Our TeamMarni Epstein-Mervis

Marni Epstein-Mervis

About Me

Writer, entrepreneur, historic architecture lover, and corgi owner. Native Seattleite, long-time Angeleno. When she isn't writing for AT, she's running her business, STRUKTR Studios.


Latest Stories

An Instagrammer is Reviving Khokhloma, a Near-Extinct Folk Art
From Russia with love…gems, beads, pearls, and a complete and total explosion of color. These studded and sparkling plates, and their insanely intricate embellishment work, are the ultimate in bedazzling. These decorative plates are the handicraft of a Russian artist named Daria.
Jul 15, 2020
You Can Now Stream Britain’s Most Popular Home Design Show on Netflix
First there was Downown Abbey. Then there was Sherlock. Now you can add another British television import to your list, America. Rejoice, design lovers! Britain’s favorite home design show is on Netflix. Grand Designs, which features wacky and ambitious builds and renovation projects, is one of Britain’s longest running property shows (17 seasons!).
May 3, 2019
Time To Make This San Francisco Clock Tower Home (If You have $6.25 Million)
This new San Francisco listing is billed as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and work within San Francisco’s most iconic, historic property,” I know what you’re thinking and no, it’s not that iconic, historic landmark—but this one is pretty fantastic. This one is a historic clock tower penthouse—and it is absolutely amazing. Frankly, given its $6.25 million price tag, it ought to be.
May 3, 2019
You Can Visit Laura Palmer’s House From Twin Peaks — If You Can Be Cool
A starring turn on television, much like it does for actors, can also make a house famous — or infamous as the case may be. That was what happened to this picturesque Everett, Washington colonial home. The house took center stage on TV’s cult hit Twin Peaks, during its original two-season run from 1990-1991, as the home of the fictional murdered teen Laura Palmer.
May 3, 2019
The New Property Brothers Spin-Off Has A Personal Twist
Is a plaid shirt the only dead give-away sign that helps you tell HGTV’s Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, apart? Well soon there’ll be another way to differentiate between the TV star twins — a wedding ring.
May 3, 2019
Call Me By Your Name Is Also a Love Story of Italian Interiors
Heading to the movies this holiday season? Well then you should probably be aware that there is some serious travel and house porn hitting an indie movie screen near you. Call Me By Your Name (out in limited release) is a coming-of-age love story set in the Italian countryside during the summer of 1983, and starring Armie Hammer. Hammer plays a 24-year-old research assistant to an art professor who joins the professor and his family at their summer retreat.
May 3, 2019
This is Joanna Gaines’ Favorite Room to Make Over
You’ve heard it before: kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. And while kitchens and baths are great neither is actually Joanna Gaines’ favorite room in a home to make over. So which room is it? The Fixer Upper star and queen of shabby-chic recently dished to Apartment Therapy that she much prefers designing nurseries.
May 3, 2019
Check Out The Floor Plans From Your Favorite TV Kitchens
Ever since Lucy Ricardo accidentally baked the world’s biggest loaf of bread on a 1952 episode of I Love Lucy, kitchens have been at the center of virtually every TV family’s story. In honor of TV’s love affair with the kitchen, HomeAdvisor, the marketplace that connects homeowners to home improvement pros, has carefully rendered the floor plans of some of your favorite TV hearts of the home.
May 3, 2019
Adam Levine Sold His LA Mansion to John Mayer
With celebs often buying one another’s homes, sometimes the world of celebrity real estate can feel like one big episode of Trading Spaces. Such is the case when it comes to the recent sale of Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo’s home. The Maroon 5 frontman and star of The Voice and his model wife have just sold their sprawling LA ranch — which registers at just over over 7,000 square feet — to fellow musician John Mayer for $13.5 million.
May 3, 2019
