Name: Rachel Pally (the designer) & Kevin Circosta (the musician)
Location: Los Feliz - Los Angeles, California
Size: 2500 square feet
Years lived in: 7 years

Rachel and Kevin's love story is right out of a movie. They met in preschool, lost contact after high school, and reconnected again after college and fell in love. Their parents are close friends and both families have similar values. Right before I arrived, Rachel had whipped together the most amazing apple cobbler with fresh apples. Kevin had soul music playing on the record player. I immediately felt at home and didn't want to leave.

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When Rachel and Kevin gave me the tour, it was obvious that their home was filled with love and personal treasures. They both beamed with excitement to show me their artwork and explain the personal meaning behind each piece; many from family members. Kevin talked about how they are newlyweds and Rachel added that they are nesting.

When the sun came out we headed out to the backyard for a picnic with Sadie (the dog), while Kevin serenaded Rachel on the guitar. Is this normal weekend activity? Rachel loves to pick up fresh fruit and veggies from the Farmers Market, so weekend picnics in the backyard happen pretty often. Rachel and Kevin - you are unbearably cute and are right out of a classic love story!

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Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: Our style is an eclectic mix - a little Moroccan, a little Mid-Century, a little contemporary, a little Native American, a little Spanish....

Inspiration: Our home is an old Hollywood 1920's Spanish house. We have tried to stay true to the original aesthetic while adding our own personal twist. We are inspired by our travels and love to bring home treasures from around the globe. Our aim is to blend style, comfort, and functionality.

Favorite Element: We have the most gorgeous view of downtown Los Angeles - it was definitely a selling point when we were buying the house! Also, most of the houses in our view are Spanish, which makes it feel like we aren't in the heart of Los Angeles! From the side windows we can also see the coast (on a clear day)! We get amazing natural light from all of the big windows. We love our music/reading nook - it's so nice to curl up on the cushions and look out at the view while reading a book or playing the guitar. Our garden is another favorite element; there is nothing better than walking to the backyard to pick fresh vegetables out of the garden for your dinner!

Our house is in the Franklin Hills section of Los Feliz - it's the perfect combination of nature and city. We are minutes from Griffith Park where we hike with our dog, Sadie, and go for bike rides through the hills, but we are also minutes from Hollywood and Downtown. We love our neighborhood and our neighbors!

Biggest Challenge: Finding a place for everything! And carving out closet space for Kevin - Rachel is a self-admitted closet hog!

What Friends Say: We love having our friends over for dinners and parties. Everyone feels comfortable and at home. The house has a great indoor/outdoor flow and multiple gathering areas which makes it ideal for entertaining. Our friends love that our home is a gathering place!

Biggest Embarrassment:
Rachel: I'm a designer and my wardrobe lives on rolling racks!
Kevin: Because of the big windows, I feel like the whole neighborhood sees us naked!

Proudest DIY: Our backyard! The backyard was a sloped grassy hill and we designed a layout for a more functional space. We leveled the patio and used recycled materials to build the walkway and our raised vegetable garden beds. We love the outdoor living space that it created and love having our friends over for a bonfire! Since it's generally nice all year round in Los Angeles, it was important to us to have a comfortable space to spend time outside.

We love our vegetable garden - it's an amazing experience to plant something, watch it grow, and then harvest it. Our winter garden is full of greens - chard, kale, lettuces, snap peas, celery, onions, and chilis. In the summer we grow heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash, and herbs. We get to enjoy our bounty every day!

Biggest Indulgence: The house itself! And our art collection.

Best Advice: A house should feel like a home, not like a gallery. Not everything we love has to be on display. Sometimes less is more! (advice from Kevin to Rachel)

Dream Sources: The world! We love picking up pieces on our travels from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Greece, Guatemala, Morocco, Kenya, and Mexico. We love shopping at the Rose Bowl Flea Market for vintage pieces. Also, we've been able to collect some amazing things from our grandparents. We are lucky to have a family full of artists, so our dream source is often family! We also love ABC Carpet & Home and Lawson-Fenning for special pieces and inspiration.

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Resources of Note:

APPLIANCES
Frigidaire refrigerator and stove

HARDWARE
Mostly original from the 1920's but we have gone to Liz's Antique Hardware to supplement pieces we needed.

FURNITURE

ACCESSORIES

LIGHTING

PAINT

FLOORING

  • Original hardwood floors and tile
  • Original polished cement floor

RUGS & CARPETS

TILE & STONE

WINDOW TREATMENTS
Van Nuys Awning

BED

ARTWORK

OTHER

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Thanks Rachel & Kevin!

Images: Marcia Prentice

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