Amantha Walden and Nick Weidenfeld reflect on what home means after losing theirs

“The back is my favorite view of the house,” Amantha Walden tells AD of the home she and her husband, Nick Weidenfeld, lost in the Altadena fires. “The front of the house is really unassuming, only showing the first two floors. So the back is this big reveal.” Peter Baker

Amantha Walden and Nick Weidenfeld bought a grand 1928 Spanish home in the Altadena hills in 2021. They brought in their friend Tamar Barnoon —an interior designer and set decorator—to help decorate and renovate. The house’s total transformation was complete just two months before it was lost to the Altadena fires on January 7, 2025. AD talked to the couple and their designer about creating the “dream home”—and what it means when you lose it.

Amantha: During COVID, we were living in Sea Ranch. We felt we could stay there forever.…