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House Tour: Gidget Gets a Sex Change

atla032108-derekshouse.jpgName: Derek
Location:Los Feliz, CA
Years lived in: 6 years

Enter Tour Slideshow

We hope you like colour, kitsch and Midcentury design, because we have all three in abundant amount with our house tour coming by way of Los Feliz. Overlooking the beautiful St. George Reservoir, Derek's modest 2-bedroom apartment, with it's wood shingle clad exterior, hides a wealth of unexpected colour and collectibles within. Just his living room was almost enough to keep us busy with questions and photo subjects during our visit. And when we weren't admiring his vintage collection of soda pop cans, atomic ranch furnishings or humorous artwork, we were just having fun watching his two friendly felines put on an amusing show for us befitting the playful backdrop...

atla032108-derekshouse2.jpg

 
 

Derek's style: Atomic Danish Kitsch

Inspiration for my home: Matt Helm (fictional U.S. government counteragent) on a budget.

Favorite Element: The living room, where I can sit and enjoy the artwork I've found, framed and displayed.

>>Enter Tour Slideshow

Biggest Challenge In Designing My Home: Trying to hide the fact the carpet looks like it threw up on the walls!

Biggest Embarrassment: The carpeting.

Proudest DIY: All the reframing I DID MYSELF on my art wall.

Biggest Indulgence: The long rectangular red-orange swirl painting which I almost had to sell myself to buy it. I've had it a while, but it was worth more in the 90's.

Best Advice Given or Received: Take it way too far then pull back one notch!

Dream Source: 1965 Blue Chip Stamp Store

>>Enter Tour Slideshow

Resources:

Appliances: A mix of vintage and modern, with a fondness for anything avocado green.

Furniture: Mix of danish and atomic from various sources.

Accessories: Mix of high and low end, whatever catches my eye.

Lighting: Love those pole lamps!

Paint: Mocha

Flooring: ugly beige carpet

Rugs and Carpets: One throw rug from Clover in the bedroom

Tiles and Stone: Original pink tile in the bathroom

Window Treatments: original to the apartment.

Bed: retro platform from Futurama

Artwork: ALL VINTAGE, mix of oil, seragraphs and metal sculptures.

Other: 60's bar is actually my design, it looks old, but it is all new. The bar is the only thing in the living room not vintage (besides my cats).

>>Enter Tour Slideshow


Got a house tour you'd like to share with all of us? Email us today and we'll arrange it: la@apartmenttherapy.com


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Comments (38)

Very well done and fun.

posted by right angle on March 21st 2008 at 10:20am
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What a cool crib!

There are some real treasures there!

posted by art on March 21st 2008 at 10:37am
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If an apartment could have human characteristics, I think this one is my soul mate.

posted by ridge_van_winkle on March 21st 2008 at 10:48am
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There should be a special award for "Best Title for a House Tour!" Thanks for the smiles & great dose of color :-)

posted by KarenH on March 21st 2008 at 10:51am
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What a great place!

I think the spirit of my Aunt Francis has come back to earth as Derek. Her place in the 60's looked just like this, down to the cats!

posted by SFGail on March 21st 2008 at 10:51am
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KarenH I agree - the title alone had me all intrigued. Derek, you turned your place out - thanks for the tour.

posted by Schniffy on March 21st 2008 at 11:03am
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wow.

posted by theblt on March 21st 2008 at 11:12am
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Now, that's what you call commitment to an aesthetic.

posted by Enrique on March 21st 2008 at 12:25pm
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I love what you've done with your place. Thanks for letting us in!

posted by chiffonade on March 21st 2008 at 12:44pm
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Nice! Its reassuring to see such results in a real apartment. I have that wall-to-wall carpet.. and that bathroom.. and that wall color.
There is hope!

I was getting tired of seeing all those lofts/condos with pretty cement floors, brick walls, crazy floorplans. Those don’t look like rentals to me. (I do love looking at pictures of them though)

AWESOME furniture collection.

posted by antimatt on March 21st 2008 at 1:14pm
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Now that's committment. I almost expect Jeannie to rise out of one of those bottles.

posted by judy in TO on March 21st 2008 at 1:23pm
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I just re-viewed the slide show. That's quite an impressive collection period furniture and decor! Kudos.

posted by Enrique on March 21st 2008 at 2:57pm
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I've never seen a more beautiful place on here...

posted by aladywhoknows on March 21st 2008 at 3:44pm
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You have a great eye for period art.
Is that an original Eugène Galien-Laloue or a print?

posted by lightspeed on March 21st 2008 at 3:56pm
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Love your bedroom! Love your cool clock that you hang at the corner :)

posted by RKDsign on March 21st 2008 at 4:22pm
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Thanks for all the nice comments. The painting is an oil painting but no signature is you mean the blueish french street scene. 5 or 10 years ago I would have never had a french street scene but recently find some of these beautiful. Plus I need the diversity on the art wall. Too much of one thing would bore even me!

posted by da90027 on March 21st 2008 at 4:39pm
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Ahhh, yes. The Blue Chip Catalog.

And we had that pole lamp in our living room when I was a wee tot. And the turquoise chair at your desk...except ours was orange. Good times!


