Some design studios feel like museumsbeautiful, quiet, and slightly intimidating, like you’re not sure where to put your hands.
Commune, the Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary firm featured in Remodelista’s “Designer Visit: Q & A with Commune in LA,” reads more like a working clubhouse:
books stacked with intent, textiles with history, objects that look collected (not “shopped”), and a vibe that says
“Yes, we care about the doorknoband also about what you’ll eat at the table it opens into.”
The original Remodelista Q&A is quick, punchy, and surprisingly revealing: in a handful of answers, Commune maps out a worldviewcollaboration over ego,
the client over the designer’s “signature,” and daily life over showroom perfection. In other words: considered, but not precious.
This article unpacks that Q&A, connects it to Commune’s best-known work in hospitality and retail, and translates the studio’s approach into
practical ideas you can steal for your own homeno design degree required.
Who (and what) is Commune?
Commune is a Los Angeles design studio known for holistic work across architecture, interiors, graphics/branding, and products.
The name is not a branding stunt; it’s a mission statement. Commune positions itself as a “community” of collaboratorsdesigners, artisans, builders,
and specialistsworking together to make environments that feel human, layered, and built to last.
Remodelista notes that Commune was founded in 2004 by four partners with varied backgrounds, united by a shared sensibility and a desire to “enhance life through design.”
Over time, the firm has become strongly associated with principals Roman Alonso and Steven Johanknecht, whose work is often described as a modern form of
California cool: relaxed but disciplined, warm but edited, eclectic but never chaotic.
What the Remodelista Q&A really tells you (if you read between the lines)
The Remodelista interview is structured as short prompts“What do you collect?” “What inspires you?”and the answers are famously concise.
That brevity is the point: it reveals priorities. Commune’s responses aren’t trying to win a poetry contest; they’re pointing to a process.
Here are the most useful takeaways, and why they matter in real homes (not just in glossy photos).
1) Their “most important lessons” are basically a design checklist
Commune’s headline lesson in the Q&A is: ask the right questions, listen carefully, and collaboraterepeatedly.
That’s not feel-good fluff; it’s a method. If your “right questions” are off, everything downstream gets weird:
your kitchen looks great but cooks terribly, your living room photographs well but nobody sits in it, your storage is “minimal” until you actually own things.
The collaboration note matters because great interiors are rarely solo acts. Even in a small home project, you’re collaborating with:
your future self (who will have to clean this), your habits (that you swear will change), and the reality of budgets, timelines, and materials.
Commune’s approach suggests that good design is less about “having taste” and more about building alignment.
2) When they start a project, they think “the client”
In the Q&A, Commune answers the “what do you keep in mind?” question with one word: the client.
That single word is a gentle roast of the entire internet era of “copy this look.” Commune’s best work doesn’t feel like a template
because it’s anchored to people: how they move, gather, rest, cook, work, and collect.
If you’re designing your own space, this is the easiest upgrade you can make: stop asking “What’s trending?”
and start asking “What’s true here?” Who lives here, what do they do on a Tuesday, what annoys them, what comforts them,
what needs to be effortless, and what can be a little extra?
3) They collect books, ceramics, and textilesaka: texture with a memory
Commune’s collections list is telling. Books bring ideas and scale (a room with books usually feels inhabited, not staged).
Ceramics bring tactility and utility (you touch them daily). Textiles bring softness, sound absorption, and pattern without screaming.
Translation: the studio favors objects that do workfunctional, emotional, and visual.
This also hints at a deeper Commune signature: “new” isn’t the goal; “right” is. Patina is allowed.
Imperfections are part of the story. If your home feels sterile, it’s often because everything in it is too similarly new, too similarly shiny,
too similarly “from this year.”
4) Their inspiration list is about life, not mood boards
In the Remodelista Q&A, Commune cites travel, music, great food, “the smallest detail and the greatest gesture.”
That range matters. It suggests they’re not just designing surfaces; they’re designing experienceshow a room feels over time,
and how small choices (a hook, a socket, a handle) can quietly improve your day.
