Houzz TV: Love and Loft Life in Downtown L.A.
Beachfront properties and hillside bungalows are often the first images that come to mind when envisioning Los Angeles living. But a revitalization has been taking place in the city’s historic center that now offers Angelenos chic industrial spaces, a vibrant cultural scene and life without a car. For Glenn Shelhamer and Yara Jasso, there was little discussion about where to live once they got engaged.
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Love the loft! I'm east of the 101 by about a hundred yards, but much farther north. We are currently mid remodel on our small home in SLO to create a 1-wall kitchen with adjacent farm table dining area, almost identical to what you have layout wise. It will replace a galley kitchen with adjacent hallway, with a 12-foot FOOF door to our side yard garden on the wall opposite the kitchen (kitchen is replacing hallway). Can I ask, how wide is your space from back of cabinet to opposite wall? And do you like having the fridge on the stove end of the kitchen? I'm trying to understand that layout, as it would seem to make sense to me to have the fridge on the sink end of the single wall. Then you move from fridge/pantry to sink to prep space to cooking space. As we are finalizing the layout for cabinetry, I'm interested to hear thoughts of someone living with a one wall kitchen...
Great style, love the collection of antique rugs. They define the zones in the loft and add even more personality.
Super comfy looking. Love the laid back mixed with sophistication.
Love, love, love all the rugs !! The are beautiful and warm and colorful. They make this home very inviting .
Not my style but I do enjoy the nonchalant, je ne sais quoi feel of the space.
Wow-what a great looking couple!!
Artistic and comfortable - love the look!
thought about buying a place in downtown LA - it is an exciting place to visit
Love the wood floor joists!
Love the feel of the whole place. Wouldn't want to be on the wall side of the bed though! What about shifting the bed away from the wall a little so each person gets a walk-in? The steps could come out and either the clothes rack or a tidier hanging solution sit at the end of the bed. But that's just me...
It's awesome that DTLA is transforming. I've been working here for the past 20 plus years and have seen the transition. You know DTLA has gentrified when there are more dog poops than homeless feces on the sidewalk.
Really great rugs, and I love the sofa, too. I'd love to live in a loft like this with such amazing natural light.
I honestly wonder what kind of careers these people have to achieve these really trendy apartments.
Love the simplicity of it enriched by beautiful pieces, like jewels. Those chairs...drool!
What a fun, LA loft. Loft living is so chic!
Love it, although I'm itching to shift that portrait of the dog into the middle of the wall.
Those designer purple velvet chairs are wonderful!! My grandmother (100 yrs old and still living on her own) had a beautiful purple settee before downsizing. I wish I would have appreciated it more back when it was offered to me....young and foolish then!
This is the cutest couple and they've done a great job of decorating. Love the pup.
As for gentrification. It's a tricky conundrum. Yes you want the value of the neighbourhood to go up, no you don't want to displace people. It's a discussion we always have going on here in Winnipeg.
I love the emails on the fridge though:)
Love oliver & the rugs. LA, nice to visit once in a great great while.
They clearly love where they live- such a charismatic couple with great design sense, and the ability to make the place sing with their personal stamp. Stop it already you haters, you just negated your own argument that the location is not ideal by pointing out that there are several watering holes per block!
@lizzie91001 - My partner and I have lived in downtown (just a block away from Glenn and Yara's place) since 2009 and we actually ended up getting rid of our car after moving here. So it really can be done and we can find all the amenities you've listed except a Trader Joe's (and a golf store - which I hope I never need) within a one mile radius from our place. With all that money you could save on owning a car, maybe you could golf a few extra rounds (shade!)
This is fantastic place, if you have no kids. lol
Very nice transition from a bank to a loft and you know that the place is comfortably cool in the summer because aren't banks always slightly cold. The kitchen being where it's placed is perfect too. Great showing!
Beautiful place! And the yard, wow, down town LA!
Such a capturing video! The love and personality shows thru Great Family and Great Home!!!
