Kevin Keating was ready to, as he puts it, “step up a rung on the property ladder.” He’d saved enough to buy a home and started looking in LA, sometimes with his boss, Gwyneth Paltrow, who, he says, has “amazing taste.” When he fell in love with a soaring space in need of an update, she had an idea. “The place had great bones,” she says.

The bones might have been hard for some to see—the place was all awkward angles—but with Keating away for a bit, Gwyneth worked with Jonathan and Drew Scott of Property Brothers and Toronto interior designer Victoria Tonelli to give Keating’s new space a total makeover.

“Gwyneth knows my vibe: clean colors; a light, white palette; and hardwood floors,” Keating says. “I like a hotel feel, but it should feel personal and particular at the same time.”

Gwyneth collaborated with Tonelli to conjure a space that feels airy, personal, even grand. “We wanted to enhance the existing character while introducing this element of calm with the white-and-cream palette,” Tonelli says. Space saving was the other priority, she continues: “Every inch counted, and reorganizing the layout, squaring off all the odd angles, helped open everything up.”

THE BEDROOM

The original space had two small bedrooms and two small bathrooms; the team reimagined it with one larger master bedroom and bath. Closet space (there were no closets) and great lighting (there was nothing but standard overhead fixtures) were key. The solution turned out to be a closet with custom cabinetry doors by Marvel that flanks either side of the entrance to the bathroom. “It melts into the walls instead of feeling like a bulky closet,” says Tonelli.

The bathroom also involved a major deal-breaker element to work around: an enormous soaking tub. “They started with a regular-size shallow tub—which made sense because the space was so tight,” says Keating. “But Gwyneth knows me, and so…we went big.”

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THE PATIO

The outdoor space was a huge reason Keating fell for the place originally, but he says he couldn’t have imagined how well it would turn out. “It’s this great place for grilling with my friends,” he says. “It reminds me of my East Coast days with my mom and family.” Tonelli optimized every square inch, with a sleek outdoor bar by The Galley, a Marvel outdoor fridge, NatureKast cabinetry, and graphic Granada tiles. “As with the rest of the home, we were dealing with some weird angles,” she says. “The patio is an example of how really good furniture and smart, great-looking storage can help you overcome a space’s limitations: We went with an oversize sectional and a gorgeous FireFeatures firepit that we worried would be too big—but counterintuitively, they make the space feel bigger. Where there were odd angles, we dropped in plants. The result is the illusion of a bigger space.”

It fits perfectly with the airy, eclectic feel of the entire project. “All the spaces have a different character, but we managed to tie them together mixing modern and natural elements, along with getting really creative with the storage,” says Tonelli.

Walking into the space for the first time (watch the episode for the full reveal) was shocking, Keating says, but he immediately felt the sense of ease and the personal touch. “My boyfriend was the one to suggest we open up the space under the stairs,” he says. “And there’s Portuguese tile in the kitchen—I’m Portuguese, so Gwyneth knowing my story helped make the space meaningful. Reorganizing the space the way they did was incredible, but what makes home for me is all the thought that went into it. Gwyneth has known me for 13 years, and it shows.”