apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Derek's Gidget Gets a Sex Change remains as one of our reader favourite house tours, thanks to the colourful pastiche of vintage era furnishings and decorations. Derek has been busy updating/streamlining his decor since our March visit and was kind enough to invite us back for an update photo shoot of his living room...

Name: Josh and Laurie Zimber
Location: Long Beach, Ca
Size: 3000 sq/ft
Years lived in: 2 Years (own)

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When we first walked into Josh and Laurie's place, we were there to buy furniture. As purveyer's of OC Modern, the Zimbers use their own house in Long Beach as a showroom for their incredible selection of Danish Modern and Mid Century pieces. Because the stock is always changing, they get to rearrange and rethink the space often. Although the house is 3000 square feet, most of that is the downstairs showroom while they do most of their living upstairs where it's considerable smaller, but no less stylish:

Name: Lindsey Dann
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Size: 1620 sq/ft
Years lived in: 4, OWNED

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We met Lindsey Dann via a coffee table we were both coveting. Although it turned out that the table wasn't for sale, we knew we'd found a kindred spirit. When she emailed us the pictures she'd had taken of her own home, we asked if she'd mind sharing them with our readers at AT. What struck us most was her impressive attention to the details which support a home that is elegant and sophisticated while being comfortable enough for her active dogs to enjoy or to support an impromptu karaoke party. It's that ease that underlines the motto, "You Purchase It, We Perfect It," that is at the heart of Lindsey Dann, LLC, her recently launched company.

We're sure many of you remember one of our most popular house tours, Maria's “Oh So You” Bungalow. The interior was a pastiche of vibrant colours and welcoming textures, all framed by the open floor plans and an outdoor entertaining shangri-la. Maria has been so kind to update us about the one room in her home she was hesitant to share that first time around: the bathroom. She's decided to take a daring directional change inside, painting it high gloss black to dramatic results...

Saturday was quite a day, not only did we go to the Dwell on Design Exhibit but we also drove around all morning on the self guided Westside Home tour (it would have been near impossible to do it on foot like Gregory was able to do on the Downtown Tour). Yesterday we showed you old school mid century design and today we're rounding up the more contemporary homes we saw. Not all of them would allow for pictures but 2 of them did and you can color us impressed (and envious).

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Yesterday Gregory showed us his slideshow from the Dwell on Design Downtown Tour and today we've put together a slideshow from the Westside tour of one of the landmarks of California Modernism: Ray Kappe's residence in the Palisades. Nestled on the side of a hill, surrounded by oak trees, this house is an incredible example of mid century modern.

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The highlight of this week's Dwell on Design show here in LA was arguably the Downtown Urban Living Home Tour, with 6 different residences in or around the historical region of Downtown Los Angeles opened to the (paying) public. We spent almost all of Sunday walking the whole tour on Main Street, visiting the Santa Fe Lofts, the Elleven, the Hellman Building, the Bartlett Building and the Douglas Building (we unfortunately were worn out by day's end and didn't make it to the furthest Toy Factory Loft). Many more photos and our impression under the jump...

Name: Anne Faith Nicholls & Jacob Arden McClure
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Size: 1,200 Square Feet Loft
Years lived in: 4 Months

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Built in 1905 in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Beaux Arts style, the Pacific Electric Building located at 6th and Main Street was LA's first skyscraper, constructed for use as a terminal and office building for the downtown streetcar operations of The Pacific Electric Railway Company. In it's modern state, the Pacific Electric Building has been revitalized into loft units with a great deal of the building's grand turn-of-the-century details intact or renovated. We were invited by artist couple, Anne Faith Nicholls and Jacob Arden McClure, who call the Pacific Electric Building home, inside a wondrous loft space decorated with an eclectic nod to both past and present...

Name:Abby's Mom
Location:Greenwich Village, New York
Size: approx. 1200 sq/ft
Years lived in: 45+ RENTED

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During ICFF, I crashed at my mom's who lives in the same West Village apartment I grew up in. My parents ran an antique shop for a time during my childhood and so most of the furniture is antique, a mixture of American and French country pieces, that they grabbed for themselves. Much of it was bought at auctions upstate and then refinished, some of it using the coloured stains that my father developed. It's comfortable, inviting and eclectic and a great example of what can happen when you let your heart lead your head in decorating and buy pieces that you love.

