Name: Greg Wooten - partner at the design store, The Window & Deirdre Keeley - creative producer/writer (The Food Network, BBC, Sony Pictures, etc.)
Location: Silver Lake, aka "The Circle Guest House" - Los Angeles, California
Size: 1000 square feet
Years lived in: 6 months (rent)
Boy, I was in for a treat when I visited Greg and Deirdre at "The Circle Guest House;" the guest house that they rent from an eclectic artist. When your landlord is this creative and loves displaying art in the front yard, there is never a dull moment. My favorite piece - the human-size hamster wheel (yes, you read that right).
Greg and Deirdre are New York transplants who thought they would stay in LA for a short time. The warm weather and California lifestyle have since started to change their mind about going back to New York. Who would leave Los Angeles when you've scored a very sought after and special guest house? They had to beat out another potential renter with their charm and wit! Greg and Deirdre's friends are always asking if they can have the place if they decide to move.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our Style: Eclectic "found" design
Inspiration: An organic mix of our love of the SoCal Fleas and our fascination with the vibrant color palette of Cuba. They are both reflected in the patina and forms of our vintage industrial pieces, artwork and textiles.
Favorite Element: As New Yorkers, we cherish the light, our views and the surrounding nature. Nothing beats going to your front yard to pick lemons and avocados! Also, our artist neighbors are always creating some new and amazing project on the main property. Who else has a human-size fully functioning hamster wheel in their yard?
Biggest Challenge: Creating an instant interior from scratch. We started with a blank canvas as we left our apartment in Brooklyn and home upstate fully furnished.
What Friends Say: "If you ever move, can we have first shot?"
Biggest Embarrassment: Not an embarrassment, but a challenge: our RV style kitchen. Making a dozen pots de creme for Thanksgiving in the tiny stove. It took double the cooking time. We thought the custard would never set!
Proudest DIY: Finding virtually every piece grass roots style by shopping the fleas, garage sales, estate sales dumpsters, etc.
Biggest Indulgence: A fireplace blazing all year round.
Best Advice: Don't buy new - vintage is the ultimate green.
Dream Sources: We're living the Dream...interesting and unusual design is everywhere for urban archeologists like us!
Resources of Note:
APPLIANCES
Any camping store, ha
HARDWARE
Ikea and found
FURNITURE
ACCESSORIES
- The Window...A sweet perk of Greg being a partner at The Window is that we have the luxury of trying out pieces from the store periodically.
- Misc. objects at Tortoise. We love their vibe and aesthetic. Every opening we attend we usually find something magical.
LIGHTING
Old Skool track lighting that was already here (dimmers are a necessity)
We Added some funky industrial pieces as well.
PAINT
Triangles painted by our friend, who was the previous tenant and kind enough to pass the Circle torch to us.
FLOORING
Original to the house - cork and marquetry flooring
RUGS & CARPETS
Our favorite rug was formerly used as a packing blanket by a flea market dealer - we convinced him to sell it to us. It's now in our living room where it happens to beautifully mirror the LACMA California Design catalogue. (the catalogue is striped and thick and sits on our green chest)
WINDOW TREATMENTS
We're privately tucked away in the hills of Silver Lake and are able to keep our large banks of windows uncovered. Nature pours in day and night, aided by outdoor lighting, which makes us feel like we're in a giant terrarium.
BED
Nothing fancy...
ARTWORK
- First and favorite piece ("Bears Eat Cholo's" painting on shipping palette) - found on the street in Silver Lake/we negotiated with the homeless crew partying next to it.
- Rumor B on Sunset
- Collection of hanging vintage wire fishing baskets that we found at fleas and have been gifted (our poor man's Ruth Asawa)
OTHER
- Stereo low-fi vintage "The Fisher" suitcase stereo
- A few pieces of vintage Ikea
Thanks Greg & Deirdre!
Images: Marcia Prentice
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Great place, anyone else think Deirdre looks like Lauren Graham? So pretty!
AT (and house tour hosts): we'd love to see more floorplans! Sometimes I have a hard time visualizing the space.
I do love this house tour though! Great finds throughout. And I really like the inherited triangles!
this is one of my favorite tours!!!
cool place! love the creativity and green attitude shown throughout. agreed; i would not get rid of "bears eat cholos" either!
thanks for the tour of your home.
is the human-hamster wheel fun to use?
and yes, dunklekatze, i do think deirdre looks like that great actress from "gilmore girls" and now on my much-favored show "parenthood".
love the paint job in the main living space and kitchen (i see a diy in my future!)
also love all the lighting and the vase on the dining table. source please?
oh...and the toilet looks more like a space age rocket than a toilet...pretty sweet!
your place is great, i feel like your things match the space perfectly, it's so sculptural!
