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A Livingetc report profiles Brittany and Benjamin Hakimfar’s Philadelphia home after the family moved from the West Coast to Pennsylvania, where Brittany grew up. Their renovation kept structural changes limited but reworked the interiors to make the home’s large rooms feel more intimate, combining light materials with darker, textured finishes.
Interior designer Brittany Hakimfar has described how she and her family reshaped a Philadelphia home after moving from the West Coast to the state where she grew up. In a Livingetc home profile, Hakimfar said the renovation focused less on structural changes than on making the house’s expansive rooms feel intimate and suited to family life, with a mix of light wood, dark finishes and textured surfaces.
Hakimfar and her husband, Benjamin, moved from the West Coast to the East Coast, returning to Pennsylvania, where she grew up. She told Livingetc that the move was a major decision for the family. The couple have three children, Liv, nine, Leo, seven, and Lex, three, according to the report. Hakimfar trained under designer Waldo Fernandez before she and Benjamin established their interior design practice, Far Studio.
The house needed little structural work, but its expansive proportions shaped the design brief. Hakimfar said the goal was to create a layout that encouraged gathering rather than making the home’s size the main feature. The rooms were planned for different uses, including entertaining, family time, reading, music and quieter retreats.
The resulting interiors pair pale oak and light finishes with darker elements such as black zellige tile, charcoal walls and rich wood. The report describes a custom steel-and-glass front door intended to bring more light inside, alongside rooms with distinct moods: a gray-blue library and music room, a charcoal attic den, and a brighter sitting room in coffee-and-cream tones. The kitchen and family room serve as shared hubs.
How the Renovation Reframes Large Rooms
The project illustrates a practical design response to a common challenge in large homes: creating rooms that feel usable and welcoming rather than empty. Hakimfar told Livingetc that the priority was intimacy and gathering, with the layout supporting ordinary family routines as well as entertaining.
Its mix of finishes also shows how the homeowners balanced the bright, understated look they associated with Los Angeles with a more grounded palette for their Pennsylvania home. Dark walls and surfaces were not removed entirely; instead, Hakimfar said texture and variation made those areas feel deliberate. The design choices are reported as the owners’ approach, not as evidence of a wider market trend.
For readers considering a renovation, the profile offers a specific example of how room function, lighting and materials can shape the feel of a home without extensive structural changes. The source does not provide a project budget, timeline beyond the owner’s comments about delays, or measurements that would allow the work to be compared with other renovations.
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From West Coast Light to Pennsylvania
The home’s original interiors were, in Hakimfar’s description, extremely dark and dated. She told Livingetc she wanted to change every surface, replacing heavy window treatments and monotone rooms with a broader range of finishes. The project retained some dramatic darkness, but used materials including plaster, patterned wallpaper, fluted cabinetry and velvet to add variation.
Several rooms were designed for particular household needs. A bar near the dining room was built to support entertaining, while a compact area uses patterned wallpaper and a dramatic marble basin as a surprise feature. The unfinished attic was converted into a den and sitting area, with a black bathroom and steam shower intended to give it a spa-like feel.
Hakimfar said the home’s surroundings also inform how the family experiences it. She described the neighborhood in winter as looking like a snow globe and called the house both a place of welcome and a refuge. Those comments, along with the room-by-room details, come from her account in Livingetc’s profile.
“Moving back to the state where I grew up, having worked both in New York and LA, was a big deal for us.”
— Brittany Hakimfar, speaking to Livingetc
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Project Costs and Timeline Details
The Livingetc report does not state the home’s purchase price, renovation budget, exact completion date or the number of years the work took. Hakimfar said the project took years longer to finish, but the source does not give a start date or a more precise duration. It also does not identify the home’s neighborhood or provide details about permits, contractors or the extent of individual room updates.
The account is a design profile based largely on Hakimfar’s descriptions. It does not include an independent assessment of the renovation or interviews with other household members. The article also does not say whether the family plans further work on the property.
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The Home’s Next Chapter
No next construction phase or future project has been announced in the source material. Hakimfar told Livingetc that family life at the house now runs alongside the couple’s work on design projects, and described the home as a place for entertaining, family routines and retreat.
Any further changes to the property, or details about how the finished rooms perform over time, remain unreported. The current account documents the family’s move and renovation choices rather than a newly announced project or planned milestone.
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Key Questions
Who owns the Philadelphia home?
The home belongs to Brittany and Benjamin Hakimfar, according to Livingetc. Brittany is an interior designer and co-founded Far Studio with Benjamin.
Why did the family move to Pennsylvania?
Hakimfar told Livingetc that she grew up in Pennsylvania and that returning to the state after working in New York and Los Angeles was a major decision for the family. The report does not give further reasons for the move.
What was the main goal of the renovation?
Hakimfar said the home required little structural work, but its large proportions needed to feel more intimate. The design aimed to create spaces for gathering, family time, entertaining and quiet activities.
What materials and colors feature in the interiors?
The report describes a contrast between pale oak and light finishes and darker elements including black tile, charcoal walls, rich woods and chocolate-toned fabrics. Patterned wallpaper, plaster and other textured surfaces add variety.
How long did the renovation take?
Hakimfar said the project took years longer to finish, partly because she redirected carpenters to other jobs. Livingetc did not report the start date or the total length of the renovation.
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