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LA House Tour: Glen's Living Large In a Small Space

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Name: Glen Dake
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Size: 900 sq/ft
Years lived in: 10 years, owned

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2-23-housetourlogo.jpgThe wonderful thing about Los Angeles is you just don't know what's behind those street facing closed gates. What sometimes appears to be a standard home can reveal itself to be much different once you walk through the doorway, as LA is characterized by a courtyard/backyard lifestyle. Such is the case of Los Angeles landscape architect, Glen Dake's Silver Lake home. Inside, Glen's home reveals the epitome of modern bachelor style, with the whole home finished in a tasteful and uncluttered manner accentuated by warm woods and subtle textures, punctuated by an inviting pool that separates his small home from a detached studio office...

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AT Survey:

My style: Beautiful and useful

Inspiration: The neighborhood of Silver Lake

Favorite Element: View to the opposite hill

Biggest Challenge: Living big in small space

What Friends Say: Can we come swimming?

Biggest Embarrassment: The garage doors are not too pretty

Proudest DIY: The gardening

Biggest Indulgence: The energy and water the pool consumes

Best advice: Do the work in phases

Dream source: Details at 593 N. La Cienega in West Hollywood and Mockett.com and YLighting


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Resources:

Architectural: Renee and Brian Wilson of Dake Wilson Architects

Appliances:

  • Refrigerator – Liebherr with integrated doors to match cabinets

  • Cooktop – Bosch 30” 4 burner gas cooktop

  • Oven – Bosch 30” electric wall mount

  • Hood/Blower – Bosch w/ 12” duct cover

  • Microwave – Sharp with custom s/s side panel

  • Sink – Kohler Verse self-rimming

  • Faucet – KWC Suprimo

  • Soap dispenser – KWC Suprimo

  • Disposal – In Sink Erator with a deck mounted switch

  • Dishwasher – Fisher Paykel

  • Toilet – Toto Aquia Dual Flush

  • Sink – Kohler Ladena White Undermount

  • Sink Faucet – Kohler Stillness, in chrome, wall mount

  • Tub – Anne Sacks White Undermount

  • Tub/Shower Controls – Kohler Stillness in Chrome

Hardware:


  • Bathroom pulls – Sugatsune A(Excel) Alumite

  • 3” tab polished chrome drawer pulls

Furniture:


  • Sofa: Sunset Orange in Silver Lake

  • Cardboard chair: Replay in Silver Lake

  • Glass Lamps: Casa Victoria in Silver Lake

Accessories:


  • Paper towel holder from Mockett.com

Lighting:


  • Bathroom wall sconce – On The Rocks

  • Bathroom under cabinet rope lighting

Rugs and Carpets:


  • BluePrint

Tiles and Stone:


  • Kitchen backsplash – Anne Sacks Avalon 3.93” x 17” white, edge finished with Schluter track

  • Bathroom stone tile – Pebbles, Green

  • Bathroom solid surface – Caesarstone 9800 Cascade, Polished

Window Treatments:


  • Made by resident

Beds:


  • Shelter

Artwork:


  • Antebellum Gallery, Hollywood

Paint:


  • All paints Benjamin Moore Eco spec

  • Magnetic paint under the grey in the Living Area

  • Bedroom ceiling – Yarmouth Blue

Flooring:


  • Refinished existing old wood floor

Other:


  • Kitchen countertop – Arpa Alu Fire, Erre Finish w/ Schluter nosing

  • Kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors – VG Douglas Fir


(Thanks, Glen!)

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Photos by Gregory Han/Apartment Therapy

Tags

House Tours, Silver Lake, Glen Dake

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Comments (47)

LOVE this house! That's my dream bathroom right there.

posted by Enrique on April 11th 2008 at 10:55am
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Me likey!!!! This place is great! The artwork and photography is beautiful. Again, great place and you should be proud to show it. :-)

posted by kerri on April 11th 2008 at 10:59am
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Nice place, looks like a put a lot of work into it. I think it's really funny when home owners post odd pictures like the toilet paper holder or stack of bricks in the backyard. Am I missing something here?

posted by BrendenM on April 11th 2008 at 11:14am
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Wow! With a house like this, Glen won't be a bachelor for long, unless he likes it that way...

I would move in in a heartbeat!

posted by mplsjacob on April 11th 2008 at 11:17am
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I cannot wait for my husband to get home! Living in a male dominant home I struggle with decorating ideas but your home has inspired me. I know that he is going to like every idea that Im going to replicate.

