Actress Ellen Pompeo and interior designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard met through haute couture. Pompeo, who portrays Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, traveled to Paris in 2006 to attend the biannual procession of the most prestigious haute couture. Along with him was Lawrence-Bullard’s friend and old customer Cher. The singer’s husband, music producer Chris Ivery, and Los Angeles-based decorator struck up a conversation with Pompeo while he waited for her to arrive at the Christian Dior show. It was a match made in heaven for the front row.

Their encounter came at a most fortunate time because Pompeo had recently bought a historic Hollywood Hills Spanish-style property from the 1920s, where rumors have it that Ronald Reagan previously resided. It also happens to be just next door to Lawrence-Bullard’s residence. The house had a lot of potential, but it needed more than just a little ingenuity to see it through.

“The place was like a museum,” the actress reports. “Nothing had been added or updated since it was built, except perhaps for some shag carpeting from the ’60s or ’70s. It was like a raw piece of stone I could carve.” What’s more, the dense, overgrown landscape of decrepit cypress tress completely obscured sweeping views of the iconic HOLLYWOOD sign and Griffith Observatory.

Many of the furnishings were acquired during her travels—notably, a wide range of pieces from Caravane Chamber 19, a much-loved shop in Paris. To these she added Moroccan- and Indian-flavored pieces from Lawrence-Bullard’s signature home collection. In the living room—with a ceiling height of 24 feet—the mix encompasses a 19th-century French industrial table, an Afghan wool dhurrie from the ’30s , an 18th-century Italian inlaid-wood chair, a Chinese painter’s table, and two vintage side tables by Osvaldo Borsani.

The final phase of the project involved connecting the interiors to the outdoors with a series of porticos. They allow the couple to capitalize on the glorious Southern California climate and overlook lush, terraced gardens—designed by Pompeo herself—that descend to the pool.

As Pompeo puts it, “This house is perfect for our family,” which now includes the couple’s first child, Stella Luna. “It’s all about swimming, eating, and hanging out with friends. Martyn jokes that we live like college kids—people are coming and going all the time. What can I say? It’s a happy place.”