Name: Lori Dennis
Location: Los Angeles, California
Size: 1,000 square feet
Years lived in: Recently renovated
We're taking a bit of a de-tour today from our usual type of house tour we present. A little while ago we were invited to a loft party celebrating the opening of the Lofts at Cherokee Studios, which was notable for two things: 1) the lofts were being decorated in musician themed decor (honouring the building's musical history, being a site where the likes of Sinatra and Bowie recorded), and more importantly, 2) the lofts were advertised as the "healthiest and most environmentally friendly loft building in California", as the first and only seeking LEED Platinum Certification loft building. It's a little country and a little rock 'n roll in that regard. Don't let the initial impression fool you, there's plenty eyebrow raising details below!
AT Survey:
My/Our style: Colorful, bold, modern and sustainable.
Inspiration: The showcase loft was inspired by the music and stage show of Alice Cooper and a great respect for things that are eco friendly: used, vintage, reclaimed, recycled
Favorite Element: scraps of faux leather and nail stud snake that slithers across an entire wall.
Biggest Challenge: installing a 3,000 pound stone mantel before we had any stairs.
What Friends Say: ROCK ON!
Biggest Embarrassment: Coming out of the port-o-potty (toliets weren't working yet) at the opening party with two bottles of wine and getting caught on camera!
Proudest DIY: We love our rock and roll bondage room with vintage velvet paintings.
Biggest Indulgence: Francois and Co. Mantel
Best advice: When going modern in the kitchen, use European cabinetry because they have a much higher standard for VOC emissions.
Dream source: Alice Cooper's show and vampire movies.
Appliances: Energy Star refrigerators and dishwashers by Bosch; variable refrigerant flow heating and AC by Mitsubishi, tankless water heaters by Noritz.
Furniture: Cisco Brothers (bed, loft poofs and living room chairs), Bausman and Company (living room bench), Diamond Foam and Fabric (snake and padded wall), Heritage Draperies (bedroom window treatment), Mike Ragan's Rags (bedroom padded wall), Retropia (all funky vintage pieces),
Accessories: Retropia (vintage items), Pleasure Chest (bondage decoration), Crate and Barrel (living room tray), Dennis Design Group (cocktail table), Target (bedding) and Alice Cooper's personal items and show props
Lighting: Lots of compact flourescent recessed and vintage accessory lighitng from Retropia (table lamps and chandelier hanging above records) and chandeliers by Cisco Brothers (bathroom, bedroom)
Paint: zero VOC paints by AFM Safecoat
Flooring: Floors are Forest Stewardship Council certified (FSC) but no brand name
Rugs and Carpets: Patch work recyceld quilt rug by Cisco Brothers
Window: Treatments Heritage Drapery
Beds: Cisco Brothers, Bedding by Target
Artwork: Brook Casey, photo collage is actual photos from Alice Cooper tours
Other:
- Environmentally Friendly Materials
- Reclaimed Black Forest Walnut from Studio One reused
- Recycled tile by Erin Adams Design and Walker Zanger
- High recycled content and locally produced products
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified oak flooring, cabinets, and structural wood
- Blown in cellulose insulation is 98% recycled
Water Efficiency/ Other Green Features:
- Dual flush Toto Aquia II toilets
- Water efficient Hans Grohe fixtures
- Reduced stormwater runoff through first-ever groundbreaking under-sidewalk infiltration system
- Reduced landfill waste by over 75%
- Low-water, drought resistant landscaping
- Excavation and Demo Completed with Biodiesel
- Extensive bike storage
- Walkable neighborhood scores “Walker’s Paradise” (94 out of 100) on walkscore.com
- Non-toxic treatment on all structural wood resists termites and mold
(Thanks, Lori!)
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Comments (25)
Which goes to show that Green decor can be as ugly as any other kind...
I like the light fixture in the bathroom. But that is all. :(
Noose as decor? Nope. This place is pretty tacky.
what the hell is this? its like an assault to my senses. i feel sorry for anyone who has to live here, and is that a stroller i see???? why would you even bring a baby in this place...
