052909jeremy-02.jpgName: Jeremy Kasten, Filmmaker
Location: The Eastern Columbia Building, Downtown Los Angeles
Size: 880 square feet
Years lived in: 2.5 years (owned)

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To put it mildly, we were stoked when Jeremy accepted our request to coordinate an Apartment Therapy House Tour of his downtown LA loft. First of all--his pad is located at the historic Eastern Columbia Building, an art deco masterpiece. Not to mention, Jeremy himself is an individual of notoriety directing the remake of the cult classic, The Wizard of Gore. So you can imagine our curiosity and interest in what Mr. Kasten had up his sleeve in the decor department. To find out, we brought along our generous neighbor (and amazing photographer) Jason Redmond to help out with our evening shoot...

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Evidently, Jeremy bought the loft sight unseen because of the famed building (which we totally understand). But to his surprise, the loft had none of the landmark features that the remarkable building was known for. Fortunately, Jeremy was determined to transform the loft back to its original style. New hardwood floors, a custom honeycomb partition and a DIY bathroom floor that looks like it could have been original to the building. Jeremy's pad does an amazing job of making you feel like you can slip back in time all while sipping on a side car and smoking untold amounts of cigarettes. And while we didn't get an opportunity to survey the pool that sits rooftop (which apparently is off limits to cameras) you can always take a "visual dip" in the lobby's decor if you can make it past the front entry.

AT Survey:

My style: My loft is a deco eccentric men's smoking lounge.

Inspiration: The Eastern Columbia Building and downtown Los Angeles' originally glamorous (more recently checkered) past.

Favorite Element: The honeycomb shelf wall. Because the shelves are backless and the opening gets larger at eye level, it divides the living space from the bedroom without taking away from the open feel.

Biggest Challenge: My loft is on the Mezzanine of the Eastern Columbia Building. So, I get to house the huge concrete beam that holds up the rest of the building. It looked very low and ominous until we (Kasten and Los Angeles designer and friend, Shannon Ggem) wood wrapped it on the living room side and installed the Jewelry Sign in the kitchen.

052909jeremy-03.jpgWhat Friends Say: They say it looks exactly like my style.

Biggest Embarrassment: Before I fully built the litter box enclosure, I had my housewarming party. For the party, I made a convincing cardboard version. Someone sat on it, thinking it was solid and fell into the litterbox!

Proudest DIY: The bathroom floor! I used garage floor epoxy paint and mica, then taped off the design. I applied layer after layer of black paint and mica until it became the deco darling it is now. That, or my handpainting on the deco chevron moulding in the living room.

Biggest Indulgence: The Art Deco blue glass mirrors on the beam in the living room. To get the period appropriate color, I had to have mirroring applied to regular blue glass. They were so worth it. I worried about the cost of the Bradbury and Bradbury wallpaper, but it turns out it was very reasonable.

Best advice: Get it all done at one time. I thought about installing the wood floors later. Shannon talked me out of waiting, pointing out that I'd need to totally move out and back in again which would ultimately cost me more money.

Dream source: The National Hotel, The Chrysler Building

Actual sources: Strange Fells Point, Maryland antique stores, Los Angeles area yard sales and Swap Meets, Bradbury and Bradbury, Meoded Paint, Monumental Construction & Moulding Company, Honeycomb House, Benjamin Moore Paints, Superior Moulding, Downtown Los Angeles textile district, Ebay, Custom Glass Specialists, Lumber Liquidators, Olde Good Things

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Resources:

Furniture: Couch and chairs recovered by Chalios Custom Upholstery but inspired by a Joan Crawford film. Bar in living room; Wertz Brothers in Santa Monica. Cigarette stand and barista bookcase from Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Taxidermy is from college days that has stayed with me throughout the years. Coffee table from Glendale swap meet. Bed is from SkyMall.

Accessories: Wallpaper; Bradbury & Bradbury. Honeycomb wall designed by Shannon Ggem.

Lighting: Lights in bookcase from Home Depot.

Flooring: Jose Ramos installed prefinished cherry flooring from Lumber Liquidators

052909jeremy-04.jpgArtwork: Burlesque Girl painting above the couch is the original book cover to the antique book.

(Thanks, Jeremy!)

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(Images: Jason Redmond)

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