Avi Brosh is a busy man. As the CEO and founder of Palisociety—a boutique hotel brand specialising in one-of-a-kind accommodation, most of which can be found on the US West Coast—he’s not short on ideas or big projects. He’s recently launched Palihouse West Hollywood, is preparing to launch Le Petit Pali, a line of bespoke B&B hotels next month, and has even more Palisociety hotels in the pipeline—so you can understand why. Yet, a quick glance at the peaceful Malibu home he shares with wife Kirsten Leigh Pratt and dog, Simon, and you’d never know just how busy their lives are.
Home owners Avi Brosh and Kirsten Leigh Pratt in the garden of their Malibu home.
Set on nearly 15,000 square-feet of rolling lawn, hedges and established citrus and olive trees, the 1941-built home is a throwback to English cottage style—in the most charming way possible. Brosh designed and renovated the home alongside Kirsten, his partner in love and work, who is also Palisociety’s principal in charge of hotels and branding, and says the coastal Malibu location is the perfect lifestyle fit for the power couple. “It’s like living in a small country town,” he says. “You’re surrounded by natural beauty and wildlife and, of course, the ocean. It’s quaint—you know your neighbours and the people working at the local stores, but you can also dine at world-class restaurants and say good morning to world-class surfers (and a celebrity or two) on a beach walk.”
Brosh and Pratt moved into the home, aptly named Sea Level House, during the last northern hemisphere summer, effectively trading their previous beachfront digs for the bucolic estate, which combines three plots of land. “We lived on the oceanfront for many years, which of course was lovely, however there is something even more special for us about having gardens, citrus trees, a large lawn, as well as having sea views; with the beach just a short walk from your front gate.”
Located just a minute’s walk from Lechuza Beach, the property features a two-storey Cape Cod-style home as well as a detached, one-bedroom guest house, with a combined span of around 3,000 square feet. Sticking to the home’s original 1940s style was central to the design process, Brosh and Pratt share in a combined statement, who describe it as “part beach house, part farmhouse” prior to the renovation. “The original style was more of a beach vacation cottage—the finishes were basic and modest, the walls were pine, [there were] lots of small, poky rooms, and the landscaping was overgrown.”
Seeking to breathe new life into the home, the couple combined their unique design voices. While Pratt’s style leans into British farmhouse (“I was influenced by deVOL Kitchens’ aesthetic—tasteful and timeless, rustic and chic, and the idea of Babington House in the UK, i.e. the bathtub in the dressing room”), Brosh sought “an idealised version of Clark Gable’s Malibu retreat—classic and bespoke, yet casual and inviting at the same time, and filled with a myriad of personal items collected over time.”
Fortunately, it’s a melding of styles that works well, and one that can is also somewhat reflected in Palisociety hotels’ distinct and character-filled aesthetic. “Avi likes to take more risks with design and colour and likes a contemporary California inspiration, [while I] lean into a more classic English farmhouse sensibility,” says Pratt. “It’s an eclectic combination, a touch of the unexpected, but at the same time bespoke, comfortable and curated.”
As is customary with English cottages and beach houses, the home is heavy on wood panelling and millwork, and features original wood casement windows and Dutch doors. “We added a lot more wood panelling and beadboard to the interior of the house—including all the ceilings, most of the walls and bathrooms—all painted in All White by Farrow & Ball—which gives it a beach house vibe,” adds Pratt. The exterior and fireplaces also scored the white paint treatment, with the couple careful to add sophisticated finishes to elevate the overall look of the home.
They used Sisal on the stairs and floor, and stripped the original timber floorboards and kept them stain-free to further add the laid0back, rustic feel. The remodelled kitchen is particularly English farmhouse in style, owing to sage green cabinets, a black soapstone kitchen counter, a Whitehaus double farm sink and deVol handcrafted light fittings and aged brass dimmer switches and cabinet handles.
Even the light fittings stick to the beach house theme. “The house has a broad range of light fixtures, including nautical-inspired exterior ship lights that we let patina outdoors in the salt spray for a few months,” say the couple. The bathrooms benefit from Waterworks Studios ceramic and polished nickel hardware, as well as classic-looking ceramic sinks and black and white chequered tiles.
Furniture wise, Avi and Kirsten’s home boasts an eclectic mix of pieces from their personal collection—items that range from vintage tables and chairs mixed with more contemporary pieces. Highlights include a pair of yellow checked Nickey Kehoe chairs that frame the dining room entrance, a custom deVol haberdasher's freestanding pantry (filled with vintage silver champagne buckets, crystal glassware and antique china, naturally!), a 13-foot long vintage draper’s table and a ceramic outdoor coffee table from Soho Home.
A number of 19th and 20th century oil paintings punctuate the space, adding old-world appeal, while “a framed Hermès vintage scarf from Avi’s mum’s own collection,” offers a touch of the personal.
Thanks to the renovation, Brosh and Pratt transformed the former three-bedroom, three-bathroom plus guest house property into a one-bedroom main house with three full bathrooms and a stand-alone guest house with its own kitchen and bathroom. The changes were crucial to creating a new flow and atmosphere. For example, merging two upstairs bedrooms into one family/TV room in the main house introduced a new area to relax and take in those famous Malibu sunsets.
Elsewhere, the “quirky, but fabulous” update on the master dressing room and bathroom gave a private space new life. “This room was previously a small and dark extra bedroom next to a tiny shower and toilet,” they say. “Reimagining this room was the gamechanger for how we use every room in the house.” With its custom-designed wardrobe and dressing room and a Dutch door modelled off the home’s original version, the addition of a bathtub and steam shower elevates the space into something akin to a luxury hotel.
But if there’s one area of the home that brings the couple real contentment, it’s the light-filled living room, with its vaulted ceilings, original glass panelled windows, fireplace and ocean views. “It’s special because the light in here is divine morning, noon and night and it overlooks the front garden with hedges and rolling lawn,” they share, before adding, “however, all rooms in the house are fabulous. There is not one we wish was different.”
