Name: Kitty Bubs Kennedy and her two cats Zeuxlander and Ms. Fluffy
Location: Los Angeles, California
Size: 750 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years; rented
Tucked away in the middle of Hollywood lies Kitty's delightful little retreat amid the hustle and bustle of Sunset Boulevard. One of the things I loved about living in Los Angeles for 10 years was finding these little hidden pockets you stumble upon that stand on their own in the midst of the masses. This is exactly the kind of place Kitty has found herself in.
"These bungalows were built by Paramount Studios in 1918. They were originally used to house starlets from other parts of the country while they were staying in LA to shoot films" explains Kitty. The charm and history of these bungalows is seen and felt as soon as you walk away from the cramped street lined with average apartment buildings and step through the gates into a little green wooded community that has continued to thrive all of these years.
The bungalow has beautiful wood floors and many built in cabinets and bookcases that all add to its charm. The historical essence definitely isn't lost on Kitty who has a love of nostalgia herself. You can find family items, furniture, photographs, knick knacks and accessories that have been passed down to her over the years. You get a very good feel for what defines Kitty past and present through the eclectic treasures you find hiding all over her home.
Enjoy your stroll in Kitty's little hidden gem of Los Angeles!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Eclectic, vintage, utilitarian. I live and work in the same space so I like to be able to transform the rooms from office mode to home mode in neat ways, 60s bachelor pad style. Because the space is small and I like the house to be neat, I love finding multiple uses for my furniture. I have a sewing machine that doubles as a desk. I use trunks as mini shoe closets. In my row of decorative suitcases, one is a second sewing machine, one is a typewriter, and three others house supplies for my invitation business. I use my armoire as a supply closet. I write at my desk and work at the dining table. For entertaining, I set the table and use my computer a stereo.
Inspiration: Music, nature, function. I love and live for music so it plays an important role in creating the mood of my home. I get most of my inspiration from music, and I'm often motivated to change the look of a room by what I'm listening to at the time. I give Destroyer's album "Kaputt" most of the credit for the way my place is decorated at the moment, for instance. I love the feeling of living amid nature so I have quite a few nature-inspired items. Owls, trees, wood, bugs, stars, flowers, deer, moons, rainbows, cats, even giraffes can be found peeking out of bookcases, planters, or bottom shelves. It's surprising how creative we can be when we need an item to serve a purpose immediately. I love using objects that I've had forever in new and unconventional ways.
Favorite Element: There are so many wild & exotic plants, bushes, trees, and vines growing all over the courtyard and around the bungalows. Sitting on my patio and looking around our little alcove in the evening, it's easy to imagine what it might have been like for a starlet staying here in the 1920s.
Biggest Embarrassment: I love all kittens, but the fact that a litter box must exist in an accessible place in my house will forever be embarrassing.
Biggest Challenge: I have a ton of posters from concerts, framed records, photos, and art that I love to have around. I really enjoy the feeling of having so many windows in my place, but they just don't leave much wall space for huge pieces or collections. I've had to stash some of my usual wall art and pick out my smaller favorites for the spaces in between windows.
Proudest DIY: My kitchen curtains. They're French fries!
What Friends Say: I've heard a lot of variations on the sentence, "This is exactly what I would imagine your place to look like".
Best Advice: Don't be afraid to keep changing your place. Getting a new bowl from my Grandma prompted me to change the living room area. Receiving hand-me-down pillows and a bed skirt finally defined the look of my bedroom. When I redecorate even a little bit, I feel like I get a whole bunch of new energy out of that room.
Resources of Note:
LIVING ROOM
- • Vintage wooden trunk, vintage suitcases, vintage sewing machine, and the armoire was a hand-me-down from my sister.
KITCHEN
- • Garbage can from Bed Bath & Beyond, retro school & concert totes, hook from Urban Outfitters, vintage wooden bowl, vintage black candle holder, secondhand plant stand, and the faux Fichus was a gift from my grandma in 1991.
BEDROOM
- • Concert posters in Aaron Bros. frames, secondhand table and lamp; vintage insects, candle holders, and jewelry stands; duvet from Target; hooks from Urban Outfitters, secondhand shams, pillow cases handmade by Mom; secondhand baker's rack.
See Kitty's Work: Custom Invitations at Rock Paper Studios and her Ghostwriting at Kitty Bubs Ghostwriting.
Thanks, Kitty!
Images: Alysha Findley
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I'm guessing Miss Fluffy is the orange cat :) Great house! Love the cats.
the cat is looking right at me! lol
I love this house tour and love the shower curtain! Where is it from?
