“He’d definitely be into the theater’s darkness—I think that’d be his favorite room,” says The Righteous Gemstones actor Tony Cavalero of what his character Keefe Chambers would most likely enjoy in the Cavalero household. If you’ve followed the HBO series, you’ll know that for four seasons, Tony has portrayed the charmingly offbeat ex-Satanist who (spoiler alert) marries the youngest Gemstone sibling and youth pastor, Kelvin. Because the couple’s home theater is « really dark and creepy »—though it has a popcorn machine and a pair of recliners—Tony believes Keefe would feel perfectly at home. But Annie Cavalero, Tony’s wife and jewelry designer, believes Keefe would be even more in love with the house itself, one Annie and Tony have lovingly constructed—much as Keefe constructed his treehouse for Kelvin in the current season of the show.
The pair bought their current home—a six-bedroom, five-bath Spanish Revival in L.A.’s high-end Hollywood Hills—in 2016, drawn to the estate’s storied past. Completed in 1939 by renowned architect Paul R. Williams, the estate has hosted Hollywood legends such as Marlon Brando, Wally Cox, and David Carradine. In the late 1960s, it actually served as a commune and ashram called LA Yoga IYI, with Carole King and James Taylor among the Hollywood stars who came through. No wonder that its neighbors—and the web—offered no shortage of salacious rumor about the house’s checkered past, much of which Tony and Annie consumed with their friends.
Despite its Hollywood past, the interior rooms of the house didn’t quite measure up to its Tinseltown history when the couple initially viewed. « Really ’90s, really beige, » is how Annie recalls it. The media room in the basement still lingered from the previous renovation, cabinetry in the kitchen anchored it down, and the main bathroom boasted an enormous, ancient jacuzzi bathtub that dominated the floorplan. A couple of these were some of the several dated design choices that made the property feel stale and stagnant.
Having discovered they’d inherited a house with film history, Tony and Annie weren’t going to let it gather dust in dullness. « We actually wanted to restore it back to some sort of Hollywood Regency grandeur, » says Annie, « but with our own taste and personality infused throughout. ».
They began with discreet restoration—adding vintage doorknobs salvaged from a local restoration warehouse and vintage hardware that came from Charleston Hardware Co. A sunroom showpiece, a « big, beautiful leopard, » was saved from a prop house and harmonizes perfectly with elaborate moldings and medallion ceilings to complete the Old Hollywood feel. Vibrant colors, black-and-white tile installations, and jewel-box walls contribute additional dramatic elements to a richly textured look.
Above Annie’s office desk, the lush green botanical papering borrowed from the great Paul R. Williams’s iconic design for the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Crescent Wing. « I desperately attempted to utilize the original wallpaper, » Annie explains. « My understanding is that Paul actually chose that print himself. » When a custom reproduction proved too expensive, serendipity intervened: a producer from Tony’s School of Rock days had leftover rolls from a similar project and passed them on—just enough to cover two walls.
Throughout the home, custom pieces reveal the couple’s unique aesthetic. In the bedroom, artist Ryan McCann designed the bedframe and nightstands, which sit alongside a playful painting of Arnold Schwarzenegger with the word “SHRED” across his eyes. These elements offer a glimpse into Tony and Annie’s sense of humor and personal tastes. “You’ll find Tony’s gym gear hidden in pretty much every room,” Annie laughs—even though there’s a fully equipped home gym that he uses daily.
The expansive outdoor space, part of which was designed by landscape architect Gerrit Goss, accommodates anything from a 250-guest wedding (they’ve had one there in 2019) to a pool deck with a dive board specially constructed by artist and pal Monica Birakos. There’s even space for foster dogs rotating out of rescue Pawsitive Beginnings and a backyard shed converted to an office. Perhaps most dramatic of all is the floor mural, painted by artist Carlos Nieto and emblazoned across in « 11 Palms » as reference to the property’s original nickname, given by Marlon Brando as a nod to the eleven palm trees scattered across the grounds. « We felt like we had to pay homage to that, » Tony says.
They collaborated extensively with their friend and designer Amber McDermott of Spruce Your Space to retrofit the interior spaces. McDermitt’s scrupulous renderings—like a hand-drawn blue-print of the theater—made Annie’s fantasies come true. « Annie’s hand is all over this house, » Tony brags. In her geologist great-grandfather’s crystal clusters in nearly every crevice to her late uncle’s chandelier in the bright red hall, the house is full of personal treasures that reveal her fervent sense of significance and flair.
« Nothing’s just lying around in the house to be cool, » Annie insists. « Every object has meaning, background, and depth—it all has a story to tell. »
Although they adore what the house is now, for Tony and Annie, it was the real connection from the very beginning. « We weren’t even seriously house hunting at the time, » Tony recalls. « But when we came in, it just had that thing—like your grandmother’s house, good kind of. »
Tony remembers the experience clearly. « I was standing there thinking, ‘I wonder if Annie likes this place,’ and then she turned and mouthed, ‘I love this place.' » He smiles. « From that point on, I knew—if we were going to choose one, it had to be this one. »
