Of course Amirah Kassem lives in a pink house. The creative and culinary force behind Flour Shop, the baking company best known for its rainbow-tier explosion cakes, embraces color in every corner of her personal and professional universe. But the cotton candy–colored exterior of the Los Angeles home she shares with her husband Ross Harrow and daughter Coco wasn’t always a sure thing.
“I wanted it to be this Old Hollywood, light pink vibe,” Kassem recalls. “My husband was like, ‘I don’t want to live in a pink house.’” The couple, who are also business partners, ended up agreeing that Benjamin Moore’s Ballet Slippers felt close enough to a neutral to be acceptable, but she notes that Harrow happens to be color-blind. “I’m not sure if he realizes that he lives in a fully pink house,” she laughs.
Inspired by the Beverly Hills Hotel and other favorite vacation destinations that scream “pink and palm trees,” Kassem and Harrow finally got their ideal West Coast home base after relocating from New York in late 2019. “It was this little dark house; all the floors were different,” Kassem says of the existing dwelling. “[Ross] kept saying, close your eyes, delete the house, and look at how amazing this land is—your entire backyard is a mountain. It just feels wild and free.” The unique configuration of the property means that their front lawn contains the pool, a cabana, and an outdoor dining deck, all of which sets the tone for the entertaining-friendly environment they had hoped to build. “It sort of feels like being in a resort,” she says. “[We felt] we could really live here, we could entertain here, and we don’t feel like we have to escape on weekends. This is the escape.”
Working with a design and construction team that included designer Elizabeth Backup, a close friend, and Arte Construction and Development, Kassem and Harrow oversaw the renovation of the midcentury house. That effort involved stripping the structure down to the studs and extending it in multiple directions in order to increase its footprint and create a more unified, modern layout.
The house is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Ballet Slippers, which the team selected after testing multiple hues. “We had pieces of the house painted in different pinks—I wanted to see it in the sun, in the night, in the shade, and it really did make a huge difference,” Amirah Kassem says. The sectional sofa is from Horchow, and the rattan coffee table is Serena & Lily.
“It had gone through several previous remodels that were really lacking cohesion,” Backup says. “It needed a lot of work. It hadn’t been touched in a meaningful way in a long time.”
Kassem was deeply involved in every design decision, only spending extended time away from the job site to shoot Foodtastic, a food competition show that launches this fall on Disney+. She had a clear concept in mind for rooms like the kitchen, which naturally gets a lot of use. The entire space revolves around the showstopping pink La Cornue range, but the dolomite-top island was equally important to Kassem, who wanted a countertop material that would stand up to her frequent cooking and baking. “To find a stone that’s a single slab this big was pretty much impossible,” she recalls. “Unless you have six months to go hang out in the stone yards in the heat of the Valley, which I definitely did while pregnant.”
Another critical conversation revolved around getting the right colors in each and every room. “I have such a specific vision of what the rainbow color palette is for me,” Kassem says. Anything too muted or pastel was off limits, which required some negotiations with Backup.
“Amirah going outside her comfort zone is designing something not rainbow,” Backup jokes. The primary bedroom is one departure from the normal color scheme, with a custom emerald green Modshop bed and geometric Momeni rug featuring dusty pinks, greens, and blues. “I felt like I was really going outside the box with the jewel tones,” Kassem says. “This is me pushing my boundaries.”
Kassem at her beloved La Cornue range, with one of her famous Flour Shop cakes in the foreground. “This is what I cook on every day,” she says.
Coco’s playroom may be the truest interpretation of Kassem’s aesthetic, thanks to a saturated mural that Kassem designed and painted herself. So far, it’s been a hit. After the family returned from a vacation, “Coco ran to her playroom and was screaming from excitement,” Kassem says. “I’m so glad that I spent the time to paint this room for her.”
All in all, both designer and client feel satisfied with the energy they were able to bring into the place. “Amirah has this amazing rainbow approach to life. I was very excited to have a chance to do something a bit wild and out there and super colorful, which is not something that people usually ask for,” Backup says. “We got to push each other in different ways.”
Adds Kassem: “I was scared that it was going to be too whimsical, but it turned out to be just the right amount.”
Kassem and Ross Harrow with their daughter Coco. The couple was inspired by Old Hollywood emblems like the Beverly Hills Hotel in the redesign of their L.A. home.
The fireplace is clad in two book-matched Nero Marquina Extra slabs that Kassem and Harrow picked out at Stone Mart . The chairs from Williams Sonoma Home were upholstered in a custom pink velvet. “I didn’t even know they had a hot pink, but you know I’ll find it if it’s there,” Kassem says. The seats face a Bend Goods coffee table and an RH sofa. The Pieces rug was customized to fit the width of the room. Kassem’s friend, artist Ashley Longshore, created the George Washington artwork.