The Obamas Buy Their DC Rental for $8.1 Million
Wondering what the former President and First Lady have been up to after their much-memed Tropical vacation on Richard Branson’s private island? Well, the answer is house-hunting. Fortunately, for the Obamas, they didn’t have to hunt very far before finding their new dream home. Ok, so “new” might not be entirely the right word. See, the Obamas just purchased the DC-area home they’ve been renting since leaving the White House.
Feb 4, 2019
This Smart Furniture Turns Any Room Into A Walk-In Closet
As someone who lives in just 570 square feet with no closets, I’ve come to know a thing or two about storage; when you don’t have it you deeply appreciate it. Chances are, whether you live in a tiny house, a small apartment in a crowded city, or a dorm room, the same is true for you. You also probably don’t think of a walk-in closet as a realistic amenity ready and waiting to walk into your life at any moment—but well, that’s where you’d be wrong.
Dec 6, 2018
These Carts and Armoires Are Actually Tiny Kitchens in Disguise
The trend of tiny living is well, huge. Whether it’s municipalities looking to solve affordable housing crises, or individuals looking to live a simpler life in the woods, tiny homes seem to be the answer to nearly every question these days. Now the tiny living phenomena has inspired equally tiny, yet incredibly functional and beautifully designed, kitchens for modern living.
Apr 27, 2018
One City Plans To Combat Affordable Housing With ‘Micro-Estates’
In order to combat its growing affordable housing issue the city of Tempe, Arizona is slated to break ground on a community of relatively low-priced tiny homes on city-owned land next spring. The desert city just outside Phoenix has seen an average rent increase of $200 per month since 2015. The community of 12 “micro-estates,” as the developers are calling them, will sit on approximately an acre of land with each home coming in at 600 square feet.
Apr 6, 2018
Everyone’s Favorite Mid-Century Home Just Got A Redesign
One of the world’s most famous houses – and arguably the world’s most famous modern home – has just gotten a major makeover. Los Angeles’ iconic Stahl House (also known as Case Study House No. 22) with its cantilevered structure, and its sweeping, unobstructed views of Los Angeles was an architectural and engineering feat when it was originally built in 1960 by architect Pierre Koenig.
Mar 26, 2018
Jane Says a Fond-a Farewell to Her Beverly Hills Estate
Jane Fonda, workout-lover, environmentalist, star of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, and all around octogenarian extraordinaire, has bid a fond-a farewell to her Beverly Hills estate. After calling it quits with long-time partner, record producer Richard Perry in 2017, the couple has sold the home they once shared together for $8.535 million — a much smaller sum than the original $12.995 million asking price.
Jan 22, 2018
Alexander Skarsgard Eyes A Brooklyn Fixer Upper
Actor Alexander Skarsgård recently brought home a Golden Globe for his portrayal of abusive husband Perry Wright on HBO’s Big Little Lies. Now, Skarsgård is looking for a potential new mantle—and accompanying new home— to place his award on. The actor’s on-screen persona may call a cushy, modern Monterey mansion home, but Skarsgård’s real life tastes are far more urban—he recently checked out a $4.55 million fixer-upper in Brooklyn.
Jan 21, 2018
Own Halle Berry’s Former Hollywood Hills Home For $3.8M
Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Halle Berry’s former Mediterranean villa has just hit the market for $3.8 million, according to Architectural Digest. The home boasts an impressive 4,300-square-feet and sits on a third of an acre in the highly desirable Hollywood Hills. This home is all about the #1 rule of real estate: location, location, location.
Jan 12, 2018
All The Ways the Holidays Can Send You to the ER, According to New Studies
My mom ends every phone conversation with me “drive carefully.” I could be sitting on the sofa in my living room (frankly in most cases I am) and those will still be her parting words to me. On New Year’s Eve – and most other holidays—that salutation gets even more emphatic given all the alcohol flowing this time of year and the heightened potential to encounter drunk drivers on the road. In fact, a new analysis from Alcohol.
