the worlds of the entertainment industry and fine art by launching a visual-artist representation division and exhibition space for United Talent Agency. The couple gravitated as much toward the artists themselves as they did to their works. “Our collection is mostly our friends’ art,” she says.



To complement the pieces in their collection, Fong sourced vintage editions of venerated midcentury designs by icons of the period. The living room, for example, features black leather sofas by Børge Mogensen and Kaare Klint beside an enormous canvas by Stanley Whitney. Even so, when Sonya entertains, her guests-a mix of Hollywood power players and artists-inevitably shuffle through a trio of archways into the media room, beckoned by a plush sectional in vibrant aubergine.



It is one of the more colorful elements in a house that hews to white walls and soft gray wool rugs-neutrals that accommodate, rather than compete with, newly acquired works of art. “Rugs to me are like your favorite jeans,” Fong explains. “It doesn’t matter what you put on top of them if you get the right one.”

Sonya says she never worries about how an artwork might clash with the decor. She does, however, have to answer to her children’s budding connoisseurship. “They certainly have opinions,” she says with a laugh. “They see things through different eyes. I’ve noticed that as I get older-I’m in my 40s now-my kids help to keep my eye a little fresh.”

Tour This Glamorous, Art-Filled L.A. Mansion




Despite the extensive renovation, much of the architecture that the couple initially fell in love with remains. Visitors enter past white columns adorned with baroque reliefs, leading into a double-height atrium that glows in the neon lettering of artist Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon. The illuminated sculpture hangs below the original lace-like millwork with an archway on each side, offering a peek into the sun-drenched interiors beyond.

“It’s not easy to make a beautiful old house comfortable for contemporary living,” Fong says, commending the couple for preserving the essence of the mansion’s history while bringing the interiors up to date. Sonya, on the other hand, describes a much more intuitive process: “I just wanted to hang on to everything original that was good.”


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
×