Name: Erin from Design For Mankind
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 2200 ft2
Years lived in: 3, Owned

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Erin from Design For Mankind was nice enough to let us in to see her organized home (perfect for the close of organizing month!). She's definitely a collector, a thrifter, a girl full of projects, but there's nothing out of place or cluttered about her home. She's found a place for everything (and everything in its place). We loved peeking in to see how she organizes her collections and the things that she loves while maintaining a really inspiring and welcoming home:

Name: Danielle & Lakshan, and Mortimer the Bulldog
Location: Glebe, Inner City, Sydney Australia
Size: a little over 800 square feet + deck and small roof terrace
Years lived in: 5 months

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You might be wondering why this house tour looks so familiar. It's because you've got a great memory and are recollecting the home of two folks who've recently entered our 2008 Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest, representing Sydney, Australia in our #7 International category. Danielle, Lakshan and Mortimer the Bulldog were so kind to allow us to revisit their welcoming modern abode in further detail. Come on in, Mortimer is a most courteous of hosts...

Name: Debbie and Olivier
Location: Venice, CA
Size: 1500sq/ft
Years lived in: 2 years, own

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When Debbie and Olivier bought their Venice property 3 years ago, they could have torn down the existing house and filled the property with a new McMansion. Instead they chose to keep the existing home, convert it into a studio for their architecture firm and build a second house with as small a footprint as possible. The idea was to maximize the space they had for living by using every corner. The result is a great example of simple, small space living.

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Name: Abby
Location: Los Angeles
Size: around 900 square feet, 1 bedroom
Years Lived in: 10+years, rent

My home has always been a lab for experimenting with ideas, sometimes successful, sometimes not so much. I'm all about change but one thing that always stays constant with me is cozy and welcoming. I love having people over. I remember someone saying once that "if you haven't spilled anything, you're not having enough fun." When people come over for brunch and stay for dinner, I know that my apartment's working...

Name: Cindy and Harvey
Location: Granada Hills, CA
Size: 2500 sf
Years lived in: Own, 9 months

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In the northern most part of Granada Hills, in an area where time seemingly forgot, is an enclave of colourful modernist homes...a slice of Midcentury heaven filled with preserved and renovated homes all sharing the recognizable architectural details of the California-based, post-war residential real estate developer, Joseph Eichler. Cindy of OneStopModern was kind enough to invite us to step inside her renovated Eichler home on this magical block...

Name:Laura Stang-O'Dell, creator and head designer of Porridge; Jason O'Dell, photographer; and Hazel, awesome dog
Location: Los Feliz
Size: 1600 sq/ft
Years lived in: 2 Years, own

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Remember when we introduced you to Porridge Home a few weeks back? We promised you a house tour. But before jumping into it, here's a little tidbit of what the Stang-O'Dell home feels like: You know when you were a little kid and all of your friends met up at one friends' house because they had the best snacks and a Nintendo? Well, Laura and Jason's home has that same nostalgic vibe...it's comfortable, inviting, and just the sort of place where friends can help themselves to the fridge and kick back to some Steely Dan.

We're always looking for more candidates for house tours. If you or someone you know is interested in inviting us for a tour, please email us!

Name: Susan and Michael
Location: Santa Monica
Size: Approximately 900 sq.ft.
Years Lived in: 20+ Rented

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We were first introduced to Susan and Michael through Susan's evocative charcoal figure drawings, which held place of honour in a friend's living room. When we were subsequently invited to dinner at their apartment, we discovered that Michael had artistic talents of his own - in the kitchen - which were on full display during an amazing meal and a few great bottles of wine. Originally, we planned to stop by their house briefly to examine the AS Gallery Hanging System which they'd installed during their recent renovation. But, sitting in their home, in a rare moment when it wasn't filled with people, Michael puttering in the kitchen, we were captivated by our surroundings. Evidence of their exuberant approach to life was apparent at every turn. We loved how this small two bedroom apartment had been transformed into a light-filled loft space, punctuated with colorful walls and art and mementos that reference their travels, their friends and their many interests. We couldn't help but pull out our camera to capture this cheerful space.

Shannon Lamden (a.k.a. Aunty Cookie) first came to our attention because of her blog. We enjoyed seeing snippets of her home so much, we just had to ask her to participate in a House Call — all the way from Melbourne, Australia! Given how lovely her own textile creations are, we weren't the least bit surprised that her place is filled with lots of wonderful colors and patterns.