Can you tell me how you got the manhole cover or at least what amount you had to pay for the fine.

posted by luvdecor on April 11th 2008 at 11:19am
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what is the kitchen light fixture? - I'm looking for something along the line of this for my kitchen...

posted by bordjon on April 11th 2008 at 11:26am
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BrendenM: Included the toilet roll holder since it's beautifully minimal and in line with all of Glen's other bathroom fixtures. I think you might be mistaking his brick stairway for a "stack of bricks" ;)

posted by gregory on April 11th 2008 at 11:30am
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I'm so jealous of your bathroom floor!!!!

posted by sparkle on April 11th 2008 at 11:37am
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Great looking place! Love the kitchen area. Although when viewing a house tour I prefer to view the room not have weird close-ups of their belongings. I would prefer to see how these belongings are used in the room, not just a close-up.

posted by suzy8track on April 11th 2008 at 11:52am
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I adore the kitchen and bathroom.
It is nice to see folks with good taste.

posted by cityofparis on April 11th 2008 at 12:09pm
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Man, I wish I had money. *sigh* Very nice...

posted by kitties! on April 11th 2008 at 12:12pm
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Nice place! Elegant yet homey. I have a question though, where's the fridge? Also, do you ever feel like the living room is just too on top of the kitchen? We're about to move into a place with a similar layout, and I'm a bit concerned that I'll be looking at my dirty dishes a little too much.

posted by SFGail on April 11th 2008 at 12:21pm
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Great Home! Nice pictures too. I like the detail of the brick steps. The bathroom really comes together and looks awesome. The backyard is amazingly fun with the colors and pieces used.

posted by weezerad79 on April 11th 2008 at 12:24pm
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Soo nice...

posted by otis on April 11th 2008 at 1:07pm
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Wonderful home. It is breath taking and the first house tour that I wouldn't change a thing (almost)

posted by mposter on April 11th 2008 at 1:09pm
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you call this small space???

posted by phase2phase on April 11th 2008 at 2:34pm
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The kitchen light fixture has been with me for 20 years and is kind of beat up. It is an Arne Jacobson design.

The fridge is enclosed in the cabnetry on the far left. It is small, but works out for one or two people.

The kitchen and living and dining all mashed up is good sometimes and bad other times. At a dinner party it is great, everybody is together for the cooking. But the room gets hot and we eat in the company of the dirty dishes as we eat. Also the next day: dirty dishes in the living room. All in all it works pretty well. Loft-like. I also benefit from the courtyard, it is like an additional room in the warm months.

Peace!
G

posted by Glamorous on April 11th 2008 at 3:31pm
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one of my all time favorites, love it!

posted by saudoso on April 11th 2008 at 3:53pm
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it's all quite beautiful but the one thing i want to do is CUDDLE that green glass jar on your dining table for a minute (for some odd reason i can't explain). :-)

posted by *heather leaf* on April 11th 2008 at 4:18pm
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Beautiful house! Really love the bathroom and the wood doors throughout.

However, you are marring that lovely kitchen w/ all the crap piled on top of the cabinets.

posted by potluck on April 11th 2008 at 4:19pm
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Hey Gary,
Love the countop.. I use the Schluter edging all the time and love it...but can you explain what material it is Arpa Alu Fire, Erre Finish. whre did you get it, cost?
Offline is possible
Stephanie@31islandview.com

Thanks

posted by parrishnut on April 11th 2008 at 4:25pm
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Is the bathroom cabinet custom or store bought? I would love to purchase this if its available. I really like the bathroom!

posted by speedmike on April 11th 2008 at 5:40pm
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Extremely fabulous.

posted by wig3000 on April 11th 2008 at 8:27pm
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Making the bed when you can walk around the side is a pain.

http://www.bedmaking.com
bedmaking

posted by mafan on April 12th 2008 at 12:28am
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I had been lusting after that sofa at Sunset Orange for months. I'm glad to see it went to such a tastefully done space. Jealous!

posted by Comicgeek on April 12th 2008 at 1:26am
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I really like the natural light, the flooring, the bathroom and the pool area. Oh, how I miss Cali sometimes! I agree with the poster who commented on the stuff on top of the cabinets....it looks too cluttered.

posted by millzee on April 12th 2008 at 4:11am
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That bathroom floor made me mess myself.

posted by upstatecb on April 12th 2008 at 9:43am
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Are we seeing the McMansioning of Apartment Therapy? This home is gorgeous, but I can't believe AT would actually call it small. How long will it be before Smallest Coolest breaks the 1,000 foot mark?

posted by Rob in PDX on April 12th 2008 at 9:49am
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Yeah, I don't want to be "that person", but I have about a 900 sq ft apartment and I think it's frigging huge. I have space that I don't know what to do with. Let's have more of the 450sq ft apartment home tours, those are always the most creative.

posted by lemonader on April 12th 2008 at 10:45am
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Very nice! One of my favorite AT house tours.

Glen, do you have any more details on your bedroom door/closet doors and the bathroom door? The previous owners of our Eichler have bastardized the doors in our house and the ones you have have would fit perfectly...

posted by Purvi on April 12th 2008 at 11:06am
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I don't mind if you have a contest with huge places to live in, but can you at least make an option to filter. For instance you can label the contestants with houses under 450 as tiny and then the people who think this has become a little unfun owing to how is 900 small, would complain less.

