Name: Julie Mintz
Location: Beachwood Canyon — Los Angeles, California

I rent this home that I like to call "a little glass box beneath the Hollywood sign." I moved into this two story, two bedroom, two bath mid-century modern house two years ago from a small one bedroom shabby chic style apartment. My main goal was to utilize all of the furniture I already had in my apartment and somehow make it work in and fill up the new space.

Llet's face it, while I would gladly spend 6 months of my life stalking flea markets and obsessing over decorating a place I don't own, the smarter move was to: use what I have, collect a few new treasures as I go, and focus of my work as a singer/songwriter (NOT as an interior designer, as much as I like to pretend!).

I am inspired by one-of-a-kind, old, odd, and imperfect items with character. I've also been drawn to bold colors and ethnic prints (like the $10/yard Madeline Weinrib copycat fabrics I found on the internet and ordered direct from a factory in Uzbekistan) which have helped me move out of the dainty, pastel palette of my twenties, into my eclectic, vintage, art and folk rock inspired thirties. In addition, religious iconography is one of my many weaknesses.

The most daunting element of my house was the huge built-in bookshelves covering the entire wall of the downstairs living room. After hours of arranging, analyzing, re-arranging, and more analyzing, I finally decided to color-code my books (OCD reigns, after all) and mix in found objects from thrift stores and eBay with photos of family, friends, and travels. In order to supplement my book collection (since I didn't have space for this many books in my one bedroom apartment), I scored an entire collection of National Geographic mags dating from the 1930's to the present on Craigslist! I had to rent a van to transport them, but it was worth it.

I also found a piece of a bowling lane from an abandoned bowling alley in New Orleans on Craigslist. I (or, I should say, my ex-boyfriend and lots of guys from Home Depot) set the wooden lane up on $20 Home Depot yellow metal sawhorses to make a super-long outdoor table. The picture on the side patio shows the bowling lane table covered in a striped Sunbrella fabric to protect the wood from the elements. So much more to share, but thank you for taking a quick peak into my Beachwood Canyon jewel box!

Thanks Julie!

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