Dec 22, 2017
Get Lit: Check Out These Amazingly Simple and Whimsical DIY Menorahs
I can still remember the Kindergarten tradition of making homemade menorahs at my Jewish day school like it was yesterday. Take a sawed-off 2×4, glue 10 small square tiles atop it, in a line (two at the center for the tallest candle), then place 9 screw nuts in a row, one on top of each tile. I’m pretty sure my parents even still have mine — somewhere. With Hanukkah mere hours away now, you may find yourself in need of a last minute menorah.
Dec 12, 2017
These New Designer Collaborations Will Have You Craving a New Kitchen
Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Sherman Samuel— famous for her airy, California-cool style—has announced two brand new exciting collaborations for the kitchen. Add these to Joy Cho’s recent collaborative creation of playful pastel cement tiles with clé and you’ll want to renovate your kitchen… well, basically yesterday. First up, Samuel has teamed with popular cabinet door maker Semihandmade.
Nov 25, 2017
Rent Kelly Osbourne’s West Hollywood Condo for $19.5K a Month
Reality TV star Kelly Osbourne, daughter of metal icon Ozzy Osbourne and talk show host Sharon Osbourne, is renting out her luxe condo in West Hollywood, California’s famed Sierra Towers building. This isn’t your mama’s Airbnb rental; Osbourne’s unit in this trendy tower means neighbors that include the likes of Courteney Cox and Sandra Bullock, as well as a rent payment of $19,500 per month.
Nov 19, 2017
Serena Williams Aces House Hunt With $6.7M Beverly Hills Mansion
Tennis legend and new mom Serena Williams may have only recently listed her Bel Air bachelorette pad for sale (Williams is engaged to Reddit and Hipmunk founder Alex Ohanian), but she’s wasting no time on her house hunt. That’s right, in a move seemingly faster than one of her blistering serves on the court, Williams has already scored her new home.
Nov 2, 2017
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Just Sold Their Hawaiian Estate for $12 Million
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air has a royally huge crush on Hawaii real estate — or at least he did. Will Smith and his “Girls Trip” star wife Jada Pinkett Smith have just sold their 6.91 acre property on the Hawaiian island of Kauai (the couple previously unloaded another Kauai estate in 2011). The Hollywood power couple said goodbye to the compound which sits atop a bluff overlooking Secret Beach on the island’s North Shore.
Sep 13, 2017
Edward Norton Buys $11.8M Architectural Wonder in Malibu
Actor Edward Norton just purchased an $11.8 million home in Malibu Colony. The beachfront strip of prime Malibu real estate has for decades been a fave among the Hollywood set. Prior to the ‘Fight Club’ actor snapping up this architectural wonder, the home had been listed on and off the market for four years, priced as high as $22 million. The Stevens’ Home, as the residence is called, has five bedrooms and five bathrooms situated over 3,366 square feet.
Aug 6, 2017
Betsey Johnson’s Mexican Villa Is For Rent on Airbnb
Want to vacation like American fashion designer and icon Betsey Johnson? Well now you can — and it looks pretty fabulous. The 74 year-old Johnson is offering fans and vacationers alike the chance to live her whimsical lifestyle at her Mexican villa. Johnson’s pad, located in Zihuatanejo, Mexico is now available to rent on Airbnb for $618 per night. It’s a pretty reasonable alternative should Gwyneth Paltrow’s Mexican villa be out of reach at $8,000 a night.
Jul 23, 2017
Modernism Week’s First-Ever Door Tour Reveals Palm Springs’ Most Instagrammed Spots
The inaugural Palm Springs Door Tour is taking place this week at Palm Springs’ annual mid-century modern lovefest, Modernism Week. If you find yourself asking, why a tour of doors, just search the #doorsofinstagram hashtag on the photo-friendly platform and you’ll see why (there are over 100,000 photos!). Perhaps the most popular door you’ll find on Instagram is “that pink door,” a now-icon of Palm Springs’ Indian Canyons neighborhood.
Feb 22, 2017