I love this site, but with the world being more concerned about the environment and conserving and global warming I think this bigger thing is bad and I'm in Los Angeles.

This is just not small, even in LA for normal people. For one person this is not small.

Browne

posted by Browne on April 13th 2008 at 2:38am
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Great LA house! Love the kitchen and the bathroom.
Where does one get that type of slide display?? I am sure it's known to many - but I just have no idea!
I would love to have one in my place and finally diplay some of my mom and dad's old slides!!!

posted by xtina6463 on April 13th 2008 at 7:55am
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a House Tour, not a Smallest Coolest entry. I'm all for criticism, but get your facts straight first, people.

posted by Blandwagon on April 13th 2008 at 10:39pm
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Great kitchen but what's with all the clutter above the wall cabinets? Maybe I'm weird, but my eyes beamed right there. Seems like there is plenty of storage to stow away that stuff (at least for the pic).

posted by 2lastnames on April 14th 2008 at 4:06am
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i like those vatos locos pictured.

posted by SD913 on April 14th 2008 at 4:58am
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Browne: please note this is a House Tour (the green sticker; Smallest Coolest will have a banner designating it so) and the home belongs to a landscape architect who works from home. The house is not small, but neither is it large by any standard of a normal sized home (finding 2 bedroom homes is near impossible nowadays). I'd attribute it seeming spacious because of Glen's minimal modern decor, the open floor plan and also the use of a wide angle lens.

posted by gregory on April 15th 2008 at 7:50am
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This is a wonderful home that looks stylish and still very comfortable.

I'm curious about the bathroom floor. I've had my eyes on a similar product and am try to find a way to use it that will be practical (backsplash? shower basin?). Can you please tell me, is it easy to keep clean?

posted by Chris in Seattle on April 15th 2008 at 12:41pm
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The countertop is a standard kind of laminate, Formica I think.

The cabinetry in the bathroom is custom.

The doors are VG fir. I'm not sure but Taylor Bros on Riverside Dr: http://www.taybros.com/ might be where they came from. The combination of the wood with aluminum surrounds is good.

The pebbles for the bathroom floor have not been hard for me to keep clean, but you can imagine that they would be bad news in a high-traffic situation. There is nothing better than putting bare feet down on them after a shower in the summer. I have seen similar pebble-shaped tiles used in a shower basin where you would have daily wetness and prefer something easier to scrub. These are real stones and are sealed, but seem a little too porous for a shower basin.

posted by Glamorous on April 16th 2008 at 6:19am
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And I found the slide display strip at a really cool design gift shop on Green Street in Pasadena called Sfritzi or something like that.

posted by Glamorous on April 16th 2008 at 6:45am
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Great house. Could you tell me what type of artificial turf you used outside? We're looking at using SynLawn in our backyard. Thanks.

posted by threebeans on April 16th 2008 at 10:44am
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The kitchen countertop is a laminate - ARPA 9214 Alu Fire, Erre finish. One 51" x 120" sheet cost $141.05, including crating and shipping. Purchased from CPS Garten 800-367-8505.

The cabinets were custom made by Joe Ball of Precision Wood in Sun Valley, CA. He can be found at precisionwood@hotmail.com

All of the exposed wood, including the doors, is vertical grain douglas fir. We had a little problem with the lack of lip/overhang on the bathroom sink - the door was touching the bottom of the countertop, which created capillary action to make the door always wet, so it delaminated the plywood. We replaced the door a little lower and it's fine.

The artificial turf is indeed by SynLawn, with whom we have had great experiences working. luberti@synlawn.com

I always make sure that the tile and grout, especially one with so much profile, has been well sealed. That makes for easier cleaning and better looking tile in the long run. Maintenance is a pain, but it really does pay off.

Fun!
renee.

posted by rdw on April 16th 2008 at 5:59pm
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I made a mistake. It's not a smallest and coolest, but I'm not the only one.

We are a bit catty aren't we?

Browne

posted by Browne on April 17th 2008 at 9:13pm
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Lovely home! And so much light!

Glen, I was wondering where you found your dining table and coffee table? I have been looking for similar pieces that combine wood and metal. Thanks.

posted by surfingsandhya on June 24th 2008 at 10:20am
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Must have the slide display strip! What a great idea. Can you confirm where you got it? Thanks!

posted by shalg on June 27th 2008 at 10:48am
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not a small space at all, but a very beautiful home.

posted by maike on December 25th 2008 at 7:30pm
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The house is so beautiful. Might I get you to help me find that amazing red shaggy round rug? I tried finding it using "blueprint" as listed in your description yet have no luck.

Cheers again. Beautiful home.

posted by aboutpaint on December 26th 2008 at 8:04am
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GORGEOUS! It may not be a small space, but it's very well done.

On the issue of this being a "house tour"... does it seem a little odd to anyone else that houses are featured so prominently on a site called "apartment" therapy?

posted by vivbabe on December 26th 2008 at 4:56pm
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