Los Angeles Home & Decor Magazine - May 2006

"Just Like A Grand Hotel - Metamorphosis is at the center of Tracy Murdock Design Studio"
By Marge Bitetti • Photography by Brett Brury

Metamorphosis is at the center of Tracy Murdock Design Studio and is also what has transformed the designer's own life. Almost from the start of acquiring her home, designer Tracy Murdock felt the need to make changes. The home had some beneficial features such as an enticing view overlooking Lake Calabasas. But most of the features of the 1970s home were dated and in need of renovation. Tracy said, "Everything in the house was electric so the house had to be converted to gas, so it was a major undertaking. The whole house was a challenge." The design results are an awe-inspiring transformation to the 4,200 square foot home. She commented, "It was a complete remodel. I gutted it down to the studs, enlarged it and remodeled it." Tracy accomplished the project with the assistance of her six-member design team. From start to finish the entire remodel took approximately eight months to complete. Some of the rooms needed to be reconfigured. The downstairs was one big room that did not have a closet, and had a very small bathroom. It was just one big room that had to be reconfigured." The result is a charming English county suite done with Ralph Lauren touches and colors. This is her daughter Alex's room.

Tracy has designed all of the rooms to complement the preferences of her two teens and herself. Being a designer, Tracy wanted the interior to reflect several distinctive looks; traditional, modern and art deco. She said, "There is a little bit of everything in this house. It was fun to work with all the different materials and different styles and experiment."

The main floor of the house, the living room and the entry basically compliment the Tuscany-style of the exterior During the remodel, Tracy had just returned from Tuscany. She was having difficulties deciding what to do with the exterior, saying, "The house had really no distinctive exterior style. After being in Italy, the picture came to me that I wanted to do it like a Tuscan Villa. So that is what I did with the exterior. It was quite a shock to the neighbors because the other homes are all painted with white stucco, and mine is Tuscan yellow." She selected limestone as a floor covering for the entire main floor, mentioning that she has large dogs and the upkeep on the flooring is minimal.

She cleverly expanded the living room to the outdoors creating a combination indoor and outdoor room. She achieved this by extending the limestone floor that covers the downstairs into the exterior patio. A wall of sliding glass doors created by two sliding glass doors creates a 24-foot extension of the living room to the outside. The exterior fireplace adds warmth and coziness.

The designer's life has also undergone a metamorphosis. She explained, "I think that I have reinvented myself at least three times." She developed her eye for design by working in front of the camera. For many years, she was the Bijan model for the designer fragrance and was also married to the famed designer. She soon began producing her own shoots and got involved with composition and design. She credits David Murdock, her former husband, as her mentor who encouraged her to develop her skills as an interior designer. Her commitment to excellence, ethics and years of dedication to the craft earned her allied A.S.I.D. (American Society of Interior Designers) membership. She strongly feels that design is all about having an eye for detail, saying, "It is all about the visuals."

In addition to interior design, she recently opened a retail store. The store is named after Tracy and her daughter and is called Alex & Tracy. It is located in Woodland Hills off Ventura Boulevard. Alex takes care of the clothing line while Tracy takes care of the home furnishings. The accomplishment of opening this space was her first major retail renovation and design. "It was very gratifying to complete the store." She said, "I always like to try new things where I can learn something new rather than doing the same thing."

Tracy's daughter is now following in her mother's footsteps and models for the boutique and its website. Tracy mentioned that Alex, who will be going to college, is trying to determine what her career path should be. Tracy shared the wisdom that she imparts to Alex saying that she feels that often it takes years until you finally discover what it is that you are suppose to do, but all of your experiences build up to that. She said, "I started out as a model and all of the experiences after that made me what I am." Tracy has had many roles in her life as a mother, a model, businesswoman, interior designer and the owner of a new successful upscale boutique, but each of these roles easily flowed into the next. She said that she tells her daughter not to worry about what she will do with her life saying, "Do what you love doing and everything falls into place; the way it should be."