Once a refuge for Hollywood stars like Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, and Lionel Barrymore, the Laguna Beach cottage had seen better days by the time David Braff and Niko Christou encountered it seven years ago. Originally built in the late 1920s and early ’30s by film director Edward H. Griffith and his wife, actress America Chedister, the home’s glory faded after their deaths in the 1970s. Gradually, age and neglect took their toll, and in recent years the property languished on the market like some Zillow-era Norma Desmond.

That didn’t deter Braff and Christou. Veteran home restorers from New York City who were looking to retire in California, the pair was smitten with the secluded waterfront property, which boasted its own replica lighthouse and views of Catalina Island. But the price was a nonstarter, so the couple walked away—only to return six months later when the place went on the auction block. This time they didn’t back down, nabbing the property for substantially less than its earlier asking price.

Despite an inspection report that would give most buyers pause, the men were undeterred.

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INTERIOR DESIGN BY WENDI YOUNG

ARCHITECTURE BY TIM NICOL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARYN MILLET

WRITTEN BY FRED ALBERT

This story appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of MILIEU.