Childproofing in Beverly Hills looks different in the flats, the hills and the blocks south of Wilshire. Most residents live in the flats between Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards, where many large traditional homes date to the 1920s and 1930s and come with formal staircases, several fireplaces and French doors to the garden. North of Sunset the homes climb into the hills, with terraces, glass walls and pools, and south of Wilshire the lots get smaller and apartments become common. Families across all three tend to want safety hardware that respects the architecture.
Homes in Beverly Hills and what they need
Spanish Colonial Revival is the most familiar style in the flats, alongside Tudor and Mediterranean Revival houses and newer homes built in the same traditional spirit. Many have plaster walls, tile or stone floors, wrought-iron stair railings and raised hearths. Generic baby gear fits these houses badly. Iron balusters can leave openings a toddler can squeeze through, a raised stone hearth sits right where a new walker tends to tumble, and fixing anything to old plaster takes care.
In the hills, Trousdale Estates was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and is known for mid-century modern houses with long walls of glass. Newer contemporary homes elsewhere in the hills add floating stairs, glass railings and large sliders that open onto terraces. The Beverly Hills Post Office area, just north of the city line in ZIP 90210, is part of the City of Los Angeles, and its hillside homes need the same kind of plan.
South of Wilshire, apartment buildings and smaller lots are more common than anywhere else in Beverly Hills. Here the plan looks closer to a condo plan, built around kitchen locks, window stops and furniture anchoring.
Common childproofing projects in Beverly Hills
- Gates for formal and curved staircases. Hardware-mounted gates with brackets for wrought-iron or stone balusters, in a finish chosen to suit the railing.
- Railing shields on iron balustrades and upstairs galleries. Clear panels close the openings without hiding the ironwork.
- Hearth and fireplace guards. Edge padding for raised stone hearths, and a hearth gate or screen for fireplaces that get used in winter. Read more about fireplace safety.
- Anchoring antiques and heavy furniture. Armoires, bookcases, display cabinets and TVs get anchored with hardware that stays out of sight. See furniture and TV anchoring.
- French doors and garden doors. Locks mounted high on doors that open to the garden or the pool side.
- Concealed cabinet locks. Magnetic locks inside custom cabinetry, plus latches for paneled appliances that blend into the kitchen.
- Sliders and glass walls in the hills. Locks on large sliding doors and stops on windows that look out over a drop.
Earthquake, outdoor and pool safety in Beverly Hills
In a large older home, the heaviest pieces are often antiques that were never built to be fixed to a wall. We attach them through the back with discreet hardware and latch glass-front cabinets so their doors stay shut in a quake. In plaster walls we look for studs first and choose anchors suited to the plaster where we can’t reach one.
Many Beverly Hills homes have a pool, and some gardens add a fountain or a pond. When a permit is issued to build or remodel a pool at a single-family home, California’s pool safety rules require at least two drowning-prevention features from a list of seven, such as a safety cover, exit alarms or self-closing, self-latching doors to the pool. Beverly Hills is its own city, so permits there go through Beverly Hills, while homes in the Post Office area go through Los Angeles.
Barriers around a pool are a job for a pool contractor. Our part is a walk through the garden with you to point out risks, from the doors that open toward the water to any fountain at toddler height. The seven features are laid out in plain terms in our guide to California pool safety rules.
What a visit looks like
If an interior designer or house manager looks after your home, they are welcome to join the visit. We walk the main house room by room, then the garden and any guest house. The itemized plan lists each piece of hardware with its location and finish, so the people who care about the look of the house can approve it in one pass.
Once the plan is approved, we set an install date. On that day we show everyone who cares for your child how each gate and lock works. We serve all three Beverly Hills ZIP codes, 90210, 90211 and 90212, including the hillside streets of the Beverly Hills Post Office area.
Nearby areas we serve
To the northwest, Bel Air has hillside estates with long staircases and terraces. South of Century City, Cheviot Hills is a quieter neighborhood of single-family homes. To the east, Hancock Park shares the flats’ taste for 1920s period-revival houses.