A “Western Modern Glam” Apartment in L.A.

Written by

Marisa Vitale
Marisa Vitale
A California native who loves to travel and explore, meet new people, laugh, play and capture all of these pieces with her camera. She lives in Venice Beach, CA with her husband and twins, Oliver and Macy, and their twin siamese cats, Choco and Blu.
updated Apr 30, 2019

A “Western Modern Glam” Apartment in L.A.

Written by

Marisa Vitale
Marisa Vitale
A California native who loves to travel and explore, meet new people, laugh, play and capture all of these pieces with her camera. She lives in Venice Beach, CA with her husband and twins, Oliver and Macy, and their twin siamese cats, Choco and Blu.
updated Apr 30, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Style
Bedrooms
Square feet

800

Sq ft

800

Name: Raquel Lynn and Adam Korbesmeyer (plus Mango the Pomeranian )
Location: Silver Lake — Los Angeles, California
Size: 800 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, renting

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Originally from Ohio (and after a short stint in New York), Raquel and her husband Adam found their way to Los Angeles two years ago. Situated in Silver Lake, this recently renovated apartment is in a great location, but the couple needed this space to be more than just a home base for exploring Los Angeles. Adam is a music producer and Raquel is a social media manager for equestrian brands and the creator of the blog Horses & Heels. They harnessed their creativity to decorate a cozy, horse-themed home to live and work in.

“I like to call my style western modern glam. I love cowhide, all things furry, gold accents, steer skulls, leather, and serape,” Raquel described. “I’ve done a lot of DIY projects for this space including horse head silhouette paintings, sheepskin stools, a graphic accent wall, serape shower curtain, and serape couch.”

You might notice another theme throughout the apartment: horses.

“If my blog’s title, Horses & Heels didn’t give it away — I’m horse obsessed. I grew up riding and competing. I am currently horse shopping and am looking forward to getting back into riding again. I took a couple years off and ending up selling my horse when we moved to LA.”

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: Western modern glam with a dash of mid-century

Inspiration: I’m inspired by the western and equestrian lifestyle. There is horse art, cowhide, serape, leather, and fringe throughout our space. I grew up on a farm and riding horses; they have influenced a lot of my decorating choices. I love gold or brass accents, modern and mid-century pieces. As a blogger, I keep up with a lot of lifestyle, interior and home decor websites. Los Angeles is full of inspiration; I get ideas for decorating and styling at every coffee shop or boutique I visit.

Favorite Element: A spacious kitchen with plenty of counter and cabinet space for an apartment. I cook a lot and am a foodie. I was thrilled to find a place with enough room for all of my spices and cooking supplies.

Biggest Challenge: Keeping things organized and clean! Adam and I both work from home and he often has artists and songwriters over throughout the day. There is a lot of foot traffic here and I’m always balancing style and function.

What Friends Say: Usually the first thing they say is, “It’s so clean!” I’m a neat freak and it certainly shows. We get tons of compliments on the décor and style.

Biggest Embarrassment: I’m not crazy about our light fixtures and would love to swap those out. There are also a few areas I’m working on finishing. Decorating is never done; it’s a constant work in progress.

Proudest DIY: I’m always working on a DIY project so it’s hard to just pick one. I would have to say the sheepskin stools in our entryway. I took $10 IKEA stools, spray painted them gold and covered each one with sheepskin I found on Etsy. They get so many compliments.

Biggest Indulgence: Definitely our couch. Adam and I both fell in love with it at West Elm and waited until there was a sale to make the purchase. It was well worth the investment and will be with us for many years.

Best Advice: Buy whatever makes you happy and invest in quality pieces. Create a home that inspires and makes you happy whenever you walk in the door.

Dream Sources: Jonathan Adler, Texas Antique Week, Ralph Lauren, Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie (for big furniture pieces).

Resources:

PAINT & COLORS

We did not paint. The black-striped accent wall with the steer skull was made with craft tape and is another awesome and affordable DIY project. I also did the same DIY under the kitchen island.

ENTRY
Runner rug – Urban Outfitters (old)
Silhouette horse art – A DIY project I made.
Horse head hook – vintage
Peekaboo acrylic console – CB2
Sheepskin stools – DIY project. I purchased bright orange stools from IKEA for $10 and found sheepskin on Etsy. I spray painted that ugly orange and added the sheepskin.
Steer skull – HomeGoods

LIVING ROOM
Leather Dressage rug – CB2
Hamilton sofa – West Elm (they make similar versions, but not the same one anymore)
Mongolian lamb pillow – West Elm
Black and gold beaded pillow – Target (no longer available)
Black and white pillow – West Elm (no longer available)
Terrace coffee table – West Elm
Bar cart – West Elm (no longer on website)
Vinyl record storage shelf – Urban Outfitters
Cowhide lamp shade – DIY project
Black leather butterfly chairs – Wayfair
Black and gold cowhide pillows – Joss and Main (no longer available)
Sperha floor lamp – CB2
Amplifier – vintage
Media shelf – IKEA
Horse Art – Minted
Cowhide – IKEA

RAQUEL’S OFFICE
Darley secretary desk – Target – I love this piece! It hides my messy desk and is perfect for a small apartment.
Chair – Anthropologie (no longer available)
Tiled horse art – DIY project

KITCHEN
Coffee grinder – World Market
Metal barstools – Target

BEDROOM
Zack Mid-Century loveseat – Wayfair – I added covered this detachable seat in a serape blanket purchased at the Rose Bowl Flea.
Darley bookcase – Target
Cowhide rug – IKEA
Horse art – Minted
Alchemy bed frame – CB2
Pink and fringe pillow – gift
Edison table lamp – World Market
Smoke and concrete lamps – World Market
Steer skull – Target (no longer available)
Nightstands – Home Goods

BATHROOM
Sheepskin rug – World Market
Serape shower curtain – DIY project.
Nate Berkus stone and gold soap pump – Target

Thanks, Raquel and Adam!


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