Name: Kirsten, Erik, Olivia and Maxine Press and our pet menagerie.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Size: 3,700 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years
Let's get this out of the way first: today's house tour showcases a large space. There's no way to get around the spacious dimensions, and renters Kirsten and Erik fess up to the fact they moved into a space more than large enough for their family of four (they switched from owning to renting to be closer to their children's school). That out of the way, we wanted to share their home because of their inspiring, joyful dedication to colour, the mix of modern and traditional furnishings, and the overall sense of playfulness evident in each room. Their house not only reveals a keen eye for design, but also is a glowing reflection of the happy home this family has made within its walls.
AT Survey:
My/Our style: Transitional - an eclectic mix of eras and influences. Reinventing what you already possess.
Inspiration: Intentional use of color and cultural juxtaposition.
Favorite Element: Combining style with efficiency systems that create a productive and beautiful home on a budget. Including entertaining and activity centered spaces to share with our friends and family.
Biggest Challenge: After renovating our own first home extensively for a decade, we moved into a rental house near the children’s school. The challenge was to create an inspired home with little time, money or architectural upheaval. There is actually tremendous freedom and creativity found within that challenge!
What Friends Say: People consistently comment on how warm and happy this home feels. They respond to the myriad sensory details in scent, sound, color and flow. They also always ask if I design professionally, and now I finally do with my redesign and organization business, LA HOMEWORKS.
Biggest Embarrassment: The house is bigger than what we need. I think people live with more beauty and intention when forced to be selective about what to hold onto. The ugly back door. It is such an easy thing to switch out so embarrassing that we haven’t.
Proudest DIY: Creative coverage of bad sight lines. A wonderful fountain made out of a free urn. Our art collection mostly created by our own “in house” young artisans.
Biggest Indulgence: An enormous flat screen television because we finally had a living room large enough. Amazingly we rarely use it.
Best advice: Plan a big party the week after you move in. It really forces you to unpack and set-up. Added bonus, it instantly warms your space with the energy of great friends. Always install dimmers on every light and make sure your light sources are not exclusively overhead
Dream source: Donald Kaufman Color, ABC Carpet and Home, Cisco Brothers, Holly Hunt, Kathryn Ireland
Resources:
Family “treasures” like the walnut dining room buffet built by my grandparents in the 1960’s and the Yellow Scandinavian settee passed down through the generations, dining room table and chairs. We often find things at chain stores and flea markets then “reinvent “ them with paint and custom fabric.
Hardware: Lowes, Expo
Furniture:
- Crate & Barrel (Living Room Chair)
- Pottery Barn (Living Room Sofa with custom upholstery)
- Ikea (Brown Leather sectional and random accessories)
- Pier 1 (Pillows, Rugs)
- West Elm (Day Bed, pillows, rugs, accessories)
- World Market (side porch furniture)
- LA Flea Markets (iron chairs and more)
Lighting: Flea market chandeliers rewired
Paint: Benjamin Moore (Storm in Bathroom), Valspar (Deep Turquoise in Butler Pantry), Behr (Asparagus in Kitchen) Farrow and Ball (Lime White, Pink Ground in Kids Rooms)
Rugs and Carpets: Kathy Ireland for Shaw (Dining Room), Pier 1, Ikea, West Elm
Artwork: Etsy, Anthropologie, our children’s art, photography of ours and friends, local LA artists, our travels
Fabric: Diamond Fabric, F&S Fabric
(Thanks, Kirsten, Erik, Olivia and Maxine!)
We've had amazing response to our Apartment Therapy House Tour Submission Form. While we will work with homeowners of our favorite homes to feature full tours, we will also share the best as House Calls — short, quick tours of readers' homes. Submit your home here.
Jessica's Crafted Space
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Ercol Bar Stool
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
I'm only getting 4 pictures in the house tour.
While I really like the use of colors, the whole house is a bit too whimsical for me.
I'm more of the type that needs a consistent theme throughout a home. And I guess technically "whimsical" could be a theme. But, I do respect the house for the style it is, just not totally my thing.
That all said, the bathroom is really cool, and the house does feel rather warm and inviting.
