Childproofing in Brentwood usually starts at the main staircase and works outward, to the bedrooms upstairs, the family room hearth and the doors that open onto the yard. Brentwood’s family homes run from traditional two-story houses on the flat streets south of Sunset to Brentwood Park estates and hillside houses up the canyons. Parents here usually want gates that suit the house and a single plan that covers every floor, so the work gets done once.
Homes in Brentwood and what they need
South of Sunset the ground is mostly flat, and the streets are lined with Traditional, Colonial, Spanish and English-style houses. Many are two stories with a formal staircase near the entry, turned wood balusters and a newel post at the bottom. The family room often opens wide to the kitchen and then to the backyard, which leaves a toddler with a long, uninterrupted run from the stairs to the back door.
Brentwood Park is the neighborhood’s estate section, known for its large lots. On a property that size the plan can reach well past the main house, to a guest house, a pool house or a garage that doubles as a gym. More buildings mean more exterior doors, and each one needs a decision about locks.
North of Sunset, Brentwood climbs into the Santa Monica Mountains along canyons such as Mandeville and Kenter. Crestwood Hills, in the northern part of Kenter Canyon, is known for its mid-century modern houses. Canyon homes often step down their lots in split levels, with open-riser stairs, decks and long runs of glass, so the hardware has to mount to steel, glass or stone instead of a wood banister.
Common childproofing projects in Brentwood
- Top-of-stair gates on wood banisters. We fit hardware-mounted gates with banister kits that clamp around the newel post, so the original woodwork isn’t drilled. Our guide to baby gates for stairs with banisters explains the mounting options.
- Wide openings between the kitchen and family room. Gates with extension panels, or angled configurations, close off a kitchen where a single standard gate won’t reach.
- Railing shields on landings and balconies. Clear panels cover balusters with wide gaps and horizontal rails a toddler could climb. See our stair and railing guards for the materials we use.
- Window stops in upstairs bedrooms. Stops limit how far a window opens, and an adult can release them when the window is needed as a way out.
- Fireplace hearths. Raised brick or stone hearths get edge cushioning, and gas fireplaces with glass fronts get a screen or gate so small hands stay off hot glass.
- Dressers, bookcases and TVs. Anything tall in a nursery, playroom, library or family room gets anchored to the wall framing.
- Doors to the yard. A lock mounted high on back and side doors keeps a toddler from letting themselves out.
Earthquake, outdoor and pool safety in Brentwood
Furniture is the main earthquake job inside a Brentwood house. Dressers manufactured since September 2023 must meet a mandatory stability standard from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), adopted under the federal STURDY Act. Older dressers, built-in bookcases and TVs still need wall anchors, and anchoring a new dresser is still good practice. We pick fasteners for the wall in front of us, whether that’s drywall over studs or the plaster found in many older homes.
Much of hillside Brentwood north of Sunset lies in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and the 2019 Getty Fire burned in those hills. In canyon homes we choose gates and window stops an adult can open quickly in the dark. We also place gates so they never block the second way out of a bedroom floor.
Backyard pools are common on Brentwood’s larger lots. Pool fencing is specialty contractor work, so we leave the barrier itself to a pool contractor. Our part is spotting the weak points during the assessment, such as a family room slider that leads right to the water or a side-yard gate with a latch at toddler height.
What a visit looks like
You pick a time that suits the household, and a nanny or house manager can meet us if you can’t be home. The assessment covers every floor, the garage and the yard, and we look at each room from a crawling child’s height. Afterward you get an itemized, room-by-room plan that lists the hardware and finish proposed for each spot.
When you’re happy with the plan, we book the installation. Gates are fitted and adjusted on site, and before we leave we walk everyone who looks after your child through each latch and release. We serve all of Brentwood in ZIP code 90049, from the flats south of Sunset to the top of the canyons.
Nearby areas we serve
West of Brentwood, families in Pacific Palisades are rebuilding or settling into rentals, and we plan for both. To the southwest, Santa Monica mixes houses north of Montana with condos and apartments. Across the 405, Bel Air brings hillside estates with long staircases and terraces.