Designing your dream home begins with a process of discovery – one that balances intuition, emotional clarity and creative trust. For Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio, the act of designing is less about chasing a vision of perfection and more about cultivating a deeply personal, expressive space. In this masterclass, the Los Angeles-based duo shares their approach to creating homes that are attuned to the lived experiences, memories and inner desires of their clients.
The foundation of designing your dream home lies in knowing how you want to feel within it. Rather than replicating images from inspiration boards, the studio focuses on extracting an individual’s true desires – including the unspoken and even unconscious ones. It’s a process likened to divining, where architecture becomes a mirror for the soul. Through this lens, a home becomes not just shelter, but transformation – a space where behavioural shifts can occur and inner narratives find architectural form.
Central to And And And Studio’s ethos is the creative tension that arises when multiple visions come together. Rather than seeking immediate alignment, the duo leans into those moments of difference, seeing them as fertile ground for innovation. Trust – both in the process and between client and designer – becomes essential. In designing your dream home, relinquishing control allows for unexpected and often delightful outcomes that wouldn’t have emerged from rigid expectations.
Equally important is understanding the distinction between wants and needs. Clients who approach the process with a sense of what they like – not necessarily what they want – create space for creative exploration. This openness enables the design team to curate and distil from a broader landscape of references, ultimately guiding the client toward an expression they may not have known they were seeking. Designing your dream home, in this context, becomes a co-authored experience grounded in empathy, clarity and surprise.
The studio also encourages clients to reflect on spaces that have previously altered their behaviour – places that evoked unexpected lightness, calm or inspiration. Whether it’s the design of a museum, a quiet hotel, or even a restaurant menu that stirred something emotional, these touchpoints become key to shaping environments that are immersive and resonant. Through this attention to personal transformation, designing your dream home transcends aesthetics to become an act of storytelling.
Ultimately, And And And Studio’s philosophy is rooted in authenticity – rejecting the concept of a “dream home” as a fixed ideal and instead embracing it as a fluid reflection of who someone is in the present moment. Designing your dream home is about creating a space that reveals and supports your interior world, one that evolves as you do. For those seeking more than just a beautiful house, this masterclass offers a thoughtful blueprint for designing with heart and purpose.
This series is brought to you by Fisher & Paykel.
00:00 01 – No. 1: Be True to Your Style
04:24 02 – No. 2: Take Inspiration from your Favourite Spaces
08:14 03 – No. 3: Design with Authenticity in Mind
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Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.
Filmed and edited by O&Co.Homes.
Production by The Local Production.
Los Angeles, California, United States
The Local Project acknowledges the traditional territories and homelands of the Indigenous peoples in the United States. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our respective countries and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.
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