132 ARCHDIGEST.COM
he scenario seems ripe for a bawdy
rom-com: Two gorgeous sisters from
London, both high-profile model/
actresses descended from British
aristocracy, decide to set up house
together in sunny Los Angeles; they
trick out their alluring Stateside
hideaway with a Playboy pinball
machine, a nautical bar straight out
of Gilligan’s Island, and a stripper
pole; margaritas flow freely; high
jinks ensue. That, in a nutshell, is the
story of Poppy and Cara Delevingne’s
intoxicating California home, which,
much like the sisters themselves, offers an object lesson in
idiosyncratic personal style leavened with sauciness and humor.
“L.A. can be a lonely place. You really have to make an effort
to reach out to people. Since one of us was always coming here
for one reason or another, being with family just made sense,”
Cara says of the unconventional sororal living situation. “This
was the chance to build our dream sister house. Miraculously,we’re still talking,” Poppy adds, presumably including her
husband, British aviation executive James Cook, in the
collective we.
“The fact that they share a house at this point in their
lives is incredibly telling. They really are best buds,” observes
architect Nicolò Bini of L.A.–based Line Architecture, who
worked closely with the Delevingnes to bring their L.A. fantasy
to life. The setting for the sisters’ family frolic is a gracious but
unpretentious 1950s dwelling, centrally located yet discreetly
tucked away on a quiet street, and conveniently outfitted with
a pair of master suites on different floors and with two separate
entrances. “I wanted to create a true L.A. moment for them,
with nods to California midcentury modern, Laurel Canyon
bohemia, Beverly Hills swank, surfing culture, and a little
Mexico,” Bini continues. “Then we tied all that in with Cara
and Poppy’s Englishness to give the house another layer of
Delevingne charm.”
The exotic olio Bini describes finds eloquent expression in
the emerald-lacquered dining room, with its rattan monkey
chandelier; the pink and green velvet upholstery in the living
room; a proliferation of banana-leaf and palm-frond fabricst