And the soda cans, lol.... "LOOK Franciiine, TAB for our DIETS!!!!!"

posted by btoddster on March 21st 2008 at 5:34pm
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Great place! Hardwood floors would be a nice upgrade.

posted by KS NY on March 21st 2008 at 5:52pm
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Wow - thanks for sharing.
I am always curious with these kind of "commitment" homes what the person's wardrobe is like.

posted by peacelily on March 21st 2008 at 5:59pm
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This little tour has made my day! It's great-very well done.

posted by crash on March 21st 2008 at 7:11pm
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Are those lamps hanging over the bar Catherine Holm? It looks like a similar design ...

posted by cevec on March 21st 2008 at 7:11pm
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I love Derek's home. Thanks for sharing and providing plenty of fuel for the mind : )

posted by umeboshi on March 21st 2008 at 7:26pm
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great place, horrible insulting name for the title.

posted by TheoJ on March 21st 2008 at 10:12pm
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Meh...hated this look the first time around

posted by hdtex on March 22nd 2008 at 5:13am
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This is soooooo very not my taste, and I soooooo very love it! Avocado's raised to a whole new level here, too. And that sun/planet/whatever burst thing over the bed is sublime and looks like a many$thousand 1stdibs item for sure.

Derek, if you could have any flooring in the world you'd like, what would you pick to replace your beige carpeting?

posted by Aulaire on March 22nd 2008 at 5:13am
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absolutely amazing space, thanks so much for sharing!
couldn't you find a vintage computer? ha!

posted by Tyffany DeGray on March 22nd 2008 at 8:42am
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TheoJ: just to clarify, that's the name Derek provided himself for the house tour, no insult implied, and I think made all in good fun.

posted by gregory on March 22nd 2008 at 11:59am
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Love it! Beautiful home and collection, pure inspiration and fun, thanks for sharing!

posted by southof290 on March 22nd 2008 at 9:57pm
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FYI--I spied some of Derek's paintings for sale on Craigslist today:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/613191899.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/613194117.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/613200821.html

I hope he's got some other cool works to replace these paintings!

posted by honoriag on March 23rd 2008 at 6:23pm
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Yes I have some great pieces to replace them. I am always changing, evolving. The one negative comment cracks me up. It is always someone older who doesn't like this the first time around and even less the second. This is the way I feel about the 80's which will come back one day. I try to use more tact now then when younger about my opinions. As I get older I appreciate different styles. I come home to this apt and I have myself to make happy. I know this look is not for everyone. I was a kid in the 60's and I absorbed everything from cars to decor even displays at the supermarket. The 60's was a unique era. I alsohave a twisted sense of humor and I came up with the title. It was also poking fun at the endless Gidget movies. If made today I'm sure they'd have a "Gidget gets addicted to Meth" movie. Anyway, thanks for all the nice comments. One bad out of 28 good is not a bad score. Derek

posted by da90027 on March 23rd 2008 at 8:43pm
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I think this is an awesome apartment. And I love the way he kept the same aesthetic in the bedroom, but in a more subdued way. I love, love, love those colored glass decanters. I think I might need to start hunting some down.

posted by small clever rooms on March 24th 2008 at 9:46am
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I love what you have done! What a great color scheme! Makes me wish I lived there! I am in the process of re-doing my place with a 60s 70s theme and you have really inspired me! Excellent Job!

posted by suzy8track on March 25th 2008 at 6:57am
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Nice and interesting collection of stuff.
Some of those pieces I would covet.
However there's so much of it kind of haphazardly all over the place that it looks kind of like a vintage boutique.
Not a home.
I would suggest 're-merchandising'.
Plan a day to take it all down and think and plan some flattering vignettes.
You may not want to put all of it out either.
Rotate pieces 'in' periodically over the year.
Pay attention to how you mix 'shapes', textures, and how high you hang things too.
Great collection.
Just needs to be showcased to it's best.

posted by paulmuscat on April 3rd 2008 at 6:41am
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...check out "Gregory's Palm Springs in the suburbs" tour.
Similar vintage, nicely showcased.
Cheers.

posted by paulmuscat on April 3rd 2008 at 6:58am
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SERIOUSLY cool! Love the art, love the furniture, love the colorscheme (really hard to pull off - but you did), LOVE the cats!!!

posted by EAM on April 7th 2008 at 6:56am
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I LOVE your stuff!!!
The pop cans are the best.
Cheers

posted by polychrome1 on April 7th 2008 at 1:39pm
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It's really not JUST that it looks like a real person lives here.
And it's also not JUST that stuff is a fun, kitchy collection.
The fact that it is all so beautifully pulled together and arranged so well. You can see diamond shapes, for instance, repeated here and there, so that when he designed his bar, he intentionally emphasized things that were going on in the other things.

There are literally millions of other things from those eras that he could have collected, but not only did he get things that obviously spoke to him somehow, but that work well together.

Congratulations on such a great pulled-together look! I love this!

posted by Curtis on June 23rd 2008 at 12:05pm
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what a beautiful place and great paintings!

posted by mitsukitty on August 24th 2009 at 2:28am
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