Name: Anne and Chris
Location: Whittier
Size: 1,480 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years
We traveled to the quaint town of Whittier (about 12 miles southeast of Los Angeles) for this Apartment Therapy House Tour. We were fortunate enough to visit Anne and Chris' home while her sister Tracie was in town visiting from Singapore.
Before taking pics, we gabbed about a wide array of topics (such as Singapore's strict return policies, the decision to have children by a certain age, and how to live a more organized life). It was a refreshing morning of homemade cookies, coffee and a grand hospitality that we'll never forget. Let's take a closer look at how Anne and Chris have set up a home that's perfect for both entertaining, as well as quiet, personal enjoyment.
While Anne would love less of a "cookie-cutter" home, we think she's done an amazing job of setting up shop. It's a three-story condo that unfolds like a modern oasis filled with lots of natural light (and a home entertainment center to die for). Downstairs, we love the combo of a cozy seating area paired with a stark white wall that flickers with frequent nighttime movie screenings. Traveling upstairs to the kitchen and second seating area, you're greeted with a more playful, light-hearted vibe. Patterns and textiles mix beautifully with the retro kitchen accessories--and of course more amazing light.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our style: Clean, fun, modern
Inspiration: Anything unique, eclectic, or from the 1950’s. I must say previewing homes featured in Apartment Therapy, Domino, Metropolitan Home and Sunset Magazine have been a great source of inspiration too!
Favorite Element: Natural light--and the Lamino chair bought at a garage sale.
Biggest Challenge: Making do with our cookie-cutter home in a not so central location.
What Friends Say: Friends observe the quarterly editing of the interiors. They also enjoy watching movies on the projector.
Biggest Embarrassment: Conventional iron railings, light fixtures, and cabinets.
Proudest DIY: Unfortunately, we are not handy at all, which is why we bought a brand new house.
Biggest Indulgence: Furniture and hubby’s audio equipment.
Best advice: Find your own style and work around it when purchasing items. For us, it's best to stay minimalist, live an organized life and try to be clutter free! You can do so by getting items that have a dual purpose. Or, when you bring home an item, get rid of another that you’re tired of by donating it. What I recently learned from my sister is to stick with a color theme when you're working in a small space.
Dream source: Mid-century homes by Cliff May, Joseph Eichler, Streng
Resources:
Downstairs Living Room
Leather couch; Design Within Reach
2nd couch; Room and Board
Coffee Table; Craigslist
Ghost chair; eBay
Entertainment credenza; Blu Dot
Vases; Jonathan Adler
Artwork; eBay, Pasadena Art Gallery
Rug; Pottery Barn
Entryway table; Craigslist
Electronics; A Rega turntable, 2 preamplifiers, and a pair of old school vacuum tube monoblock amplifiers made by VTL. CD Player is made by Ayre, Speakers are ProAcs.
Second Floor Living Room
Matching chairs; eBay
Pillows; West Elm
Framed textiles; Handmade by Anglo Design & Accessories and framed by me with IKEA frames
Mobile; CB2
Coffee table; Design Within Reach
Dining Room Table and chairs; Plummers and Design Within Reach
Table Cloth; Target
Master Bedroom
Desk; West Elm
Tapestry above bed; Jonathan Adler
(Thanks, Anne and Chris!)
Images: Beth Zeigler
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Stanley Console by ...
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
i don't know why, but the height of those prints is genius
I feel like I SHOULD like this, but something erks me. Maybe its the great furniture paired with the unfortunate light fixtures.
I'm a little in love with that bird needlework. How can I get/make one?
I just gave that mobile as a birthday gift to BF. He loves it and it looks so nice in his music room for being 20 bucks.
FINALLY!!! a tour of an audio enthusiast's space! great space & great equipment. i cannot recall AT ever featuring a space with serious audio equipment--everyone just has portable stuff, which, let's face it, just cannot even begin to meet the demands of anyone who likes music. i esp. love how you don't hide the equipment (which is very beautiful) & prominently display the wires as well. am very excited about this tour as it clearly demonstrates that being an audio enthusiast does not necessarily mean insensitivity to the aesthetics of your home. how do you like your proacs? they must sound pretty great on tube monoblock amps!
I think the furnishings are nice & neat. The architecture of the house doesn't work for me.
The layout of the house / condo reminds me of the seventies split foyer I lived in.
This charming home brings up an issue that's been bothering me for some time: why o why is the coffee table in the middle of the room, miles from the nearest chair and sofa? Did I miss that design memo?
What part of Whittier is this, btw? The used book store in Uptown Whittier is one of my all time favorites. The whole Uptown area of Whittier is actually super nice. Whittier college is there, so there's lots of neat little shops, and its really beautiful. Plus I think you can still see some of the places that President Nixon used to frequent.
Really like the abstract art collection. Thank you for sharing.
Where is the mobile from?
