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A new Apartment Therapy house tour profiles Eileen O’Dea and Ryan Silverman, who have spent 14 years customizing their postwar cottage in Los Angeles’ Mar Vista neighborhood. The couple, founders of woodworking businesses, have renovated rooms themselves, including a kitchen project that took about nine months.
Eileen O’Dea and Ryan Silverman have spent 14 years reshaping their postwar cottage in Los Angeles’ Mar Vista neighborhood, building and finishing much of its interior themselves. An Apartment Therapy house tour published yesterday documents the couple’s work, including a remodeled kitchen, custom wood floors and built-in furniture, in a home that reflects their careers in design and woodworking.
The couple bought the 75-year-old, two-bedroom house after Silverman had rented it for years. O’Dea told Apartment Therapy that the home was initially dark and lacked personality. Their changes included adding windows, turning part of a bedroom into a large closet and raising the kitchen ceiling. They share the house with their dogs, Lucy, Hank and Tilda.
The projects began with a closet Silverman built for O’Dea before she moved in. It combines a fumed-oak herringbone ceiling, walnut dressers and hanging shelves, and parquet flooring. The couple later redid their bedroom floor in quarter-sawn oak parquet and added a custom bed with integrated nightstands, also built by Silverman.
The kitchen, dining room and laundry area became a larger renovation. The couple removed dividing walls and lifted the kitchen ceiling to the roofline, then built the cabinets and installed Roman clay wall finishes. The project included antique French oak floors, a bleached-walnut chevron ceiling and green stone counters. O’Dea said the work took about nine months; seven years later, she still considers the kitchen her favorite room.
A Working Woodshop Shapes the Home
The tour offers a close look at how the couple’s professional design skills inform their own home. O’Dea and Silverman founded The Wooden Palate, a maker of cutting boards and home accessories, and STUDIO E&R, a woodworking business that produces custom furniture and architectural features. O’Dea also works with finishes including limewash, Moroccan clay and Roman clay.
The project is not presented as a quick or inexpensive makeover. The couple said that working on their own home means balancing time and cost, even though they create high-end pieces for clients. Their account shows how specialized skills can make ambitious renovations possible, while also making clear that the work can stretch over years. The home is a personal residence, not simply a display of the businesses’ products.
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From Rental to Long-Term Project
Silverman first encountered the property as a renter and lived there for years before the couple had the chance to buy it. Since then, they have made changes in stages rather than completing a single renovation. The reported timeline spans 14 years, and O’Dea said that projects often take time to finish because the couple must fit them around work and what they can afford at a given point.
The kitchen illustrates that incremental approach: it took around nine months to complete, yet the couple still describes it as a favorite space years later. The tour also notes a vintage banana painting and a La Cornue stove the couple found at an estate sale. O’Dea said they do not have the unlimited budgets of some clients, though their professional experience makes them want high-quality materials and custom work at home.
““The house was quite dark and didn’t have much personality until we started playing … adding windows, creating a large closet from half a bedroom, raising the ceiling in the kitchen.””
— Eileen O’Dea, speaking to Apartment Therapy
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Project Costs and Permits Not Reported
The Apartment Therapy report does not provide a total renovation cost, a full list of project dates or details about permits and contractors. It describes the work as the couple’s own, but does not specify whether every task was completed solely by them or whether outside professionals assisted with any part. The article also does not give measurements or a detailed account of the property’s condition before the renovations.
The tour is a profile of one household, not an independent evaluation of construction quality, resale value or energy performance. The couple’s descriptions of their design decisions and the home’s appeal are their own accounts. No broader claims about renovation costs or outcomes can be drawn from this single home.
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More Work May Come in Stages
The source report does not announce a new renovation, completion date or future project schedule. O’Dea said substantial work often takes time to fit around the couple’s schedules and budget, suggesting that projects may continue incrementally, but she did not specify what they plan to do next.
For now, the Apartment Therapy tour documents the home as it stands and provides the couple’s account of how it developed. Any further work, its timing and its scope remain unannounced.
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Key Questions
Who owns the Mar Vista cottage?
Eileen O’Dea and Ryan Silverman own the postwar Los Angeles home. They share it with their dogs, Lucy, Hank and Tilda.
How long have they worked on the house?
The couple said they have spent 14 years putting their mark on the home. The renovations were carried out over time rather than as one continuous project.
What did they change in the kitchen?
They removed walls between areas, raised the kitchen ceiling to the roofline, built cabinets and used Roman clay on the walls. The project also included antique French oak flooring, a bleached-walnut chevron ceiling and green stone counters.
How long did the kitchen renovation take?
O’Dea told Apartment Therapy that the kitchen took about nine months to complete. She said it remained her favorite room seven years later.
What do the couple do professionally?
O’Dea and Silverman founded The Wooden Palate, which makes cutting boards and home accessories, and STUDIO E&R, a woodworking company that creates custom furniture and architectural elements. O’Dea also specializes in decorative wall finishes.
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