When designer Waldo Fernández decided to put his 1926 walled Mediterranean estate up for sale, with its five bedrooms and seven bathrooms on roughly 7,200 square feet, he literally caused a sensation in the Los Angeles area. Known as the designer to the stars, Fernandez completely remodeled the home by including high ceilings in the living room, a gourmet kitchen with breakfast area, a formal dining room, a study / media room, an open family room, French doors leading to to lush gardens, swimming pool, outdoor fireplace and tennis court. The home has aged oak floors, wrought iron accents, and recesses throughout. The home is priced at $ 10,995,000.
Fernando was born in Cuba and was sent to the United States at 17 to avoid having to be in the Cuban army. He was able to find work washing windows in New York before raising enough money for a bus ticket to Hollywood, where he enrolled at UCLA to study architecture and design. It didn’t take long for him to get a job in the set decoration department at 20th Century Fox, even though he didn’t speak much English. Some of the movie sets he worked on include Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly, and Planet of the Apes.
He held that job for just over four years, designing custom furniture before he was asked to do some designs for director John Schlesinger’s residence.
His new career blossomed after that. He opened his first showroom in 1974 after traveling Europe looking for designs to suit his sense of style, and his career took off after that. He has designed for celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, and Goldie Hawn.
One story that helped cement his celebrity reputation was when Merv Griffin contacted him to design one of his hotel rooms for Prince Rainier and gave him less than 24 hours to do so. Fernández was able to do this by borrowing $ 150,000 worth of antique furniture, along with flowers and Spanish rugs, which were returned after the Prince left to return home.
Fernández’s furniture styles are primarily contemporary with flashes of modern touches. Furnish rugs, baskets and furniture for living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and offices, as well as some items that work in outdoor spaces. His style is known as clean and open, with natural fabrics and white walls, and it is no wonder that many of his designs give his clients the impression of being on a movie set. His famous fans praise him a lot; his critics, on the other hand, feel that his designs are clinical and cold, lifeless.
There is nothing to please everyone, but Fernández instills loyalty from those who love what his style does for them. He was also the designer requested to do the redesign of the famous Beverly Hills Hotel.
Fernandez put his own home on the market and, although he maintains his business in California, he is deciding to move to the Hamptons in upstate New York, an area that he feels is more beautiful when it comes to nature. However, it will continue to be available as a designer in California and elsewhere in the world.