To put her own stamp on the space, she took an individual approach to each room in the apartment. “Because the living room wasn’t full of light, I wanted to make it feel bright and airy with a playful, modernist, beach-house feel,” Lake writes, explaining that she also
“changed all the switches to dimmers and swapped out all lighting fixtures to work with this look.”

But she says indecisiveness was the biggest challenge when it came to filling the space. “I would constantly put tape down on the floor imagining different layouts; I’d put yardage of fabric on the floor imagining different color rugs (rug samples are so small; can we talk about that?). I’d also print out art on 8.5×11-inch pieces of paper and tile it together and put it up on the wall to see if it would work for the home,” she begins.

“I think I visited the fabric store three times before committing to the color of chairs/poof/lumbar pillows (I have more fabric swatches than my apartment has square footage). Beyond the challenge of my own brain, I’d say [the biggest challenge was] just making the space feel as big as possible while maximizing seating (too many chairs in small spaces start to look really weird). I love to have friends over to play poker, and I wanted to make sure the space would feel comfortable even when filled with a group of friends.”  

Originally from California, she says her home state has had an huge influence on her home’s style. “I’m not sure I have the right design terms to explain it — it’s mostly a feeling. Inviting, happy, and a little playful. That’s how I like home to feel,” she writes. “I am often torn between maximalism and minimalism, and my apartment definitely straddles the two. It’s a little crazy, but also very controlled. New Wave gridded maximalism?”

• La Isla Couch 
• Poufs DIY 
• Table DIY 
• Right Wall Art — Cem Eskinazi 
• Front Wall Art — Doug Brit 
• Vintage BRNO chairs
• Pillow — Alex Proba 
• Shelf — Grandmother’s poker set, my dads old fishing box, books, watermelon salt shakers from Lenora 

• Small Doug Britt Painting 
• A combination of new and vintage glassware 
• My parents’ old knife block 

• Cold Picnic quilt 
• Doug Brit painting on left 
• Mayumi Oda print on right 

• Rug — Block Shop Textiles 

Thanks, Lake!

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

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