If you’ve ever walked into a space and immediately relaxed without knowing why, that’s often the “smallest detail” doing heavy lifting:
warm lighting, tactile materials, good acoustics, and furniture placed for conversation instead of for photographs.
5) The “wish list” answer is secretly the most revealing
Commune’s wish list includes a vegetable garden and an in-house cook for the studio. That’s funny, surebut it also signals values:
nourishment, craft, and community. A garden is a long game. Cooking is care. Both are a vote for gathering rather than just consuming.
In design terms, it’s a reminder that the best homes aren’t built around “stuff.”
They’re built around ritualscoffee, dinner, reading, hosting, making, resting.
Commune’s style is compelling because it’s attached to a lifestyle that feels both aspirational and oddly achievable: fewer gimmicks, more meaning.
Commune’s “California cool” isn’t a vibeit's a system
“California cool” can sound like a marketing phrase, but Commune’s work gives it structure:
natural materials, comfortable proportions, lived-in textures, and a mix of influences that feels collected over time.
Architectural Digest has described the studio’s output as bohemian chic with an unfussy, rustic charm that stays timeless.
That’s a useful description because it balances two impulses most homes struggle to reconcile:
the desire for polish and the desire for comfort.
Commune’s trick is not that they “mix styles.” Everybody says they mix styles.
Their trick is that the mix has rules:
- Anchor with restraint: calm walls, grounded palettes, clean architectural lines.
- Add warmth through materials: wood, linen, hand-thrown ceramics, woven rugs, aged metals.
- Layer meaning, not clutter: objects feel chosen for a reasonhistory, craft, story, or function.
- Design the everyday: hooks, hardware, lighting, and seating matter as much as “statement” pieces.
Proof in the projects: where you’ve probably “met” Commune already
Remodelista points out that you may have experienced Commune’s work without realizing itthrough hotels, shops, and public-facing spaces
that subtly teach you how to feel: welcome, curious, comfortable, intrigued.
Here are a few standout examples and what they show about the studio’s approach.
Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs: a lesson in adaptive reuse with personality
Commune’s work on the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs is frequently referenced because it nails a difficult brief:
turn an old motor lodge into a “communal desert experience” without sanding off every trace of its past.
The concept embraced the site’s history and leaned into a layered cultural moodlocal artists, a desert-road-trip spirit,
and a mix of rugged and refined that feels intentional rather than themed.
For homeowners, the bigger takeaway is this: you don’t have to erase the “before” to get to the “after.”
Sometimes the most compelling spaces are the ones that admit they’ve lived a little.
The goal isn’t perfection; it’s character plus comfort.
Heath Ceramics retail spaces: designing a store like a community room
Commune also designed multiple retail locations for Heath Ceramics in California, drawing inspiration from Heath’s factory roots.
That’s a smart retail move: instead of building a generic showroom, they created environments that feel grounded in making
part workshop energy, part gallery clarity, part relaxed California hangout.
That strategy translates beautifully to homes. When you design a kitchen, a mudroom, or even a hallway shelf,
ask: is this a “display” area, or a “use” area? Commune’s best spaces blur that line:
practical objects are allowed to be beautiful, and beauty is designed to be handled.
Product collaborations and the power of “good basics”
Commune’s visibility isn’t limited to bespoke interiors; they’ve extended their aesthetic into products and collaborations
a move that makes their ideas more legible. When a studio can scale its sensibility into furniture, lighting, or tabletop,
it suggests their look isn’t dependent on one-off antiques or impossible-to-source finishes.
It’s dependent on decisions: proportion, material honesty, and the courage to keep the “base layer” calm.
Steal Commune’s approach for your own home
You don’t need an LA studio or a desert hotel budget to borrow the best parts of this design philosophy.
The Remodelista Q&A is basically a pocket guideif you translate it into actions.
Start with “the client” (yes, that’s you)
Write three sentences:
what you do in this room, what annoys you in this room, and what would make the room feel generous.