@daracox - you can see all of the photos by clicking the "show thumbnails" link under title on the house tour page.
@jick Thank, I got it now. :)
eerr....thanks, rather
Does anyone know where their tv stand/cabinet is from? It's picture #8 in the far left corner. Thanks!
What's with this tour? Close up of a chair, CU of some flowers, CU of a sofa, CU of a chest with some butterfly mobile, etc, etc, etc.
With all the dang close ups, there's no sense of what rooms these things are in or what most of the rooms actually look like.
Fun and beautiful home! I love all of the colors and textures.
Wow - it is a large space, but very cool. I like the bathroom - you've really made the color scheme work (and the different tile patterns, too). There's a lot of going on... but it does feel like a very warm and inviting home. I like the layers of color. A nice change from so many of the neutral/beige interiors. Thanks for sharing!
It looks like all the pics are available one her website.
whew, my biggest challenge has been to actually see the photos on this house tour...
I think the one bathroom picture and one living room were the only two that gave any idea of the house's layout & design. The glitch prone slideshow of close-up and caption-less photos is really detrimental to appreciating what looks to be a colorful, cheeky home. AT editors, please remember we don't see the home so your "house tours" should lead us through the home virtually, not get lost in minor details.
It's a nice place. Isn't Eric an FX guy?
Since they're renting, how much did they actually get to change?
Wait... there are only 4 photos? Gregory, can you fix this!?
oh vignette, how i despise thee. no idea of the space as a whole. what is it with this tendency? ok, so you have pretty pillows. and flowers. and statuettes. and art. now can we see the house?
the polish chick has it right. I do not need a close-up of the $4.99 plant in the cute striped pot from Trader Joe's, or most of the other close-ups, for that matter. This house is GINORMOUS--surely they could have shot some more whole rooms.
I see very little here that is space-saving or clever, but I do love their taste in colors. And the living room screams "LA"--in a good way. Just beautiful.
Too formal for me...but it's a nice place.
Still only 4 photos thru AT's link.
Had to go to her website to actually see the place.
Kirsten, if you are out there, I'd love to know where the unique futon frame (the one in the pic in front of the red curtain) came from.
Another black and white bathroom --- fabulous. Love the seemingly illuminated "night light."
Hi everyone: please be sure to click "SHOW THUMBNAILS" at the top of the slideshow page. All the images will show up at once to preview. That's why some readers are seeing all while others are only seeing a few :)
Is that window or a light box in the bathroom? I can't tell but it's super pretty.
I really like the colors and the arched doors! Great green kitchen :)
Bless you Gregory. (and thank you)
Way too many vignettes. If you didn't get past photo 4 then think yourself lucky.
I love the way the colors in the kitchen and adjoining room work together. Looks like a fun family home. Lots of color that works well in LA light.
While moving into this house doubled our square footage, it was a major fixer-upper…and no garage in spite of the size. The balance of light in the rooms can make it difficult to photograph wide shots without a professional lighting package but take a look on my site for more photos if you are interested. Making your home in a semi-permanent space of any size when you are on a budget with time and money is challenging. We have made homes in spaces ranging from 200 sq ft, 900sq ft, 1700, and now 3700. We are most proud of covering unfortunate jalousie windows and some uninspired sightlines and bringing in a little color to warm the expanse of rental white. Being walking distance to our children’s school is better for them, our environment and us.
EVERY other post today looked like I'd seen it before. Until yours . That's a striking bathroom.
Excellent eye for creating intimate, artistic spaces that combine controlled, well-chosen whimsy and creative color palettes with a sophistication and nod to tradition that transcends the trendy. Easy to see, regardless of photographic perspective complaints.
This is a stunningly beautiful example of how to create a warm and inviting home using obvious talent and creativity, a little whimsy and great color; incorporating family heirlooms and your children's artwork to make this truly a personal statement of your family's life. I love it!
Love the whimsy! Fabulous house tour. Very inspirational. In Alaska, whimsy is necessary for survival of the fittest. Haha! Couldn't survive the cold dark winters without a little fun inside.
Lovely, I think, but prohibitively difficult to see, even after clicking on the thumbnails; when I would choose and click one, it would momentarily display, then back to the grouped thumbnails with the large pic beneath. Something is not working as intended today.
