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Houzz Tour: Tiny Vintage Los Angeles Apartment
A 410-square-foot apartment merges practicality with playful retro finds, repurposed pieces and an ever-changing color palette
Small spaces leave little room for unnecessary objects — the best accessories do double duty. Jessica Lundby kept this in mind while decorating her 410-square-foot Los Angeles apartment. Her colorful vintage style flows from room to room, but no space goes to waste. "I'm inspired by practicality," Lundby says. "Everything should be functional and should have a purpose. If I'm going to redesign a room or start a new project, it's because something about the color or flow isn't working properly."
Houzz at a Glance:
Who lives here: Jessica Lundby
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 410 square feet
That's interesting: Lundby's building is one of the few buildings in her neighborhood that went up during the post–World War II housing shortage.
Houzz at a Glance:
Who lives here: Jessica Lundby
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 410 square feet
That's interesting: Lundby's building is one of the few buildings in her neighborhood that went up during the post–World War II housing shortage.
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| Most of Lundby's furniture is vintage, thanks to her great love of flea markets and antique stores. But she's been lucky enough to snag some great things from her family, too. "For some things, like the Eames lounge chair, it's great to have a generous family with good taste," she says. Game board on wall: antique store in Kansas; green footlocker: Pasadena City College flea market |
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A row of windows leading from the living room to the kitchen lets plenty of warm light into the adjoining spaces. Lundby wanted a caramel color for this room, so she mixed it herself with leftover paint until she got exactly what she wanted.
Printed canvas: J.C. Bissery
Printed canvas: J.C. Bissery
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Lundby's kitchen table is one of her favorite pieces in her home. It looks beautiful with the Eames plywood chairs and is almost identical to the café tables in the last scene of Annie Hall. "I pretend that it was one of them. And really, it might have been," she says.
Wall paint: Card Room Green, Farrow & Ball; table: This Is Not Ikea
Wall paint: Card Room Green, Farrow & Ball; table: This Is Not Ikea
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Green chalkboard paint gives the kitchen a bold jolt of color and an ever-changing work of art. Lundby loves color and repaints all of her rooms at the drop of a hat. "So far, I hope I've achieved a good overall balance of warm and cool, and an interesting set of colors that sets just the right tone for each room," she says. "But who knows what the whole thing will look like three months from now?"
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| The turquoise tile on the kitchen counters is one of the things that initially drew Lundby to the bright and colorful apartment. And plant life is a must — her next big project is to build window boxes for herbs and flowers outside the kitchen windows. |
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| Lundby stores most of her dry goods in Galaxy syrup bottles from the 1950s. The company that produced these bottles went bankrupt before they were ever filled with syrup. |
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Black bathroom walls add to the older apartment's midcentury feel. Built during the post–World War II housing shortage, Lundby's building is made with noticeably cheap materials. "Although I have no shared walls, my upstairs neighbor can still hear me sneeze and talk like a fool to my dogs," she says.
Wall paint: Soot, Benjamin Moore; mirror: Pepe's Thrifty Shop
Wall paint: Soot, Benjamin Moore; mirror: Pepe's Thrifty Shop
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The dark teal walls in Lundby's bedroom give the room a cozy but sophisticated vibe. "It's a deep and wonderful green with a hint of blue, and provides the perfect cavelike atmosphere," she says.
Old family photos and prints cover the bedroom walls, including one of her favorite possessions — a 1960s black and white photograph of her mother, grandmother and uncles. "No one is looking at the camera or aware that my grandfather is taking the picture, but the result is so charming that if all my material possessions suddenly evaporated, that would be the thing I'd cry first about," Lundby says.
Wall paint: Tarrytown Green, Benjamin Moore; bed frame, shoe rack: Wertz Brothers Antique Mall; eraser print: Jordan Crane; map: Long Beach antique mall
Old family photos and prints cover the bedroom walls, including one of her favorite possessions — a 1960s black and white photograph of her mother, grandmother and uncles. "No one is looking at the camera or aware that my grandfather is taking the picture, but the result is so charming that if all my material possessions suddenly evaporated, that would be the thing I'd cry first about," Lundby says.
Wall paint: Tarrytown Green, Benjamin Moore; bed frame, shoe rack: Wertz Brothers Antique Mall; eraser print: Jordan Crane; map: Long Beach antique mall
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Lundby works for a shoe company, so having plenty of space to store all of her favorite shoes was vital. This vintage rack, which she guesses was a mail sorter, does the trick perfectly.
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| Almost everything in her home is antique, thrifted or repurposed in some fashion. The result is a well-loved home that never feels too precious. Above is a shot of Lundby and a vintage fan-belt rack she found at a flea market, which makes the perfect hanger for scarves and necklaces. "Before I bought my first grownup couch last year, there wasn't a single thing that I lived with that cost me more than $300," says Lundby. "Unless, of course, you count six years of dog food, toys and vet bills. But I don't." You can see more of Jessica Lundby's apartment on her blog, No Accounting for Taste. More: Get ideas from more small, stylish homes |
Ideabook published on May 29, 2012.
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Great photos and decorating - thanks !
oh, and just to add: Chalkboard paint - how fun! Interesting what you did with the refrigerator. I may not go quite that far, but I found and old industrial steel desk built in the 40's, and will use it in the kitchen for a dining table (60X 30) - I plan to paint the top with chalkboard paint -- a fun idea to draw on your furniture!