Fun to see that a lot of their pieces were great finds! I'd love to hear all the stories about each of the rugs! Enjoy!
It all works !
Congratulations !
lovely,nice looking loft
Love your story and how you live but most of all love seeing how much you love and cherish each other. Refreshing to see. Keep having fun.
Great to see the video added to this story. Love their style and that their pieces have true meaning to them. Oliver is the best.
Is that Nathaniel Rateliff they stop and chat to at the beginning of the video?
Those three (dog included) are really cute! And, they have a great eclectic style.
Love this segment !
I live in Bakersfield and there are so many old buildings on the old Main Drag, Chester Avenue downtown. They are empty except for a few stores here and there, but they are all several stories tall. I cannot for the life of me understand why they do not develop them into lofts, apartments etc. We are so spread out now little tracts of ugly new homes every other one the same, no trees just ugly new houses. I would love to live downtown in one of the old buildings, we actually live in a 1926 Spanish bungalow style home just a couple of blocks from downtown. It would be so awesome for all the young men and woman who want to be near the clubs etc. to have that option.
Beautiful unique home, charming couple and Oliver! Doesn't get any better!
What an adorable family! I love how they appreciate every piece — it's not just each rug that has a story behind it but every piece of furniture. And they have stuff on the fridge - yea! :)
I love the simplicity of their life style, their love for the pet, and best of all, the respect and appreciation they have for each other. Wonderful!
Too much of him; not enough of her.
When i left LA back in 1996 Downtown was all Banks and stores and more than a little scary after dark. I am loving the changes and Yes i would definitely live here..Wow. Really liking this couple and the dog!
Young, hip and apparently creative couple, but I don't actually see that reflected in their home. Worn leather sofa, glass coffee table, posters, 'oriental' rugs and a makeshift bed in the corner of the room; seen it, been there, done that long time. You might call picking up stuff from grandma's time 'retro', it's also quite conservative (not to say 'boring'), but since they seem to enjoy it (and eachother!) so much, I'm happy for them.
OMG..this is my favorite house tour ever. They nailed a beautiful life and it became theirs. The amazing style they both have on so many levels is perfect and full of art. Did I mention I LOVE art? And obviously they are in love. My grandmother told me to find a man who loved me a little more than I loved him. It looks like they knew my grandmother. (And yes, I found one who loved me a little more than I loved him and forty years later it's still true.....and there's still that romantic spark. ) Thanks for sharing this interesting and inspiring home and life.
That was cute. Loved their place-there seems to be a lot of joy there. Makes me happy.
Great space and what a cute couple!! I do have to say since this "tiny house" movement has begun, which I love by the way, I have recently come to learn that my 937 sq foot house is considered small!! We are a family of five and I never considered my home "small". I grew up in large houses, the last I lived in before moving out was 3000 sq ft....I would take a small space over a huge space any day.
Cute couple. Cute dog. They are clearly happy with their home, but I thought it had a 'still in college' cast-off vibe. No cohesion, everything a mish-mash. The tied drapes detract from rather than enhance the windows and view. The bedroom is far too cramped. Although they mention living minimally and maximizing storage repeatedly, their solutions - an armoire, a dresser, rolling racks and a funky ladder to a storage niche (do you really want to climb that to get a towel?) really don't effectively solve their storage problems. To really maximize the space they could have custom built in's running under the windows - that would provide not only lots storage but window seating or display space. Although the bedroom is small, it appears there's space to build a real closet. Rotating the bed to the wall facing the window and elevating it (think storage drawers underneath) would provide more storage and room to move around. Instead of nightstands, use wall mounted shelves and lighting. Lofts typically don't have many doors, but where there is a door take advantage of the space above. A long shelf above the bedroom door (both sides) would provide extra storage space (think decorative bins, baskets or boxes to neatly house items), and would make better use of their ladder. The brief view of the bathroom shows lots of blank wall space and one tiny towel bar - make use of that space for shelving to hold towels and bath items. This loft has good bones, but I just kept thinking it could have been so much more.