Name: Glen Dake
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Size: 900 sq/ft
Years lived in: 10 years, owned

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The wonderful thing about Los Angeles is you just don't know what's behind those street facing closed gates. What sometimes appears to be a standard home can reveal itself to be much different once you walk through the doorway, as LA is characterized by a courtyard/backyard lifestyle. Such is the case of Los Angeles landscape architect, Glen Dake's Silver Lake home. Inside, Glen's home reveals the epitome of modern bachelor style, with the whole home finished in a tasteful and uncluttered manner accentuated by warm woods and subtle textures, punctuated by an inviting pool that separates his small home from a detached studio office...

Name: Maria
Location: Silver Lake, LA
Style: 1922 California Bungalow rental
Years lived in: 1.5 years

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This might have been the easiest house tour we’ve ever been invited over to shoot, not only because Maria’s eclectic 1920’s bungalow glows and glistens inside and out with eye-catching colour, but also because she literally lives one block over from us (we even talked about the recent drama in our hood). Greeted by two friendly canines and a richly painted red door, we slipped inside to learn how a former Manhattanite made a brand new start in her vibrant modern-Marrakesh home with natural aplomb…

Name: Derek
Location:Los Feliz, CA
Years lived in: 6 years

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We hope you like colour, kitsch and Midcentury design, because we have all three in abundant amount with our house tour coming by way of Los Feliz. Overlooking the beautiful St. George Reservoir, Derek's modest 2-bedroom apartment, with it's wood shingle clad exterior, hides a wealth of unexpected colour and collectibles within. Just his living room was almost enough to keep us busy with questions and photo subjects during our visit. And when we weren't admiring his vintage collection of soda pop cans, atomic ranch furnishings or humorous artwork, we were just having fun watching his two friendly felines put on an amusing show for us befitting the playful backdrop...

Name: Natalie, Nicholas and their son, Arthur.
Occupation: Natalie is a photographer and Nick is a former electrician.
Location: North Melbourne (innercity Melbourne), Australia 

Type: Old Victorian shop front and dwelling, built in 1890. Shop below and residence above on the above two floors.
Size: Approx 4.5 metres wide x 18 metres (872 sq. ft) on all three levels.
Years Lived In: Current renovated state 1.5 years.

Natalie, Nicholas and Arthur’s colourful vintage toy-tinged home is our first Apartment Therapy House Tour from the land down under, and we think this might be amongst the most fun interiors we’ve ever showcased. Natalie and Nicholas are the proud owners of their own store, Arthur’s Circus, “specialising in the sale of hard to find vintage toys, collectables and lighting”. And as you'll soon note, their playful air that permeates throughout their professional and personal lives with a colourful enthusiasm as bright as a Melbourne afternoon.

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Name: Laure
Location: Venice, CA.
Size: 500 square feet (ish)
Years lived in: 2 years
Inspiration: Other people's homes

As soon as I got word of my eviction, I knew that I wanted to document my apartment before she was taken from me. This was my first place and inspired me to try out all kinds of furniture arrangements and colors. Most of all I just had fun. Eventually I even got inspired to enter the smallest coolest contest and made it as a finalist, thus beginning my relationship with AT. I've never 'finished' my apartment and there are a million and one things I would want to change, but c'est la vie, on to the next place!

We're always looking for more candidates for house tours. If you or someone you know is interested in inviting us for a tour, please email us!

Name: Gregory McKinney
Location: Granada Hills CA
Type: 1960s Contemporary Modern
Size: 3bdr 2 bath 1731 sq ft, one story
Years lived in: since June 2005

Gregory only needed to send a single photo of his Granada Hill's home interior for us to decide that we needed to get out to his pad pronto. Tucked far back in the hills of suburbia, Gregory renovated a typical San Fernando Valley home into a livable homage to the Palm Spring aesthetic, its stylish spirit immediately apparent from first sight of the promising robin's egg blue door with starburst door knobs. It only got better once we stepped through the doors...

Name: Stefanie (plus 2)
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Size: 3 Bedroom
Years lived in: Almost 3 years

Having moved from Germany 3 years ago to Santa Monica with her husband, Stefanie already had some great antiques in her collection. They shipped them all stateside and have slowly been blending incredibly classic pieces with beautifully modern ones. The result? A house we're crushing on and a list of resources and inspiration that leaves us breathless.