Love, love, love, love, love!
I checked out your website too and was even more impressed. Very joyful and fresh.
Wow, this is awesome. Fabulous use of color. And the accessories...so well done. Pay no attention to the critics. They're as predictable as day turning to night. If your place has size or originality or actual design elements, you can be sure they won't like it. Apparently they haven't heard that accessories (the little vignettes) are what pull a good design together. I love to see the different ways people do this.
Your space feels light hearted and warm and extremely inviting while being chic at the same time. Thanks for sharing this. Very inspirational.
(If I had any advice whatsoever, it would be to the landlord. I'd tell him if he grouted the tile in white rather than black, it would be much more sophisticated & contmeporary looking bathroom.)
I second Elvis. I frequently have a frustrating experience, clicking on thumbnails that just reload the same page, and feeling like I want to look around but the photos just aren't set up in a way for me to browse here.
Consequently I get the emails but rarely visit the site. I have absolutely zero sense of what this Kirsten's house is actually like. I think it's neat... I'd love to see the kitchen and bedrooms and really get a feel for what's happening.
Love Love the bathroom, the rest is a little too much color for me.
Wow. Light, open, crisp, colourful and joyful. Beautiful. Thanks for the look-see.
But add me to the list that found the process arduous. Can't there just be a simple full-screen slide show without having to keep scrolling and clicking?
still only able to see 4 photos...has anyone emiled AT to let them know the tour is messed up?
nowhere on my screen does it show any "show thumbnails" link. where is this supposed to be at?
it's gorgeous, though the rooms are so vastly different it doesn't even seem like its the same house.
love it
after you click on "go to house tour," click on thumbnails and use the thumbnails to go back and forth or... what i ended up doing was going to the thumbnails and just clicking "back" that worked smoothly for me.
and on to the house-- my favorite space is the bedroom. i love the blues, grays-- it's a very sweet space and then those striped curtains are so bold and sharpen the whole place up. perfection!
Thank you, Kirsten for allowing us a peek into your lovely home.
@lahomeworks: driving less is certainly better for the environment than driving more, but doesn't moving into 3700sf offset at least some of the less-driving benefit by giving you a metric crapload of extra space to cool? Yikes, that's a giant house with a giant footprint.
Does not cost much to cool if you don't have air conditioning. The house was bulit in 1920. Not new construction.
Looks like a happy home - sunny and fresh... one I'd like to visit, even if it isn't exactly my taste. The bathroom is a little disconnected, though... but I'm sure it's a nice surprise when you enter.
Great Home! I love the use of color, which I am trying to incorporate in my own home. I love the kitchen and imagine my surprise to find out you used the same green I am about to put in mine! I love the curtains in your kitchen, where can I find them or the fabric? Thanks for letting us peek into your home...by the way, I think it is noble and selfless to give up a renovated owned home for a rental for the sake of your children.
I love the family friendly but with a grown up designed look. I feel like this home is totally put together/organized and yet still warm and cozy. Really like your place.
I would love to meet the owner of this home! So many great color ideas and fabric choices that Im going to try in my own home. It can be so hard to create a warm, comfortable, cozy family home. Love it!
I can't believe this house is a rental! What an amazing combination of inexpensive resources and gorgeous family heirlooms, amazing paint choices, and mixing of kids' artwork with pop art and traditional pieces. The decor of the house clearly honors the kids' presence while still maintaining a sophisticated design asthetic - not easy to do. I LOVE it!
Groovy design! I didn't have any problem with getting the pix. I love the delicious and colorful vignettes -- they made me happy. And, yes, loved even more when I could see their larger context. Better able to do this by clicking through to the "show thumbnails."
Hate the bathroom; not even these tasteful talented residents could compensate for that headache-causing tile combo! I do love the rest of the house, but please, lay off the comments about restricted resources. It's an insult to those of us without your clearly very deep pockets.
What a fab home! I LOVE the bathroom, you did a great job with blending the colors and styles. If you are creative you can make many beautiful things on the cheap. It is all about staging and working it all together.
Cheers.