Eric & Patrick’s Design Playground

published Mar 19, 2016

Page URL

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

About this tour

Explore More House Tours

Home Type

Apartment

Location

Mid-City, Los Angeles, California

Style

Bohemian

Eclectic

Bedrooms

Square feet

1400

Sq ft

1400

Name: Eric Stauble and Patrick Maziarski
Location: Mid-City — Los Angeles, California
Size: 1,400 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year; Owned

Can't-Miss House Tours Straight to Your Inbox

Keep up with our latest house tours each weekday with our House Tour of the Day newsletter

Welcome to the very creative home of Eric Stauble and Patrick Maziarski, who are both immersed in the creative design world. With an eclectic mix of custom-designed, reupholstered and vintage pieces, this home offers the best of indoor and outdoor living. Not only did they convert this typical commercial building into a home, they’ve managed to convert it into a dreamy loft space, complete with a koi pond out back!

(Image credit: Bethany Nauert)

Eric, director of marketing and sales for Bend Goods, believes the most significant piece in their home is the Eames chair that he got from his uncle. He saw it covered by a sheet at his uncle’s home and questioned where it was from. His uncle told him it was payment for some woodwork he had done for a client in the ’80s—but he had never used it. He had no idea who it was made by and let Eric have it that day. For Eric, “Knowing very well what the chair was worth the whole time, it’s a good reminder of the idea of value versus need in this world.” And to answer the obvious question, yes, he told his uncle how much the piece was worth before taking it off his hands. Though shocked, his uncle did not renege on the transaction.

The most significant item for Patrick is the elephant in the room. Literally. As a military brat, he grew up with parents who traveled the world for work. His mom spent time in the Middle East and picked up this lapis elephant while in Afghanistan. “Made from their national stone, the piece is small but mighty, and the upturned trunk is a symbol of good luck in their culture. Growing up, my parents weren’t always around, physically. And now, living 3,000 miles from [them], the elephant is a daily reminder that family is never too far away,” explains Patrick of Patrick M. Design.

(Image credit: Bethany Nauert)

When it comes to designing a home, Patrick believes that, from an interior design standpoint, the most important thing “definitely has to be the taste and needs of those who live there.” He reminds us that it’s important to think outside the box in order to design a home that is as functional and stylish as it can be for you. “People have needs as unique as they are, so you want to keep that at the top of your mind, while still creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.”

Outdoor space in a home is very common in Southern California living—but a raw loft space is not. These two are lucky to have obtained both, and they sure do have the best of LA at their fingertips. Since they’re so involved in the design and interior world, it makes sense that the city of LA would play a major role in their design aesthetic. For Patrick, “The limitless resources and abundance of design aesthetics and architectural styles have expanded [my] designer’s eye ten-fold.” For Eric, who grew up here, “It’s the climate and life that can be lived as much indoor and outdoor that have impacted [me]. Buying furniture with the capability to be used by everyone in the home, and also filling your home with as much greenery as possible are very LA design qualities to [me].”

(Image credit: Patrick Maziarski)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: We use our home as a design playground. Our aesthetic often involves taking found pieces and incorporating them into our space in a contemporary yet still very comfortable way. When you have an interior designer living with someone who works in the furniture manufacturing field, there is a lot of experimenting taking place at any given time. For that reason, our home is in a constant state of creative and design evolution.

Inspiration: We draw a lot of inspiration from photography. Whether it be fine art from the likes of Julius Schulman or some of our favorite design blogs, there is no lack of inspiration in the world today. Patrick also draws a lot of inspiration from his design education at UCLA. He had some incredible professors who inspired him to think outside the box and find beauty in the details. As creatives, we also inspire each other a lot. We have very different perspectives and are very collaborative about how we bring them together. Especially when we talk about designing our space and have different points of view. We try and talk them out and find ways to meet in the middle. In most cases, it ends up taking the design in a fresh new direction the neither of us had originally considered.

Favorite Element: Patrick’s would be the gallery space. He is currently using the space as his office and creative space. It’s set up as a multifunctional space that can really be transformed to fit many different needs. Most days it’s his office, but it can also be a living room and full dining room. Furniture can be easily moved around to create a studio space for photo shoots or even art shows. It’s a really universal space that leaves room for a lot of creativity. Eric’s would have to be the backyard. He’s pretty outdoorsy and loves to spend time out there planting and landscaping. There is something very calming about the yard and just being out there. Even living on a main boulevard in Los Angeles, you can feel a lot of solitude and peace back there.

Biggest Challenge: The space in general can be its own biggest challenge. It was technically built as a commercial space in the ’20s and was used as a functional art gallery until last year when we moved in. Figuring out ways to make it a warm and inviting home while still trying to work with and maintain the commercial sensibilities can prove challenging at times.

What Friends Say: “Did you give me the right address?” is often the text we receive from friends visiting for the first time. From the street, which is technically the front door, it holds very true to its commercial identity. It’s very unassuming. After walking in the front door, people are blown away by what they find. You truly would never expect to find the interior judging by the exterior.

Biggest Embarrassment: The original owners were quite eccentric. They were artists who lived here for more than 40 years. It’s pretty obvious that they attempted a lot of “home improvement” projects themselves and weren’t the handiest of people. It seems like everyday we discover another quirky project that was attempted. A great example is the shower that has two different handles, one of which is only operational with the help of a screwdriver. Let’s just say it makes for an interesting conversation with house guests.

Proudest DIY: Our proudest DIY would definitely have to be the concrete countertops that Patrick did himself. We went with concrete to keep with the industrial feel of the space. It was indeed a learning experience doing it ourselves, but we love the way they turned out.

Biggest Indulgence: While we have invested in some key pieces of furniture, I think that we definitely indulged the most on quality linen sheets. We recommend that everyone save up and splurge on a great linen set and a quality duvet. We went with Restoration Hardware linen—tried, tested, and true, and really do get softer with every wash.

Best Advice: Measure twice, cut once. Take your time and do a lot of research when doing DIY projects. Whether online or talking to friends, get multiple opinions and what worked and didn’t work for people who have done the same project. It’s worth it to make sure that it’s done right the first time.

Dream Sources: We would love to troll for treasures in the flea markets in Paris.