In the den of Thomas Lavin’s Hollywood Hills ranch house, a Robin F. Williams Fighters (Study) is mounted above a Gary Hutton sofa and a pair of 1940s Italian armchairs—all slipcovered in a white Romo cotton with blue piping—as well as a circa-1940 Swedish table. On the wall behind the Phoenix Day floor lamp are works by Kurt Kauper, Hope Gangloff, and others.

Thomas Lavin stands in the living room next to his Steinway & Sons piano and a painting by Penda Diakité.

Beyond the all-black kitchen, which features Miele ovens, a Jiun Ho light fixture is installed above the dining area’s Gulassa & Co. table and Madeline Stuart chairs; the artwork on the far wall is by Amoako Boafo.

Sheathed in Farrow & Ball’s Off-Black, the kitchen features a small work by California artist Ramiro Gomez, whose paintings and works on paper quietly celebrate unsung heroes like day laborers and domestic workers. “He’s so smart and has such a clear vision of what he’s doing in the world,” says Lavin.

In the corner of Thomas Lavin’s bedroom resides a piece by Los Angeles photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya, whose practice blurs the line between artist and subject. “Everything is photographed in reflection,” explains Lavin. “It’s really kind of mind-blowing.”

Overlooking a corner of the living room are works by Nate Lewis (left) and Tyler D. Ballon; the pendant is by Flos, the cocktail table is by Chista, and the armchairs, custom banquette, and small side table are by Gary Hutton.

The salon-style display in the hallway outside the den includes works by Margot Bergman, Becky Kolsrud, Louis Fratino, Sam McKinniss, and Amoako Boafo.

Lavin came across Malian American artist Penda Diakité during a group show at L.A. gallery Band of Vices in 2019. “I was drawn to the materiality of her work,” he says of Diakité’s use of mixed media. This circular collage, titled Fishing for Holes in Water (2020), depicts a pair of acrobatic figures against a luminous backdrop.

A protégé of painter Amy Sherald, Jersey City artist Tyler D. Ballon mines religious and art-historical canons to create attention-grabbing canvases that depict Black contemporaries. This scene, Strengthen the Brethren (2020), demonstrates Ballon’s striking ability to capture light and shadow, which has drawn comparisons to Caravaggio.

This portrait of Lavin was created after fast-rising L.A. artist Raffi Kalenderian complimented Lavin’s sartorial flair and asked for a sitting. “My only request was that I get the first option to buy something,” he recalls. “Raffi’s brushstrokes are thick, intensive, evocative, and filled with emotion.”

Brooklyn painter Louis Fratino has quickly become one of the buzziest talents on the art-fair circuit with his vivid renderings of queer male identity and moody domestic scenes, like Polaroids on the Kitchen Counter (2020). “His work is incredibly refined and sophisticated—he treats the gay subject matter in a way that no artist ever has before,” says Lavin.