A little incohesive.
I like the kitchen, the stools in it and the table on the side of it.
I also like the writing in the bathroom, but the chain and noose just make it look silly and kitschy.
The living room rug is beautiful, but the red wall is just too much and screams " dated" to me.
Even the bedroom has a fabulous bed and an awesome chandelier, but the shade of purple is just too cheap looking. I think a deeper, more mature ,maybe with some gray in it purple would work better. The patched wall in it reminds me of poor 80's fashion.
The architecture is the place is really nice, I think some editing needs to be done.
Ummm, no.
Blech!
The design was for a NIGHT TIME ROCK AND ROLL party, honoring the Alice Cooper stage show... which is SHOCKING, ASSAULTING, REVOLTING, UGLY, BLOODY, ETC. It is not meant to be a beautiful place to live. It's pure set design (on a TIGHT budget) for a party filled with leather clad rockers. PS the baby carriage and noose are props from his show where people are hanged and all kinds of other gruesome things happen. If you look at the place in this light, you might stop with the negative comments.
Peace.
greendesigngal, I concur. I saw it in the same light. :)
So if it's a set design, why is it here? If it photographed this badly, I'd say the designer isn't exactly on the ball.
Thanks for clarifying, greendesigngal. Like the others, I thought we were looking at a designed home. If it had been, I would've seconded KatSD.
I saw it as tongue in cheek and thematic, so it didn't bother me decor-wise (although it is far from my taste). What does bother me is a "green" home being decorated in such an extravagant way, at the same time the designer is bragging about how little landfill space the renovation contributed to. My question is, what about AFTER someone buys it and needs to re-renovate it to be livable? Doing anything like this for "show" seems excessive and NOT environmentally friendly.
it's just silly.
The furnishings were borrowed and have been returned- no waste there. Really the only thing that needs to be changed for an owner to move in is a new coat of paint on some of the walls. The colorful paint is non toxic and the new color will be non toxic as well. The show proceeds went to Habitat For Humanity. No matter how green you are, sometimes you need to unwind and throw a party. So RELAX, the space is green in materials and social equity!
PS....the editor begins the post saying..."We're taking a bit of a de-tour today from our usual type of house tour we present. A little while ago we were invited to a loft party celebrating the opening of the Lofts at Cherokee Studios,... " Ya'll should read a bit before writing such snarky comments.
And we're replying that we're not in love with the detour. That's a reader's prerogative.
No. No, no, no, no, no. Did I mention "no"?
The design was for a NIGHT TIME ROCK AND ROLL party, honoring the Alice Cooper stage show... which is SHOCKING, ASSAULTING, REVOLTING, UGLY, BLOODY, ETC. It is not meant to be a beautiful place to live. It's pure set design (on a TIGHT budget) for a party filled with leather clad rockers.
Ah, okay, that helps. I'm glad that you made this comment, because otherwise the place makes very little sense in terms of design.
well, even if it was for a "party" or whatever, the design still SUCKS. it reminds me of the first episode of a season of Design Star, where everything is disjointed and weird because there was no communication among the contestants.
love the building! would love to see more of it and the other lofts. how's that for finding something positive to say? ;)
Hideous. And please put the noose away before your black friends come to visit.
The structure is nice, and I'm kind of liking the leather sofa in the living room as well as the bar stools, but all in all this place is a train wreck and I think that people's lack of understanding the "theme" here speaks to how poorly it was executed.
I'm sorry that the negative comments here offend, but if you offer up a space for public critique, you've gotta have a thick skin. I'm sure this group of posters would tear my house to shreds...and I look forward to someday giving them the opportunity:)
Absolutely AWFUL!!!
Great house but decorating is terrible. Too bad you wasted space on apartment therapy showing this disaster. Hire a decorator.
Alice Cooper would be proud! (particularly of that shockingly scary bathroom) The exterior is absolutely stunning. The snake on the wall actually fits in the space, if only for the rocker party theme.