Name: Lindsay Marcus
Location: Silver Lake — Los Angeles, California
Size: 800 square feet
Years lived in: 8 months — rent
Lindsay's lovely bright apartment sits on a hill in Silver Lake and serves as a home and music studio. New to Los Angeles, she was lucky enough to find a bright airy space to hold all her vintage finds and East Coast memories.
Lindsay wanted to move into a home that embraced the Los Angeles sunshine and offered a sprawling view. She explained she was thorough in her search and needed enough room to work from home. As a musician and composer she has set up camp with all her equipment right in the living room. Lucky for her, the built in shelves and desk offer alternate ways to save space and in return gain more storage. "Most of what I have in my apartment I brought from Brooklyn. That said, the interaction with the outdoors is much more pronounced here, and the arid climate inspires you to open your home more to the outdoors and incorporate natural elements in one's designs."
When starting all over in a brand new home, there are many ways to approach your design. For Lindsay the most essential part in designing a home is "being aware of how the pieces and colors in your home work together as a whole." I believe that what she has created is a home that honors the memories she's carried along the way. Even some of her treasured art pieces are tiny notes or mementos. Mixing vintage, flea market scores and modern decor — she has a cozy, warm space to dwell in.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: A mix of mid century modern and bohemian.
Inspiration: Brooklyn, old treasures, the hills where I live.
Favorite Element: The items in my home that were given to me by friends, and the various items that remind me of different stories and periods of my life.
Biggest Challenge: Creating a space with style and finding pieces that resonate with me and work within the overall scheme while remaining within a smaller budget. That said, I love the challenge and excitement of finding great pieces and accents on a dime.
What Friends Say: I love your place!
Biggest Embarrassment: My love seat. I brought it with me when I moved to LA from NY because I thought it better to have something than nothing... but I still haven't replaced it. Hope to soon.
Proudest DIY: I designed my dining table with a wonderful craftsman who lives in the east village in NY. We worked together on all of the specs and dimensions, and I love how it came out.
Biggest Indulgence: Fresh flowers.
Best Advice: Take your time collecting pieces you love.
Dream Sources: My dream sources are my current sources - basement finds, thrift stores/vintage furniture boutiques, flea markets, and local artisans.
Resources of Note:
LIVING ROOM
- • Burke Tulip Chairs: Parents' from ages ago
• Large Pencil Drawing: Richard Anthony Blake
• Mid Century Paint By Numbers: Rose Bowl Flea Market
• Mexican Blanket: Flea Market, Baja
• Grain Sack Pillows: Tumbleweed & Dandelion, Venice CA
• Jute Rug: Ikea
DINING ROOM
- • reclaimed wood and steel dining table: Pascal Benichou (http://www.pascalbenichou.com/contact.html)
• Pencil Portraits: my dear friend Alessandra Olanow (http://www.alessandraolanow.com/)
• Mid Century Buffet: Repop Brooklyn
• Wood Chairs: Ebay
• Mid Century Mirror: Craigslist
• Antlers: Rose Bowl Flea Market, Pasadena
KITCHEN
- • Painting: Flea Market
BEDROOM
- • White Dresser: Flea Market, Park Slope, Brooklyn
• Mid Century Dressers (2 pushed together): Furnish Green NY
• Night Stand: Parents
• Pencil Drawing: Richard Anthony Blake
• Abstract Bird Print: Carrie Marill, 20x200
BATHROOM
- • Shower curtain: Target
• Turkish towels: Etsy
Thanks, Lindsay!
Images: Bethany Nauert
• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.
• Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form.
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Gorgeous! The apartment isn't bad either...
Wow, love all this white! And the very restrained use of ornamentation. The white painted wooden furniture blends perfectly with the built-ins to the point that it's hard to tell which is which, making it uniform and consistent. Yet there's loads of personality here, and comfort and warmth. This place is not nearly as sterile as one would expect from a description. Well done!!!
I agree with vesla^^ . Soothing and relaxing. Awesome environment for being creative! Jealous!
Love the house!
I also LOVE your black boots...mind telling us (me) where you got them????
This is exactly the style I'm going for. I love it.
i like the simplicity of the art. even though there is quite a bit of art on the walls, its very simple. not too many bright colors...i love it! I have those same folding chairs in my house.I bought them at a consignment shop..any clues as where they are from? they say made in Pennsylvania
I love the simplicity of your place. So beautiful and inviting!
The simplicity and casualness is so soothing. And Bethany, hats off, your photos are fabulous. You capture the light so beautifully.
looks relaxing. it's more like "rustic-shabby-chic" to me, though. :)
Nice charm and built-ins in this rental. I like her understated taste. Agree with Mod4God that this looks more like rustic shabby chic than bohemian.
