The New York Post dubbed Lili St. Cyr “the Kim Kardashian of her day.” A burlesque performer known for her bubble bath strip tease, St. Cyr got her big break in 1951 when she was charged with indecent exposure while making a splash at Ciro’s in LA. During her heyday, St. Cyr lived in a Tudor “cottage” built into a hillside at the foot of Bronson Canyon.

It’s easy to see why St. Cyr fell for the 1927 hideaway—and why, more than half a century later, Joelle Kutner and Jesse Rudolph of Ome Dezin saw the house’s next-act potential. The two LA designer-developers launched their firm at the start of the pandemic, and, in addition to working for clients, specialize in purchasing and restoring historic properties for resale. Ome Dezin—a name they got from Kutner’s husband’s French-accented pronunciation of “Home Design”—aren’t your average house flippers: they treat their rescues as showcases for what they can do and say they don’t cut corners.

This one came in a well-preserved if worn-out, wall-to-wall carpeted state. With neighbors stopping in to tell tales of St. Cyr—”walking up and down the street in her silk robes,” says Kutner; “charging to borrow a wrench,” adds Rudolph—the late pinup star became a presence as they envisioned next steps. Join us for a look.

Photography by Austin Leis, courtesy of Ome Dezin (@omedezin), unless noted.