That’s your brief. It will save you from buying a chair you never sit in and a rug that’s allergic to real life.
Build a “materials library” instead of chasing trends
Commune collects books, ceramics, textilesso copy that energy. Gather swatches, objects, and references that you actually want to live with:
a linen you like to touch, a mug you reach for, a book spine color you love, a textile pattern that feels like you.
Then design around those, not around whatever your feed is yelling about this week.
Upgrade the small stuff: hardware and lighting are the silent heroes
Commune’s Q&A highlights humble favoriteswood pegs as hooks, ceramic light bulb sockets, thoughtfully made hardware.
These details are relatively affordable compared to full renovations, yet they change how a home functions.
If you want a fast upgrade:
- Swap harsh overhead bulbs for warmer, layered lighting (floor lamps, sconces, task lights).
- Use simple pegs or hooks where life actually happens: entryways, bathrooms, bedside.
- Choose a few tactile materials and repeat them (wood + linen + ceramic is a classic trio).
Let your home look lived-in (on purpose)
Commune’s work feels authentic because it doesn’t fear wear. A scratch can be a story.
A slightly faded textile can be a mood. The trick is to balance it with clarity:
fewer items, better items, and enough breathing room that the layers read as intentionalnot accidental.
Extra: Studio-Visit Experiences You Can Use (About )
Not everyone gets invited into a working design studio in the Hollywood hills, but you can still have a “Commune-style” studio-visit experience
wherever you arebecause the real lesson isn’t the zip code, it’s the way you pay attention.
If you ever tour a studio, a showroom, a maker space, or even a beautifully run boutique, try this: don’t just look at what’s there.
Look at how it’s used, stored, repaired, and repeated.
First, notice the work surfaces. In many great studios, the best table is not preciousit’s productive.
It has scratches, notes, samples, maybe a coffee ring that survived a deadline. That’s your cue at home:
a dining table can be beautiful, but it should also be ready for homework, dumplings, flowers, puzzles, or whatever your life actually does.
“Museum-only” furniture is basically a gym membership you never use: expensive guilt.
Next, look at the material pile-up. Studios that create warm spaces usually have a visible relationship with materials:
textiles folded within reach, ceramics stacked carefully, wood samples that show grain instead of hiding behind glossy paint.
Try recreating that at home with a small “materials corner”:
a basket of throws, a shelf for handmade bowls, a stack of books you genuinely open.
The goal is not clutter; it’s permission for texture.
Then, pay attention to repeatable decisions. Commune’s Q&A mentions things like pegs, ceramic sockets, and covetable classics.
Those aren’t random preferencesthey’re repeatable moves. Pick a short list of design decisions that you can apply across rooms:
one metal finish you love, one wood tone that feels right, one textile family (linen, cotton, wool), and a lighting temperature you can live with.
Suddenly your home looks “pulled together” without you buying a matching set like it’s 2006 and you’re furnishing an apartment with a catalog.
Finally, observe the human layer. The best studio visits feel energizing because you sense collaboration:
sketches, prototypes, samples, conversations, and food somewhere nearby. You can bring that home by designing for gathering:
keep chairs that can move, clear a surface for serving, and make one spot that says “sit down” without needing an invitation.
Even a tiny apartment can do this with a bench at the entry, a stool that doubles as a side table, or a tray that turns a messy corner into a “bar.”
The punchline: a Commune-inspired home isn’t about buying the “right” objects. It’s about building a life that makes sense in the space
and choosing materials, details, and rituals that support it. Your house doesn’t need to look like a photo. It needs to work like a friend.
Conclusion
Remodelista’s “Designer Visit: Q & A with Commune in LA” is short enough to read on a coffee break, but it packs a full design philosophy:
ask better questions, listen harder, collaborate more, and treat everyday life as the real design brief.
Commune’s workacross hospitality, retail, and homeshows that “cool” doesn’t have to be cold.
With a calm base, honest materials, and details that improve daily routines, you can build spaces that feel warm, collected, and genuinely yours.