Name: Daniel Vickery
Location: North Hollywood, CA
Size: 750 sq. ft.
We featured Dan's (aka Masrade) flickr find a few weeks back, and now we bring you the official house tour!
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know!
jonathan (at) apartmenttherapy (dot) com
Years lived in: 3 months
My/our Style: I like to think that my style is a mix of minimalist and modern with a bit of technology thrown in the mix. I remember reading a plug for some lofts downtown; they were described as industrial art deco. If money wasnt an issue, I think that would best describe what Im shooting for.
The Inspiration for my home: I find that Im most inspired by modern and boutique hotels, including: the 25 Hours Hotel (Germany), Standard Hotel (Downtown LA), Ku Damm 101 (Berlin), Kube Hotel (Paris), Hotel Yasmin (Prague)
Favorite element: My favorite elements about my new home include the exposed roof and ductwork, and the polished concrete floor. Growing up in Southern Orange County I was never exposed to anything other than single family stucco homes. As I grew to develop my own taste, and began to travel I always dreamed of moving to the heart of a city. A few years back I went to check out a couple lofts downtown, and fell in love with the raw aspect of loft living.
Biggest Challenge in designing my home: By far, the largest challenge in adapting to loft living was furnishing a space without walls, or storage. Ive learned to avoid buying things that I wont use on a daily basis. Its amazing how easily a one room home can become cluttered.
What friends Say about my home: Friends always tease me about having OCD, and being really clean. Im pretty sure a few of them wonder how I feel comfortable in a home that seems sparse and probably a bit cold. As a whole though, everyone seems to really enjoy hanging out and listening to music.
Biggest Embarrassment in my home: The biggest embarrassment in my home is definitely my laundry basket. Ive been using a cheap Ikea wooden basket to pile my dirty clothes into. Im working on convincing my girlfriend that I need a Vipp laundry basket to match the waste bin
Proudest DIY: I am most proud of kitchen table. I bought the table last year from Ikea, and it has nice minimal design, with a large wooden vice that is attached to the side of the table. My girlfriend helped me stain the natural grain of the vice to a dark walnut matching the other woods in my unit. As it was my first experience staining wood, I was worried about screwing up my new table, but all said and done it turned out perfect!
Biggest Indulgence with respect to my home: The largest indulgence in my home is definitely the Vipp waste bin. Ive loved the Vipp since I first laid eyes on its unchanged simple modern design. At $379 it was more than I had budgeted for a trashcan; however, I love its clean aesthetic and quality make.
Resources:
Appliances:
The stove, oven and dishwasher are all GE, and came with the unit. I recently purchased my LG refrigerator from Best Buy online for $899 with a $100 rebate. I filled out the rebate online, and received the rebate before the fridge was delivered. I am ordinarily weary of Best Buy; however, Im confident that I got a steal on the fridge.
Furniture:
I have a tendency to purchase storage from Ikea, and seating from DWR (when its on sale). Im a sucker for the classics; Id imagine my dream home would be furnished with mostly Eames, Bertoia, and Saarien.
Ive had great success with eBay over the years. I love to spend hours on eBay looking for a steal.
Artwork:
I love Japanese inspired pop artwork by the likes of Murakami, Aya Takano, and the wonderful elephants of Chinatsu Ban. Ive always loved the clipart used by Ryan Mcginness and the Colorola artwork of Stuart Patterson.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Your home is incredible! I love the way you made use of your space and kept everything looking so clean. I love the toys, too!
Dan, nice job! I love your place.
Isn't it a bit uncomfortablet to be seated on your sofa watching television? A television that high would make me want to stand. For just three months there, it looks great. And clean clean clean!
Nice job. I live in a loft too, and being neat, bordering on OCD, is almost a necessity since everyone can see everthing in your place.
I agree with the TV being too high, doesn't that bother you? I am impressed with how you hid the computer wiring through the wall.
The large wall space is crying out for some artwork!
Dan,
Any guy who is aware of the need to hide snarls of computer wires (and spent the time to fish them through the wall himself!) gets an A+ from me.
Love your toy collection. It's colorful and it shows visitors your fun and artistic side.
What I thought was a gorgeous white bathtub in the first shot turned out to be your sofa.
