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Ellen Pompeo’s Malibu beach house is a 1979 modernist home by California architects Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman. Its renovation, led by designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, kept the original flow and footprint while refreshing the exterior, openings, and finishes. The result pairs ocean-facing glass and concrete with tactile teak, striking marble, and vintage furniture.
Who designed Ellen Pompeo’s Malibu house?
Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman designed the house in 1979. Architectural Digest describes it as roughly 3,000 square feet after a later addition, arranged around a central courtyard with views toward the ocean. Pompeo told Architectural Digest in November 2022, “I like to say I manifested this house,” recalling that she had first seen it earlier in her career and bought it when it returned to the market in 2013.
In a separate 2022 report, Architectural Digest put the 2013 purchase price at $6.365 million. That is a historical reported transaction figure, not a current valuation. The available accounts document the house and renovation as presented in 2022; they do not establish Pompeo’s current ownership or occupancy.
What changed in the renovation?
Bullard described the project as restoration before decoration: “We didn’t change its flow or footprint,” he told Architectural Digest. His project page likewise says the original plan was retained. Rather than redesigning the layout, the work renewed materials and openings to make the existing architecture feel connected to its coastal setting.
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Teak, metal, concrete, and ocean-facing glass
Fresh teak clads the exterior, while black powder-coated metal frames the doors and windows. Large glass openings bring the bluff and ocean into view; when open, the frames visually recede and strengthen the connection between inside and outside. Concrete replaced terrazzo underfoot. Bullard said he found the terrazzo too slippery, making the floor change a practical choice as well as a shift in texture.
Together, these decisions preserve the home’s modernist character without leaving it visually austere: warm wood offsets crisp black framing, and earthy concrete grounds the expanses of glass.
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How do the interiors balance simplicity and drama?
The kitchen is compact and gleaming white, and concrete floors provide a restrained backdrop. Against that calm palette, dramatic stone and distinctive furnishings give individual rooms their identity. Black Agatha marble, which Architectural Digest describes as a rare Brazilian stone, appears at the entry and across several rooms. Bullard names the entry, living room, dining room, and primary bedroom among the spaces where it is used.
Statement stone and considered furnishings
The primary bathroom uses Arabescato Vagli marble in what Bullard calls a modern take on a Turkish hammam. Elsewhere, the feature’s photographs document vintage de Sede seating, Afra and Tobia Scarpa chairs, and a vintage cocktail table. In the dining room, a Gino Sarfatti light hangs above an oak-and-teak table. These are specific vintage or custom design choices, not a ready-made collection of interchangeable pieces.
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The contrast is central to the house’s appeal: white and concrete let the architecture breathe, while veined marble and sculptural furniture supply color, pattern, and a sense of occasion.
What makes the home feel like a family house?
Bullard says the brief was a family home first, shaped by Californian ease and polish. That intention appears differently from room to room rather than through a single decorative formula. The guest house combines tropical wallpapers with deep teal-green lacquer. In the children’s room, pattern is placed overhead instead of on the walls, giving the room visual interest while keeping the surrounding surfaces quieter.
Pompeo has described her interest in the process itself: “I truly enjoy the craft and art of houses,” she told Architectural Digest. Bullard’s project page quotes her on their collaboration: “We get into loads of trouble together, and always have lots of fun.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the house’s design story does—and doesn’t—show
This is a documented look at the house and its design as presented in 2022, not confirmation of its present-day condition or ownership. The available sources do not establish a current property value or whether the exact vintage furnishings are available to buy. Readers interested in Bullard’s broader work can find this project in his book Star Style, which his project page says also includes an afterword by Pompeo.
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