let the house change you
Anyone can change their house. But we believe if we do our jobs right, you will experience the real transformation.
Technically, we rehab houses. The ‘restoring’ part of this tends to happen to the people.
An old house asks you to slow down, look closer, and take responsibility for something that was here before you and will be here after. In a world that rarely holds still, that’s no small thing.
We help you see what’s worth saving, what’s ready to change, and what the house might be asking of you. That’s the other enormous gift a house can give you: personal renewal.
We help you get curious before you get out the sledgehammer. The house becomes the best version of itself. And if you let it, so will you.
We work with what’s already whispering
design principles, not dogma
We begin by reading the house: its proportions, its peculiarities, the original details and the changes made along the way. Then we get to know your life in it—where everyone ends up, what never quite works, and what you loved before you knew how to explain it.
Those observations become decisions: what to repair, what to rework, where to introduce color, and how to make a new element feel at home without pretending it has always been there.
Some rooms need a lighter hand. Others need a decisive change. We don’t come with a formula for what an old house should look like. We develop a direction for this house, with you in it.
You’ll understand what we’re proposing and why. There will be decisions to make and problems to solve. You’ll have our judgment, our candor, and people you’re glad to have beside you.
We work with restraint, not reduction.
And we leave a trace of care in everything we touch.our design principles
The five things we believe — give or take a ghost
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1. Inheritance
A house comes with things you didn’t choose. Some will become the things you love most. We begin by understanding what you’ve inherited before deciding what comes next.
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2. Trace
A worn threshold, a fragment of wallpaper, the marks left by an earlier arrangement: age gives a house specificity. We don’t erase it simply to make everything match.
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3. Anatomy
We study proportion, circulation, openings, and the relationships between spaces. The decorating shouldn’t have to disguise a plan that doesn’t work.
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4. Attunement
We find inventive ways to make room for your life without losing what makes the house itself.
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5. Restraint
We don’t embellish to impress. We clarify. We edit. This isn’t about spectacle. It’s about stewardship.
about
Ryann Ferguson
Founder
Ryann believes every cracked wall and every crossroads in life is an opportunity for growth and renewal. Whether it’s a battered Craftsman in California, a forgotten sentence in a script, or someone’s faith in their own good taste, she’s made a life—and a business—out of bringing things back to life.
Before she was reviving California’s old houses, Ryann was building worlds with words. As an award-winning playwright and lyricist in New York’s theater scene, she learned that a single detail—a pause, a chipped molding, the exact right shade of green—can change the story completely. That same instinct drives her design work today: she doesn’t just decorate spaces; she listens to them.
But here’s the plot twist: when Ryann bought her own historic home in California, she found herself shoulder-deep in peeling paint, wavy plaster, and endless design decisions. Sharing her renovation journey on Instagram, she discovered a passionate community equally obsessed with old-house quirks, color choices, and saving architectural soul from bad “flips.” One by one, people started asking:
Can you help me figure out my house, too? So she did.
And thus, Restoration Ryann was born—a creative studio dedicated to restoring homes, reviving stories, and helping people feel confident in their spaces again.
Because for Ryann, restoration isn’t just about architecture. It’s about identity. A room can heal you. A color can change your day. Saving a battered old built-in might just save your faith in beauty, craftsmanship, or yourself.
Ryann’s projects blend preservation and possibility. She’s a champion of bold color (because historic homes deserve more than just greige), original details, and leaving just enough imperfection to remind you that time itself has value. Her clients range from homeowners trying to navigate their first century-old bungalow to full-scale design collaborations requiring surgical precision—and storytelling heart.
When she’s not working, you’ll find Ryann scouring salvage yards for vintage hardware, having deep thoughts about paint undertones, or hanging out at home with her cat, Daisy, who is objectively the best design assistant in Los Angeles.
In every space she touches, Ryann brings humor, curiosity, and the unwavering belief that beauty—and confidence—can always be restored.
meet the team
Emily Chandler
Director of Design Operations & Partnerships
The compass and the keel — Emily keeps vision and execution in perfect balance.If Ryann is the mapmaker, Emily is both the compass and the keel — steering vision while keeping every moving part steady. With more than a decade in high-level project management, operations leadership, and entrepreneurship, she’s guided multimillion-dollar initiatives across hospitality, corporate, and creative industries, all while running her own thriving ventures.
She builds systems that hum, partnerships that last, and client experiences that feel effortless. Emily’s talent lies in translating big, ambitious ideas into a sequence of achievable steps — without sanding off the quirks that make them special.
Equal parts strategist and mischief-maker, she keeps the work exacting, the process clear, and the people laughing — making sure the journey is as rewarding as the finish.
Sunee Nelson
Director of Design & Procurement
Part historian, part engineer—Sunee builds beauty into the blueprint.
Sunee’s work begins where structure meets finish — translating technical fluency into spaces that feel inevitable. Her eye was trained as a teenager in a boutique lighting shop filled with historic Italian fixtures, where she learned the patience and technical fluency that still define her work.
Two decades later, her range spans multi-floor commercial builds and deeply intricate home restorations. She works at the seam between concept and construction, orchestrating trades, vendors, and details until they lock into place.
Her love of research and forensic attention to a home’s history means no molding profile, hinge, or finish is chosen lightly. The result: spaces that function effortlessly and carry the weight — and grace — of their own history.
You love old houses
and don’t want to ruin yours
Although it tells a story, interior design is ultimately a visual medium
explore our
investment guide
Old houses keep secrets. our pricing doesn’t.
Our packages and what to expect when working together. Clear Packages.
Transparent Fees.
No sugarcoating.
old houses aren’t problems, they’re collaborators
the blog for homes that have been through some things
Old houses are equal parts romance and racket — creaking floors, crooked walls, and a kind of beauty that refuses to behave. This is where I tell the truth about living with history — the good wood, the bad wiring, and the small miracles in between. Think of it as field notes from someone who’s been elbow-deep in plaster dust and still believes it’s worth it.
You’ve heard the saying, ‘We’re all just walking each other home?’ It’s such a beautiful sentiment, I wanted to make it my job to do that.
