She turned an unpermitted backyard studio into the ultimate WFH hideaway

The Stiff Peaks writing studio, designed by Chris Skeens and Ben Warwas, features a hidden rooftop deck that offers views of downtown Los Angeles. After 12 months of work, held up by significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they dubbed the new writing studio “Stiff Peaks” to acknowledge its most dramatic feature — a scalloped parapet that resembles beaten egg whites and disguises a roof deck where Rosenthal can catch some rays and not be seen by her neighbors on the hill next door. “Once we removed the Spanish roof, it became about the parapet and continuing the Mediterranean logic.” 1 / 11 During the design process, Ben Warwas, left, and Chris Skeens realized they could put a roof deck on top of the house so that owner Jane Stephens Rosenthal didn’t lose any yard space. Adds Rosenthal: “I take all my meetings in the studio, and when I Zoom, the arched windows are all anyone talks about.” The Stiff Peaks writing studio is shaded by a mature tree canopy.