Desert Colors Mix With ’80s Vibes in BellJar’s New LA Space
Name: Sasha Darling, owner of BellJar
Location: Los Feliz — Los Angeles, California
Size: 1300 square feet
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You may remember Sasha’s Silver Lake bohemian home tour from a few years ago. For the past year, Sasha has been working hard on closing her San Francisco boutique, BellJar, and re-opening it in Los Angeles. It was a bittersweet goodbye in San Francisco, but Sasha sees her Los Feliz boutique as a fresh start and a cool new hangout for her dogs, Violet and Piglet.
BellJar carries homewares as well as a great selection of vintage clothing including vintage Levis. But beyond the selection of products are decor elements that could inspire any space—like 80s style paint patterns, affordable building materials and vibrant plants. Sasha will also be holding workshops at BellJar LA about woodworking, indigo dyeing, watercolor, weaving, and herbal tinctures. You can learn more about BellJar on instagram. See more of Sasha’s style in her Silver Lake Bohemian Bungalow house tour.
My Style: My style is so all over the place and really can’t be pinned down. I’m so inspired by my environment. I’ve been in LA for four years now and my style has really become so much more low key and casual. I only want to wear natural fibers and really loose fitting clothes. I tend to be drawn to lighter earth tones these days. But the second I go back to San Francisco, I find myself putting on high heels and red lipstick. As I get older, I think I’m really just growing into the ease of my style. I tend to go more classic these days, but let’s just say, I’ve never met a romper that I didn’t love.
Inspiration: My inspiration for this space was a New York loft in the 80’s mixed with Georgia O’Keefe’s stucco home. It really combines the modern, playful vibe of the 80’s mixed with soft fluid lines of the desert. I wanted soft cotton sacky Japanese inspired linen dresses to feel just as at home in my shop as a vintage Halston ball gown.
Favorite Element: The neon “Good Vibes Only” sign and the awesome back wall fixture that I scored from Silverlake Pharmacy as they were closing down. I love the inside pattern that I had Hannah Stouffer paint.
Biggest Challenge: The space is incredibly narrow and has a second lofty space with a long narrow walk way. I wanted to use every inch of the store, so it took some planning to utilize it all in an interesting way and not make it feel too crowded.
What Friends Say: Wow, it looks so different then BellJar SF, but really is so much more you.
Biggest Embarrassment: I’m really not embarrassed of anything. I love my new store so much that I’m just smiling ear to ear.
Proudest DIY: I’ve said this to you all before. I’m not very DIY. A handyman is a beautiful thing. I’m the vision behind the DIY.
Biggest Indulgence: I have to say, I’m such a bargain huntress. I live for searching out amazing things for a song. Nothing in here was too indulgent. The build out was a bit pricey as we had to do a lot of work on the space, but we did everything on a budget.
Best Advice: Live your dream, girls. If you want to be an entrepreneur, then do it! I’ve done all of this own my own with no backers or outside help. Sometimes it’s challenging, but the further I get away from my corporate days, the more I’m 100% sure that following your passion is the only route to a fulfilling life. And meditate a lot during the stressful times.
Dream Sources: Everyday I’m imagining the dream estate sale. Currently it’s a group sale of Beatrice Woods, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Iris Apfel, Diana Vreeland and Paul Reubens, aka Pee Herman.
Paint and colors: Dunn Edwards: Desert Sky and Morning Lily
→ See more of Sasha’s style in her Silver Lake Bohemian Bungalow house tour.
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