Spec houses rarely earn love letters. In Los Angeles, the term alone can conjure rows of indistinguishable boxes—veneered in “modern farmhouse” white, destined for fast flips, fated to vanish from memory the moment the escrow closes. Yet contractor Justin Krzyston has learned to treat that reputation as an opening gambit, not a verdict. Why bemoan blankness when you can treat it as pristine canvas?
Krzyston, founder of the boutique construction firm Stonehurst, proved the point while re-imagining singer-songwriter Adam Lambert’s Sunset Strip hideaway, now on the market for $7,375,000. The three-story house was delivered, like most upmarket specs, in turnkey condition: brand-new plumbing, flawless framing, nothing sagging or squeaking. That absence of deferred maintenance, Krzyston argues, was liberating. “Because the house was purchased as a spec build, we didn’t have to allocate time or budget to major structural changes,” he says. “We were able to dive straight into aesthetics, materials and transformative design.”
Lambert bought the 5,000-square-foot property in 2018, drawn presumably not by its personality but by its potential. High ceilings, generous fenestration, a swimming pool and terrace with views of the city lights below—everything essential was in place (if a little underdressed for its current owner.) Finishes, however, whispered instead of sang. Lambert—celebrated for electrifying pop-rock theatrics and his tours with Queen—wanted architecture that could match his decibel levels. Reuniting with Krzyston, he recast the once-muted house into a rock-star refuge.
Echoes of this duet begin from the moment you step inside the home, where an off-the-rack chandelier once hovered politely above. It’s gone. In its place, an asymmetrical burst of cobalt glass orbs, reminiscent of a Jeff Koons balloon sculpture. The change announces the project’s guiding principle—amplify drama through big style moves while sparing both timeline and budget the toll of major structural surgery.
Nowhere is that credo clearer than in the kitchen. The original island, a demure slab of white, met code but failed on charisma. Krzyston and Lambert prowled several slab yards before landing on a Silver Wave marble giant. Book-matched, leathered and cut into a monolith over 10 feet long, the stone transformed the space, says Krzyston. “It’s got this natural movement that feels fluid and dramatic, and it pulls everything together visually. With the new darker cabinetry, the stone adds contrast without being too stark.The texture, too, adds so much depth, and there’s something about actually touching the stone that makes the space feel more grounded and intentional.”
Upstairs, subtlety continues to give way to swagger. The primary bedroom wraps itself in snakeskin-embossed leather. A floating, ceiling-hung fireplace clad in basalt adds a subtle flicker that trades glances with the city’s glitter beyond retractable walls of glass.
Krzyston delivers the home’s most dramatic transformation in the adjacent bath. He envisioned walnut planks climbing the walls in a seamless shell, punctuated by monolithic black granite underfoot. The walnut’s warmth softens a freestanding tub’s dark mass, while a custom film on the shower preserves privacy yet lets the bather gaze into the backyard below.
Elsewhere in the home, improvements materialize in details large and small. Darkened hardwood floor planks deepen the palette, printed wallpaper lends a visual texture and a new floor-to-ceiling glass pane in the downstairs powder room turns a once-hidden corner into a light-soaked moment of style.
Critics might argue such finishes could grace any custom commission. But because the underlying infrastructure was brand new, make-good budgets never hijacked the vision, says Krzyston. No asbestos to abate, no cast-iron drains to replace, no surprise setbacks from the Department of Building and Safety. “Behind the walls we spent essentially nothing,” he says. “That allowed us to spend in front of them—where life happens.”
Krzyston’s experiment suggests a broader lesson for Los Angeles, where tear-downs often pit progress against preservation. If a spec house emerges pristine yet bland, consider it raw clay, not fallen heritage. In the right hands, blankness can become boldness—without extra permits for plumbing or a million dollars of seismic steel. There is, after all, a hidden efficiency in inheriting a healthy new shell. You pay for expression, but rarely for repair.
Greg Holcomb of Carolwood Estates holds the listing for 1516 N Kings Road. Carolwood Estates is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
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