The dining room is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Caribbean Blue Water. The custom dining table from Modshop, surrounded by CB2 chairs, can seat up to 12, making it perfect for the couple’s dinner parties. Artworks by Henry Hargreaves (left) and Shelby and Sandy (right), plus a custom chandelier by New Orleans maker Sazerac Stitches, bring candy-colored pizzazz to the room.
Kassem at her beloved La Cornue range, with one of her famous Flour Shop cakes in the foreground. “This is what I cook on every day,” she says.
Elsewhere, Kassem selected Café Appliances . Above the dolomite island hangs three pendants from Sazerac Stitches. “They look like cherries,” Kassem says. The lucite cabinet hardware from Schaub makes for a clean aesthetic. “Otherwise, it would look like a hardware store in this kitchen,” she says.
The breakfast nook, decorated with AllModern chairs, a Livex Lighting pendant, and cushions upholstered in a banana leaf pattern from Tommy Bahama that mimic the plantings outside, gets frequent use. “This is our moment every morning,” Kassem says.
A custom dining table surrounded by CB2 chairs allows the party to continue outside. Kim Seybert designed the tabletop accessories. The outdoor kitchen features a sink, a grill, and an ice maker from Café Appliances.
The former garage area now functions as a movie, game, and music room. An ombré rug from Momeni draws the eye toward a vibrant artwork by Matt Mullican. Kassem’s mother crafted the blanket adorning the custom sofa. The lucite coffee table is a Worlds Away design.
Kassem and her designer, Elizabeth Backup, embraced a jewel-tone palette in the primary bedroom. The Modshop bed was custom-made to fit between the windows, which are original to the house. The Momeni rug ties together the pink tassel pillow from Jessie Lane , the Serena & Lily leaf pillows, and the orange-red Flowerpot lamps by Verner Panton. The painting depicting Miami is the work of Harrow’s grandfather, artist Arthur Harrow.
Kassem wanted the primary bathroom to feel like a hotel bathroom: “Why is it that we love hotel bathrooms, but we can’t go home to one?” Carrara marble tile creates a luxe look. A Kate Spade for Circa Lighting pendant hangs over the freestanding Wyndham Collection tub.
In the closet, Kassem has almost an entire wall dedicated to Vans, her favorite sneaker brand, with whom she has collaborated. The palm leaf theme comes through thanks to Spoonflower, which designed the wallpaper. “I love having everything out on display,” she says of the room. “I feel like I can go shopping in my closet.”
In Coco’s nursery—the “happiest environment ever,” according to Kassem—the lucite crib, rocking chair, heart-shaped ottoman, and dresser are all from Pottery Barn Kids, with whom Kassem has collaborated on a range of products. The rainbow rug, sprinkles wallpaper, and unicorn throw pillow are part of her Flour Shop collection for the brand.
The adjacent bathroom features a striped yellow and white tile scheme that wasn’t easy to execute. “It was hard to get the right shade so it was a true, happy face yellow, not a mustard,” Backup says. Plus, mid-pandemic, they were facing “supply chain issues all over the place.” Eventually Harrow, on an internet deep dive, stumbled across Tile Daily, a supplier selling the perfect yellow penny tile, with just enough of it in stock to make the shower work.
The mural in Coco’s playroom was designed and painted by Kassem. It’s decorated with a toy kitchen from Pottery Barn Kids that’s decked out in accessories from the Flour Shop collection.
The bathroom off the playroom features Otomi wallpaper from Spoonflower featuring a take on the traditional Mexican pattern. Kassem, who grew up in Mexico, was immediately drawn to it. Kelly green cabinets, golden fixtures from California Faucets, and metallic-trim mirrors from Pottery Barn complete the room.
A powder room on the ground floor features Andy Warhol x Flavor Paper wallpaper, a black Kohler toilet, and a WS Bath Collections sink. The space “was this weird, tiny closet,” Kassem says. “I was like, I bet you I can fit a powder room in there. We definitely did.”
The house is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Ballet Slippers, which the team selected after testing multiple hues. “We had pieces of the house painted in different pinks—I wanted to see it in the sun, in the night, in the shade, and it really did make a huge difference,” Kassem says. The sectional sofa is from Horchow , and the rattan coffee table is Serena & Lily .
The couple kept the home’s original pool in place, but added a cabana at the end; it’s decorated with Williams Sonoma Home sofas and Made Goods side tables.
Kassem and Harrow with Coco in their new yard. The work of famous photographer Slim Aarons was another inspiration for the outdoor space, which features retro One Kings Lane umbrellas and chaise longues from Horchow.