Just one suggestion: some fresh flowers and perhaps a few rugs with gorgeous colors and textures would really warm up your home.
Hi everyone,
I am so appreciative of your compliments, and helpful suggestions!
It is uncomfortable to watch the TV from the 'tub-sofa. The couch is only good for maybe 20 minutes of sitting (great for an episode of The Office), then I start to squirm looking for a comfortable position (doesn't exist) -- at which point -- I inevitably retreat to my bed. The TV is high from the couch, but perfect for viewing when propped up with some large pillows on the bed.
I am in an ongoing hunt for a large colorful piece of art for my wall (maybe some of the popular vinyl wall art?); it's just a matter of finding the right piece, at the right price.
Gekko, after reading your comment about textured rugs, the Chilewich Looped Mat ($88) from DWR sprung to mind (along with their $2,500 Cuks Rug, HA). Has anyone had a chance to check out the texture of Chilewich mat/rug in person?
Thank you again, I am so excited about getting to show off my new digs to everyone!
I like how clean and airy this apartment is but I can't imagine staring at my clothes all day. While I think it is a good start --- it looks unfinished and it needs some color or some larger pieces (to unify) everything. I love the clean lines and minimalist style but it needs something that gives it a bit of pizzazz.
Catherinef
this is beautiful. i love that you spent $379 on a trash can and $80 on a knock-off chair. What do you use the vice for?
LONG LIVE IKEA!
Hey Dan, cool digs.
Is your ceiling padded with some sort of cushion material?
PS: An iMac isn't that expensive.
;)
Hey Dan, is that a Naked Music album cover on the wall above your turntable?
I disagree about this loft looking unfinished. Lofts are meant to be living spaces for minimalists. If you cram your loft full of furniture, rugs, and cabinets, it will feel cramped and much too small. I think this is a perfect example of a well furnished loft space. It's clean, modern, has some great key furnishings, and everything has a flow, it's personal without being too cold. I think you did an amazing job, Dan.
Does anyone have a good recommendation on where to buy a similar centerpiece as in the first photo. Preferably somewhere in the LA area that makes them, or would supply the container to make my own?
I'm a putz and the name escapes me - glass incased succulent based. Oh boy, it's a Monday...isn't' it?
Help!
Yea, $379 is a tad high for a garbage can, but hey, as long as your happy with it. My limit is around $100 for a "simplehuman" kitchen trash can and I'm still debating whether even that is too much.
It's not too high, it's a Vipp!
Oh, yea, I also thought that sofa was a bath tub too like they use to have them in old tenement apartments.
I love this loft! You really captured the essence of loft living. Also, your furniture choices are perfect for this space, I especially love the way you displayed your toys. The color scheme is a great compliment to the cement floor and stainless appliances. Bravo!
Dan,
I absolutely love your place. There is so much I'd like to say about it, that I don't know where to begin. I also live in a one room place, although mine is small, small, small!
About your wastebasket. Fabulous! In my place, I believe that everything should have a function. That said, I believe that all functional items should be beautiful in their own right. A necessity when you live in a one room place and can see everything all at once. Of course you need the Vipp laundry basket. Laundry is really a problem in my place as well, that I haven't figured out yet.
I love how you use high-tech and low-tech. I am a fan of records. I would love to come over and spin some records together! I also love how you use the dresser for storage. Where did you get that cute dresser? Chartruese is one of my favorite pictures.
Also, I love the Japanese toys. I am totally into Japanense animation, I dig it although I don't understand it - but who cares! Not only do you have a wonderful collection, but your display is wonderful. You've accomplished displaying a large collection and yet not cluttering.
Great work! I really enjoyed looking at your place. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry - I couldn't contain myself. A few other comments. I hate cords too. You did a great job. I love the monitor mounted on the wall, I seldom have enough room to write on my desk.
Also, I've read the comments about art. I don't feel as strongly as some of the other readers about that, but would love to see a large canvas propped somewhere. I think hanging art is far too predictable and ordinary for your fabulous place.
Let me know if you'd like to commission a painting. I specialize in energetic paintings for the urban environment. I can be reached at robertspeg@yahoo.com.
LOVE this loft! This is, by far, my favorite home posted on apartment therapy. I'm going to go home and knock out some walls...