The shower curtain is from Target... I have it, too.
Yes, the shower curtain is from Target. Miss Fluffy is the tabby, and Zeuxlander is the orange and white one. :)
I love the casement windows...and the kittays (as we call them in my neck of the woods)...oh and the owl statue. Very cool house!
That's amazing. How did you manage to find such an amazing place? I'd love to live in one!
Totally have the shower curtain. Super cute!
Thanks, everybody!
@kathmuse: I lucked out and found it on Craigslist. I just looked at the perfect time!
@oneiliad: ha! Normally, I don't let the cats on the table when I'm using it for dining. I use that table primarily for work, and I eat outside most of the time. If I am eating inside, I clean it and keep them off of it, of course.
I love your place!! so cute! can't believe that shower curtain is from Target! ha.
This is one of the cutest, coziest houses I've seen in a long time! Your cats are sweet and I don't mind that they are on the table at all. Your home is the sort of place that I'd want to come over and take a nap in because it's comfortable. I find it all quite darling!
I love that your home looks like it is furnished with items collected throughout a lifetime. The organic and historical quality beats any immaculately staged home in my book. Lovely home!
So lucky! I've always imagined living in one of those little bungalows that the actors were housed in. Such a cute little place you have and I especially want to pet Zeuxlander after I saw his cute little picture!
Really like! I can tell that you have a sense of adventure with the French fry curtains and the Pavement poster hanging over your very feminine bed offers a subtly humorous balance.
Love it!!! I lived in a bungalow in LA built in the 1920s of very similar style :) Really sweet and cozy. And I love the cats...
I LOVE your bedspread....where did you find it?!?!?!
I adore Hollywood bungalow's. They make the greatest living spaces. So much character & yours fits that profile perfectly. Your decor is stylishly sophisticated laced with a hint of fun. The front porch area is key. Oh & I love your hanging light in your bedroom. The pattern design reminds me of one of those wooden string art plagues from the 70's. Alittle odd, but in the most flattering eye catching way.
I like the hanging light in the bedroom, too. Where did you get it?
Love your place!
Your bungalow is perfectly charming, and the cats add to the ambience. I would love a place like yours that has some history. I like that it's cozy and free-standing, not like an apartment, etc.
Beautiful, warm home. One of my favorite house tours. Is the ceiling lighting fixture yours or did it come with your home? I'm looking for something to cover an ugly ceiling light in my bedroom, and something like that would be perfect! I love the kitties too, I always say they own the house, we just take care of it for them :)
So fresh! I got a lot of great ideas for my small bungalow- thank you!!
This isn't exciting. I need more.
Aw, I thought the cat's name was Kitty Bubs.
I think the duvet is Simply Shabby Chic from Target? I have the same one. One suggestion: you might want to turn the bedroom rug the other way and away from the wall so that more of it can be seen. Just my 2 cents. Love your place. I'm in Hollywood too, Beachwood Cyn, deco 4-plex. Crazy about it!!
I also would love to know how I can find a ceiling lamp like the one in your bedroom. It's beautiful.
Wow, thanks everybody! Yes, the duvet is from Target (years ago, shabby chic). The light in the bedroom was originally a pendant from Urban Outfitters, but I made it a fixture by just getting a wide bulb to hold it up there. I wasn't sure that was safe, but it's been fine (phew!). Your comments have all been so sweet. Thanks so much. I'll look into Small Cool. :) :)
Super cute!! ... but omg water that orchid!!!! ;-p
It's funny how something can be totally not my style, yet I'm convinced I would adore the person who lives there. Perhaps that's what is meant by "charming."
Thank you, Kitty! I love this mainly because I feel like a REAL person lives here who is earthy, fun, creative - and workin' hard in a tough town. I live here too - other side of town . And I do get a little tired (wistful? depressed?) with some of the more "fancy pants" L.A. area house tours because they just aren't remotely within my reality and can feel too perfect or aloof. This little spot has been turned into a home, and I feel like I identify with the spirit of it!
Man-if those walls could talk! I would take baths everyday in that clawfoot tub. It looks amazing!
I love it! And your kitties are awesome! Your tabby looks a LOT like a Maine Coon Cat - I used to have one, and they are so great! Your home is just lovely... <3 I feel your pain about the litter box(es) my kitties aren't happy with less than 3 right now and I am in a 749 ft space...I can't figure out how to cheaply disguise them without having them too far out of sight (and thus out of mind - bad for daily cleanings!) any advice? I have always considered a screen, like an Asian-style...