“ I have a fear of formula; in fact,
I’m almost paranoid about it,” says Janna Levenstein of her
quest for the out-of-the-ordinary during the two years of
painstakingly creating Rising Glen, her midcentury makeover
nestled in the star-studded Hollywood Hills. Levenstein, the
principal designer at Tocha Projects, is versed in the prose of
affect and angle as she muses, “The home’s success lies in
the minimal gestures that collectively convey such a different
feeling.”
That feeling may be difficult to pinpoint, as the home
inspires a paradoxical mix of breathless peace and surprise
thanks to Levenstein’s ability to think beyond limitations of
any kind. “When I hit a snag in any project, I know to brace
myself because something very cool is about to happen,”
she says. “I have learned not to become fixated on any
particular concept because problems can lead to exciting
inventions that are often much more interesting than the
original ideas.”