I love the wire baskets.
I agree with them about not buying new. It IS the ultimate green.
I like the prison sink and prison toilet ;)
Thanks for the compliments...about our place and my face!
The human hamster wheel is exceedingly fun to use. If you really get it cranking, it veers into some kind of warped workout.
The painted triangles were done by our friend, Coryander Friend.
The vase on the dining table = Rose Bowl, $3. A drinking glass inserted in the middle completes the look.
Oh dear. Apparently I'm on an island on my own with this one. The ONLY thing I like about this tour is the hammock. But as long as they love it, well, that's what counts.
Move over, I'm joining you on that island. I love eclectic interiors, but this one didn't do it for me. But the space seems great and to each her/his own.
I'm with the last two commenters. I really wanted to love this, but thought it was a bit of a mess. I'm totally down with spaces that don't reflect my personal style; I can usually see a lot of good in something that's not my scene. But this just seemed like a bit of too much and not enough at the same time.
That said, it's not my space and it's clear that they get a lot of use out of it, and ultimately that's really all that matters.
I'm with the last 3 commenters. I bet it's fun to live there and they definitely have their own style. But all the metal furniture (oh I wouldn't dare use that toilet in the middle of the night!) really left the place cold and kind of dirty for me. I did really really like the kitchen; it reminds me of cute little European kitchen with the small and economical fridge! I also liked the map on the wall and the triangles everywhere like a big painted bunting. But overall it was't for me.
Deirdre darling, you are gorgeous and I love your hat!
Love the wire baskets, and appreciated that it's really colorful but subdued at the same time. For me the Cuban influence came through, although admittedly my "experience" of Cuba is just from pictures.
Regarding the sentiment that not buying new is green, sure. But somehow I don't think that offsets the non-green effect of having three homes (the biggest challenge response mentions a fully furnished Brooklyn apartment and upstate home).
I haven't posted in a while, but I have to respectfully disagree with the island-dwellers above. For the first time in a while AT has featured a space that isn't MCM (not that there's anything wrong with it, but seeing the same Eames lounge chair and ottoman every other post gets repetitive and boring) or packed-full with West Elm accessories, "revamped" IKEA dressers, or other big box store room displays. Bravo to y'all for embracing the worn paint, the whimsy, the dumpster gems, and making it all work as a home. I might have to steal your dining table/chairs, that two-drawer red industrial cart, among other great finds!
Thanks to all for chiming in...both mainlanders and island-DWELLers. All comments are appreciated. Different strokes!
For Jen:
In regards to the "non-green effect" of still having two other homes back East...both our BK apartment and Upstate home <www.skull39.blogspot.com> are occupied by friends who are enjoying the furnished spaces and doing so without having to buy anything other than food. I feel as though providing these furnished homes while we're in California is in fact, extremely green.
Book me on the next trip to the island.
So creative. One should enjoy living in one's home and I think this would be a most enjoyable space in which to spend time. Ideally, a home would also reflect those who live in it. This one clearly reflects an aesthetic of individuality which I find very appealing and extremely refreshing.
Love the hat ma!
Is there room enough on the island for me? Oh my!
I'm sorry but it's a bit weird and looks to be a little dangerous. Does not look comfortable at all, do you hit your head on the wire baskets? You are very attractive but the hat needs to go.
As an East coast person I agree with the love of California, the sense of light and the climate warms this cold soul. I do love all the stuff in the house and even the quirky house, however I find it a tad dyslexic with hard and pointy edges. It seems to be missing come kine of cohesion and warmth.
"a bit weird".... I sure hope so. Weird is good. Weird = unusual. We love weird.
"dangerous"....nope. No injuries to report. The wire baskets are intentionally hanging in a corner and have never been in the way of any head.
The presence of some industrial metal elements might seem cold & hard but I have to say...when the fireplace is on and we're hanging out on the shearling covered sofa, surrounded by objects and art that we love and all of the outdoor foliage is lit-up and pouring in, our place feels pretty damn cozy.
I just love their style. It's like walking into another world from my own style but it seems like such a friendly space. And unlike another poster, it seem warm and cozy not cold. Love!
I love this place! Creative, utilizing existing stuff instead of buying new all the time, and SMALL!
Thanks for sharing! Love the hat, Deirdre! Wear it proudly.
I see warm and cozy as well, and sooooo fun and colorful!!
I really like the repurposing of some of the pieces. All together, however, it's confusing to me.
I want one of those human hamster wheels. Where did you get it? If you made it, how?
Great place, love the patina on may of your pieces. Again, would love a floor plan but I've got an idea that the kitchen, dining area and living room (with stove) are all the one space. It took a second for the penny to drop on that one thanks to the shot through the door with the bookcase.