Love this. So simple, yet so interesting.
I really love this place. And while I am utterly jealous of your find, it always makes me feel better when places with such good bones get found by people with a much better eye for design than I! ;)
What a beautiful carpet, under the dining room table! Persian....isn't it.
my purse would make that dining chair fall over.
thanks for the kind words!
@ Philly Kate, those boots are actually 9west from a year or 2 ago
@Katie G 1234, I got those chairs on Ebay from a guy who said they were used in an old veteran's association center, and he had them tucked away in his garage for years. not really sure who made them.
@Pongo, my fantastic friend has that rug on extended loan to me, and I LOVE it!! ;)
oh, @ Katie G 1234, he did also mention the veteran's association was in Pennsylvania
serious table envy! what an amazing apartment.
Personal and lived in!
Great built-ins! Wonderful apartment!
you have a beautiful home .
Spare without being bland or pretentious, and still so personal. Love it.
Pretty and spare. A breath of fresh air! Interesting that there's no tv in the living room -- only in the bedroom.
I really like the contrast between the white walls and dark floors. Great look! Also, I really like the honey toned dresser and unique artwork.
love love love! all that white is beautiful, I just wish there was some way that young children and white-ness could co-exist
Beautiful, generous white. And I envy your art collection.
this is one of my favourite house tours ever. i'm enamoured. and jealous. ;)
Your place is beautiful - great light!
Does anyone know where those tiny pottery birds are from? I love them!
Very well done- Art collection tells a great story and feels very personal. Love the consistency of mixed frames. Great compositions.
The dinning room table is very special, the chairs only add to its casual beauty.
Congratulations!
I love absolutely everything about this home. Everything.
Explain the drop leaf desk/secretary to me; is it built in? I love what you've done with the place, but even more, what you haven't. It's not even less is more; your restraint is stunning.
Great eye for placement and design....the unleveled lampshades however are sending my OCD into overdrive. I feel compelled....no driven to spend the next three hours visiting my lamps with a level in one hand and a black russian in the other.
I like the cabinet holding your tv.
All that white stresses me out! My eyes don't have a place to land.
I love it all!
Fantastic! I absolutely love it. Well done.
I love the numerous chandeliers. Did they come with the apartment? If not, where did they come from? Thank you!
Simply stunning. It's so light and airy but still very warm. It looks cozy and inviting. What a wonderful home!
I like the apartment, but have to say, once again, this must be one of HUNDREDS of Apartment Therapy apartments with some of the same design trends -- a fancy chandelier, a "distressed" dining table, posters with arch sayings; I'd like to see something completely different one of these days!
lindsay, what's the going rate (or range) for an apartment (like yours) in the silverlake hills with a view and great light..and did you find it via craigslist?
@ lasky, hi there... apartments like these go from around $1700/mo to $1850 for a one bedroom. I probably looked at almost 20 apartments before finding this one. (I get very thorough with apt searches)
@ Terry Underwear- I'll have to ask my stylish landlord where he got these chandeliers... I know some of the lighting fixtures (the wall sconces) are original to the apt, which was built in 1923.
@ ambitransitive , those little birds were a gift... sadly I don't know where they came from.
@nmw, the secretary is built in! I love that detail.
Lindsey - you're place is lovely! I noticed what looks like a wall furnace in your dining area, curious if you have anything hanging on the wall next to it? I have a similar situation and don't know if it's best to leave the wall blank or hang something to distract attention.
I know! Your - not you're...
Great place, especially like the vintage LP and artwork.
Lindsey - checked out your music; it seems your musical space fits your physical space well. Very Emiliana Torrini, I really enjoyed it
The floor lamp in the living room is PERFECT, where'd you get it?
@ Displaced, thank you kindly.
@ hijustin, I found the midcentury lamp on craigslist and got the shade at pottery barn.
@meemz - I made a little blackboard that I put next to the furnace...I've drawn a bicycle on it and will write myself little notes on. I think its a good distraction from the ugly furnace.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing :)
Love your place. Love your style! Fantastalastic!!!
Cool digs, pretty girl.
This is a beautiful, relaxing, and serene home. The art is great. Congratulations on creating a beautiful space.
I like it but it seems somehow underdone.Where do you keep all your stuff?? :)
So fabulous. I would live here in a heart beat!
those white cupboardy/bookshelves- I must have them!! where did you get them from??
Love the dark floors!!!
Also paint colour?