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Shani Darden embraces the art of simplicity. As a celebrity-endorsed esthetician and the founder of a celebrated namesake skincare brand, Darden has built a blemish-free following on the premise of “less is more.” The ethos is as personal as it is professional. Take her home search, for instance.
Seven years ago, while in the hills overlooking Los Angeles’s Hollywood Bowl, Darden spotted a for sale sign on the same street as the other on-the-market opportunity she initially came to tour. This serendipitous sighting was a better fit for what she was looking for—which, as you might have guessed, was all about simplicity. “We were very lucky,” she says of this property, where she lives with her husband, their two kids, and lots of animals. “It just felt like me.”
The four-bedroom Spanish-style home had been tucked away in the Santa Monica mountains for decades, warmed by a near-constant California sun yet cooled by breezes that often scent the air with sage. “Being here has always felt very calm,” she says. “But it had its quirks.” Below, Darden shares how her minimalist approach expanded from faces to spaces, and why simplicity is best taken slowly.
Neutralize the Palette
When Darden’s family moved in, it seemed as though every room was a different color. “That’s typical of older Spanish homes, but I wanted to use a neutral palette to make everything feel less cluttered,” she says. She partnered with designer Mike Moser to find creamy paints that would complement warm woods, creating a simple-yet-stunning backdrop for windows filled with greenery to pop.
“In an old home in the hills, there’s only so much you can do to move the walls,” Darden says. “Our original kitchen felt like it had more shadows because all of the cabinets were dark, and Mike painted them white. We kept the existing windows, because they’re so charming, and the pendants make them look even sweeter.”
Use Plaster In Kids’ Spaces
Another very Spanish detail? Plaster. It was applied to add a subtle texture to the four bathrooms, but was featured as the main material in the kids’ bedrooms. “It’s also the guest suite,” Darden says. Given that a neutral palette would define the home, Moser suggested plaster to follow suit with a warm, dreamy quality. And better yet, plaster wouldn’t be hard on the budget.
Those reasons were entirely appealing, but Darden points out that plaster made sense in her kids’ rooms for a simpler reason. “It’s so forgiving,” she says. “I knew that if they spilled something, it would be fine.”
Prioritize the Closet Over the Tub
In the primary suite, Darden faced a major either-or decision: Make the bathroom larger to create space for a tub, or use that square footage to build the closet of her dreams. “I chose the closet, come on,” she says with a laugh. “It feels like my own little boutique.”
The closet has floor-to-ceiling shelving for her shoes and mirror inlays on the walls and cabinetry that bounce light on every surface. It’s beside her new primary bathroom, which still has an oversized shower—she doesn’t feel like she sacrificed anything but time. “We lived with the home as it was for years, and then started renovations in 2020, doing rooms slowly but surely,” she says. “So I lived with my old bedroom, bathroom, and closet for a while. It gave me a chance to save and plan.” And by the looks of it, Darden has gotten everything she had in mind.