@jen_g: its from cb2 and its on sale! Only $15
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=11011&f=5527
I'll agree that from the top view, the coffee table does look a little weird sitting in the middle. Otherwise, I think the overall feel is homely and warm.
Great furniture and art, but could be better placed--perhaps enough to overcome the architecture of the house. The front door, lights, metal railing of the loft, etc., still stand out too much. I actually think that the art is placed a bit too high. The placement of the furniture is "clean," but not particularly useful--as northcoast pointed out, the coffee table is lonely in the middle of all that seating. Also, the TV in the loft ought to be moved against a wall, rather than against the rail. Overall, though, a nice, clean house with some fun art and swell sound system.
I have the same issue with the coffee table. Doesn't seem vary functional as a coffee table, unless you guests are into trekking.
I like the end tables in the bedroom. If anyone knows where they are from, or something similar - please let me know.
Yes Timmy Jr!!
Great to see fellow vacuum tube amplifier enthusiasts with gear on display.
I love that console as well. Where did that come from?
Oh, I guess I should have read more carefully - Blu Dot is where the console is from.
this looks so cosy and lived in. coffee table doesn't bother me.
Since when is Whittier quaint???
Charming and might have been cozy except for the placement of furniture why so many seating possibilities in the living room?and coffee table totally not functional as it is far from any of those furnitures. Here is an idea place the coffee table close to one of the sofas and then use little tables on the side of each seating area. The chairs that create this complete square are superfluous . maybe they can be used as the side tables with the help of some artistic remodeling or otherwise put them upstairs in the tv corner i saw just one are chair there the kitchen is very sweet but why is it upstais ? this is probably not very
comfortable the art work is for the most part very nice .
Paint, paint, paint would make this home look less cookie-cutter and "tracty." The apartment beige walls are not doing anything to set off the great art and furniture.
In addition to adding some color (or better neutrals) to the walls, I would rehang the art not so high in the places where they seem to be trying to compensate for the high ceilings. Eventually, if budget permits, getting rid of that front door and replacing it with something more to the owners' taste (if it is allowed where they live) would make a big difference too.
This house has a lot of the right stuff to make it a cool, interesting house, but it makes me want to jump on the couch and throw some pillows just to shake it up a bit! I think it needs some colour on the walls - sometimes white walls work in a place but not here.
I do love how there's occasional punches of orange. My favourite colour!
I think this is a great house tour! First, the home doesn't look like the owners were trying too hard to make it look cool or trendy. It looks like they decorated to their liking in a relaxed way and managed to achieve a bright and inviting space. The seating looks comfortable, the art is interesting, and the plants and vases throughout soften the space. And there is *no clutter!* -- AWESOME!
Second, look at the "vanilla box" suburban space they started with! I don't think I've seen many (any?) examples of anyone doing such a great job with the interior of such a space. They really capitalized on the bright light and open feel.
Third, I agree with the poster above who mentioned the audio system. It's really hard to have all that equipment in there without the wires and components looking messy. Looks like a great place to listen to music.
And finally, I love all the little glimpses of people in the pictures, going about their daily lives. Makes the home even cozier for me.
Well done!! :)
I LOVE THIS. This is exactly what I would put together, if I were smart/creative enough. So fantastic. Definitely borrowing ideas for my projects this summer.
Thanks!
I like many of the elements, but this just doesn't quite do it for me. Their style is more cozy MCM, but that huge box space lends itself to something more contemporary. I agree that paint would help.
quaint? whittier? oh AT, you are so silly sometimes...
silviasaint, for a first-time post here at AT, you're coming off as "creepy, weird, gross and repulsive."
@figfurlong: end tables in the bedroom are from Blu Dot
So airy, bright, whimsical, cozy! I love it!
uptown whittier, if this is where this house is, IS quaint. if you disagree you must be from country bumpkinville.
2 questions:
a) any info on the floor lamp in the downstairs living room?
b) the 2nd floor coffee table is gorgeous, but the DWR website has no info. Is this a modern repro of a design classic?
I love the textiles you put in Ikea frames. Thanks so much for sharing that idea!
We are loving your feedback. Thank you.
It is our intention not to replace the structural elements of the house like the door, railings, light fixtures, and kitchen cabinets. We would rather save our $ for our dream house one day.
So for the living room, we have been considering buying portable and versatile white morrocan poufs to place adjacent to the "lonely" coffee table. Believe me, we have already attempted to bring the Eames chairs closer to the coffee table but it just does not seem to work visually. More suggestions will be valuable.
For the 2nd level seating area, the reason why we had the chairs against the wall is to distract the eye from the railings, where the TV sits. The only other wall is the one across, where the greenish table is.
Suprised to see fellow audio enthusiast here in AT. Thanks for the compliments. Timmy Jr., ProAcs are awesome paired with tube amps. We've been enjoying them for years!
Btw, the floor lamp is by Holtketter, while the glass coffee table was something carried by DWR ~7 years ago.
Very nice.