At Home with Valerie Bertinelli

When Valerie Bertinelli remodeled her house in Studio City, CA, white walls were not part of the plan: The host of Valerie’s Home Cooking and her husband, Tom, decorated their entire place with bold colors, including a deep-blue dining room, a striking red living room and a red-accented library. Valerie is also big on comfort, so she and Tom created lots of nooks — indoors and out — for lounging, and she furnished the library with oversize chairs where she can cozy up with her five cats and dog, Luna. “I needed a space to sit and read and be with my animals,” she says. “It’s my favorite room in the house after the kitchen — it lets me take care of myself for just a couple minutes a day.”

Valerie wanted the living room to feel traditional but with fun patterns and colors. Her designer, Lars Anderson, found furniture based on pieces she loved in her previous home, then he added patterned crewel pillows and a vintage rug. Valerie decorated the room with family snapshots and vintage art. “I love finding paintings at antiques shops — they have beautiful frames and don’t cost a lot,” she says.

Visitors can see the dining room from the front door, which means everyone catches a glimpse of one of Valerie’s favorite finds: a set of nine pictures of cows by artist Glen Wexler. The mahogany dining table pulls out to twice the size, perfect for when Valerie hosts her book group. She loves dramatic lighting, so she added a chandelier from Restoration Hardware. “It’s supposed to be in a bedroom, but I don’t believe in firm decorating rules,” she says.

After seeing Glen Wexler’s cow pictures at his gallery, Valerie told the artist, “I’m going to build a wall just for your cows” — and she did.

Part of the renovation involved doubling the size of the library. “I always wanted a place that was big enough for all my books so I never had to throw any away,” Valerie says. Her wood shelves are packed with cookbooks, old scripts, yoga guides and photo albums. She designed the room around the red chandelier, which meant reupholstering vintage chairs in red leather and installing red-shaded sconces. Valerie spends mornings here sipping coffee and doing the crossword, and evenings drinking wine and reading.

The house sits on an acre, but only a small section of the land is flat. Valerie put that part to good use with an infinity pool that she can see from her dining room and kitchen.

She also built an outdoor pizza oven and entertaining area that she lovingly calls “the pavilion.”