Name: Scott Flora, Co-Founder of BLIK Surface Graphics   
Location: Los Angeles, California
Size: 1,200 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year; Owned

I have been following BLIK for years and am thoroughly intrigued by how many different ideas and uses they find for wall decals. Yes, you can use a wall decal as a headboard. Don't have a plant in your house? Not a problem — a wall decal will do. I got really excited when I had the opportunity to take a peek into the co-founder's home to see just how he mixes BLIK decals with his contemporary decor.

Enter House Tour

Scott's home is fun and playful and nothing is taken too seriously, which is a true representation of his personality. I am impressed that he will jump right in and put up Hello Kitty decals in his daughter's bedroom as a surprise. He is also not afraid to play a game of "place the eggs under the hen" in the living room. The decor can change at any moment, depending on which wall decal is being talked about at the office. Scott loves to try out the decals at home to see how they live in a real environment.

Enter House Tour

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: Can’t say I or my partner Susan have a style, per se. I like modern stuff, I like classic, I prefer minimal over maximal — mostly I like something that is well designed or interesting. But I also look for value. I love a good deal! I run a business and costs and bottom lines are something I look at every day, so it naturally affects purchasing for my place. I allow for a few splurges here and there, but in the end, like my companies’ products, I like well designed things that aren’t over priced or over engineered.

Inspiration: So much inspires me here in Southern California; there is always something new to see, admire and listen to. Most inspiration comes from things I see every day. I look at a lot of designed things, both good and bad; graphics, art, furniture, videos and video games, architecture, products, you name it. I try to bring things I like into my life without cluttering it. So it’s a balance of only bringing some of the things in. 

I listen to music a lot as well, and I find that it can also influence me and how I think about space. A song or artist that does something unexpected in a piece of music can inspire me to take a chance on something in my house, maybe paint a wall yellow or place a piece of furniture in a new way. I use my house as a laboratory of sorts (I used to work in an actual virology lab after college) and I love to bring new BLIK design ideas home to see how they work. Do I like the color, scale, proportion, do I like the way the piece interacts with my furniture or not, do I like the way the forms of the graphic impact my space, etc.

Favorite Element: In terms of physical elements, I love a few art pieces by Craww Kofie (who has a line with BLIK) and Dabs Myla (shout out to CAVE Gallery in Venice for showing some very cool artists who’ve inspired me). In terms of the space I love the indoor/outdoor mix. The house is set back from the street by about 20 feet, the house itself is about 50 feet deep and the backyard continues another 50 feet beyond that. If you close the front gate and open the front and back doors the whole place opens to the landscape outside — on a sunny spring morning it’s awesome.

Biggest Challenge:  I never think we have a lot of stuff until we unpack the boxes after a move and get most things in place. Then it hits me that I’ve only gone through 60% and it’s perfect as is. What to do with the other 40%, and how to make it “feel” organized? Do I leave it in the boxes, do I sell it, do I squeeze it in and make it work? My place is a study in organized clutter, lots of stuff, fitting just perfectly, but add to it or tweak it slightly and you may be in for trouble.

What Friends Say:  I love the light! As in the natural light. We have glass doors that line the whole back side of the house and skylights and high windows in the kitchen and master bedroom. On a sunny day (or even not so sunny) the whole back of the house fills with light. So you enter through a low roofed porch and into a section of the house that has 8’ ceilings and minimal light from just a few windows, as you step down into the back portion the light just hits you. And from there you can flow out into the back outdoor space.

Biggest Embarrassment: Wine storage and kitty litter, hands down. We love wine, and for those of us without the luxury of a wine cellar who like to keep wine at a proper temperature, the main options are ugly wine fridges that are big, sometimes loud and can't be hidden. They just sit there in your space and annoy you. And although I love my 15 year old grandpa cat, Halfway, his “essence” can sometimes overpower the house. 

Proudest DIY:  Actually this is probably my biggest embarrassment now that I think of it — I do very little other than paint and stick BLIK everywhere! All my real DIY comes in my office.

Biggest Indulgence:  The dining table is a custom made reclaimed wood and anodized metal beauty that will last multiple lifetimes. It cost a pretty penny, but I figured if you’re going to splurge on a piece of furniture it may as well be the place we eat every night.

Best Advice:  You can’t really do it wrong, it’s your house and it should reflect your style – don’t worry so much what others will think. Have a plan and execute, think about what you want and the ultimate use for your place, or start with a specific room. Is it for chilling, conversing, reading, working? Make the room a pleasant one for that use and it will be a success. And don’t be afraid to take a few risks. Taking too few will create a minimal space with no “you” in it, and if something doesn’t work, you won’t know unless you give it a shot. So go ahead and paint that wall pink!

Dream Sources:  I loved the Droog shop in Vegas until it closed last year, but still love to see what A+R in Venice brings in to inspire, and Ray at Obsolete on Main in Santa Monica always has some tricks up his sleeve. I go there for inspiration — his street windows alone are worth driving by a few times a month. And keeping with the local theme, CAVE Gallery on Abbot Kinney brings in young, talented artists and prices their pieces so just about anyone can have an original in their place.

Enter House Tour

Resources of Note:

PAINT & COLORS

ENTRY

  • Droog – lights, hooks 

LIVING ROOM

  • Various Vitra chairs + Noguchi table + Sofabed - Room&Board
    Cubitec Shelving from DWR
    Blu Dot Stilt Lamp

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

  • Samsung Fridge
    Range - Bertazzoni
    Marc Newson Hooks, Dishware, various other kitchen tools – Alessi 

BEDROOM

Enter House Tour

Thanks, Scott!

(Images: Marcia Prentice)

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