Architect John Lautner’s 1938 guesthouse

So as not to overpower Lautner’s design, the rooms are furnished simply with midcentury wood furniture from Danish Modern in Silver Lake.

Designers Diana Kunce, left, and Michelle Marks, are framed by the front door of the newly remodeled 1938 guesthouse.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In the guesthouse bedroom, a new Modernist bureau and shelves were inspired by similar Lautner designs.

The red brick fireplace was left untouched along with the built-in couch Lautner designed. Some windows were rebuilt, and drywall was added to the ceiling, although sections of the early canvas are still visible from below. Interior beams were refinished and repainted in the same red hue as the originals.

A guitar and mandolin rest near the home’s original brick fireplace.

To help open the kitchen and keep the horizontal lines of the space, the designers removed a full-size refrigerator from the 1970s and installed a smaller refrigerator underneath the Eurostone countertop, at left.

In the kitchen, new stained redwood custom cabinets were installed along with Heath tile in a warm ocher to suit the woodsy feeling of the house. The geometric tile pattern was inspired by the acute angles of the main corner windows in the living room.

To add space in the bedroom, the designers removed a low closet underneath a window and created a simple open storage closet behind a wall leading to the bathroom.

Lautner’s original shelves in the living room were preserved.

A lamp purchased on eBay reflects the Modernist style of the newly remodeled 1938 guesthouse.

In the bathroom, a wall-mounted sink and toilet improved the room’s tiny footprint along with a glass walk-in shower. In another space-saving move, the pair replaced the bathroom’s original swing door with a slider.

Bronze hands found on eBay seem to reach skyward in the bedroom.

Designer Michelle Marks is framed by the living room bay windows of the newly remodeled 1938 guesthouse by famed architect John Lautner.

Designers Michelle Marks, pictured, and Diana Kunce, helped restore the newly remodeled 1938 guesthouse. The contrast between old and new is almost indistinguishable.

The modest 600-square-foot guesthouse has the feel of a Northern California cabin.

Lautner’s first official commission in Los Angeles was a modest 600-square-foot guesthouse, a refuge that has the peaceful feeling of a cabin with warm wood floors and paneling, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking an Echo Park canyon.