Jay Huguley’s 1936 William Kesling house in Silver Lake

The light box is an original Kesling design, mounted in the wall and covered with glass. Here it’s seen from the balcony.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Another Kesling touch: aluminum tiles frame the fireplace.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

From the upper-floor living area, an office and bathroom are on the left with the dining room and kitchen on the right. The curvaceous staircase leads to two bedrooms downstairs. “I always say it feels like a steamship you might travel down the Nile in, in 1936,” Huguley said.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Huguley chose to keep the home’s original wall-mounted porcelain sink in the guest bathroom, despite teasing from friends. “The person who built this house put the sink in himself,” Huguley said. “I’m not taking it out.”  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Light filters through a tall bank of windows onto a Midcentury dining table that Huguley found at the Long Beach flea market.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Aluminum tiles were added in the kitchen to match the original tiles in the living room fireplace.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

In the guest bedroom, built-ins were added during the 1950s.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

In this shot looking up toward the hallway ceiling, a black-and-white photograph by Herb Ritts hangs on the wall. The home’s previous owner painted silver and gold borders on the ceiling throughout the house.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

More curving lines, common in 1930s Streamline Moderne architecture. The house is filled with thrift-store paintings, fine-art photography and other works. “I wanted to find a home with great bones and fill it with things I love,” Huguley said.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

In the bathroom, a 1930 photo of the Harvard football team. The actor’s grandfather, A.W. Huguley, was a noted fullback on the team.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Actor Jay Huguley relaxes in his Silver Lake home surrounded by a dark-framed photo by Peter Beard and three sepia-tone photographs by Jean Pagliuso. The couch is from Los Angeles-based Modernica.   (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

A view of the Silver Lake hills from Jay Huguley’s balcony.

More profiles: L.A. home design in photos  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)