Female Collective Founder Candace Reels’ 1920s Los Feliz Rental Is Rich in Earth Tones

“Our sofa is custom-made by a place in Los Angeles that I don’t think is in business anymore. The guy that was in charge of our sofa didn’t take any notes, and that should have been a sign,” begins Candace, a Los Angeles native and fashion and lifestyle content creator. 

After a month of waiting, Candace and her fiancé, Charlie Gibson, knew instantly something was wrong when the packaging started to come off their new sofa: The fabric was a dark aubergine hue, not the burnt orange they wanted. 

Given the option between waiting months for an orange one or taking the purple one half off the price, they’re happy they chose purple. “The color is incredible and unique. And people from online to our friends and family that come over always talk about how much they love our couch. So I guess we were always meant to get a deep purple couch.” 

Coming to terms with the wrong couch color wasn’t the only challenge to blending lives and styles in the 900-square-foot, two-bedroom Spanish-style bungalow in Los Feliz. Candice moved into the rental in 2019, but Charlie had been calling the bungalow home for 12 years.

“Before I moved in with my now fiancé it was very simple, with a color palette of blue, black and gray,” she explains. “My fiance is a fan of Craigslist and has found beautiful vintage mid-century pieces throughout his time here. So a lot of the big main furniture pieces like the bar, dining room table, credenzas, and dressers are all vintage mid-century pieces that he found throughout the years.”

So how did they fold Candace’s style into a home Charlie had lived in for over a decade — one already filled with gorgeous vintage furniture finds? By building a shared palette of rich earth tones, like deep purples to terracottas. And in the end, embracing a happy accident, like the wrong sofa color!

• Bathroom — Farrow & Ball “Cooks Blue”
• Kitchen and Hallway —Behr “Fireplace Glow”

• Cary’s Contrast Linen Pillow — Lulu and Georgia
• Hi-Low Checker Velvet Pillow — Lulu and Georgia
• Slant Bluster Pillow — Dusen Dusen
• Violet Ends Candle — Boy Smells Candle
• Pinon Reed Diffuser — P.F. Candle
• Throw Blanket — Bien Mal
• Angeles Crest #4 Landscape Film Print — Charles Gibson
• Melrose Checked Rug — Rugs USA

• Death Valley #1 Landscape Film Print — Charles Gibson
• Floating Round Wood Wall Mirror — West Elm
• Cincinnati Seven Slopes Print — Jack Wood Gallery

• Always Pan 2.0 — Our Place 
• Kettle — Fellow

• Glass Tile Decorative Tray — Etsy
• Glass Mini Vases — H&M Home
• Marble Kharal Tray — Olive Ateliers
• Butter Linen Duvet — Get Hommey
• Classic Percale Core Sheet Set — Brooklinen
• Venice Beach #1 Film Landscape Print — Charles Gibson
• Venice Beach #2 Film Landscape Print — Charles Gibson 
• Venice Beach #3 Film Landscape Print — Charles Gibson

• Rim of the World #1 Landscape Film Print — Charles Gibson
• Fado Lamp — IKEA

• Super-Plush Turkish Cotton Bath Sheet Bundle — Brooklinen
• Washing Your Hands Print — Eric Junker
• Broken Rosary Candle — Boy Smells

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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