A Small Silver Lake Bungalow That’s a Little Bit Rock & Roll

Name: Joanna, Audie and son Arlo
Location: Silver Lake —Los Angeles, California
Size: 900 square feet
Years lived in: Renting less than a year

Joanna and Audie’s charming 1920s bungalow trades indoor space for a large, private yard (something of a unicorn in the bustling hillside neighborhood of Silver Lake). With a tiny great room and a tiny new human to accommodate, the couple faced their share of layout challenges when they moved in less than a year ago, but ultimately landed on a final design that feels open, inviting, and satisfyingly functional.

With a minimalist trend sweeping the nation (we’re pretty sure KonMari is officially a verb now), it should be no surprise that decluttering was crucial for the success of this small home’s design. Once Joanna mustered up the courage to let go of a few pieces that just didn’t work in the space, it all started to click. With an open mind and some clever arranging, this breezy bungalow successfully houses plenty of seating, tons of walkable space, and loads of character. Did we mention Joanna has her own interior design business? It’s called wilder design co.

Our Style: Eclectic, mid-century modern, global, with a some whimsy thrown in. A little rock and roll and a lot playful.

Inspiration: The house was our inspiration. It was built in 1921 and has so many unique details and charm. The crisp white paneling and lofted ceilings give off kind of a Scandinavian vibe so we tried to honor that and be somewhat minimalistic with our decorating. We also love color and wanted to play off the white walls with bright accents.

Favorite Element: The ceilings in the bedroom. It looks like a little chapel, especially because of the cute arched window placed above the bed. It’s like our little chapel of love!

Biggest Challenge: The furniture layout in the main room. Since the room serves many purposes, a lot of different set ups were considered. We finally landed on this layout to better accommodate play space in the middle of the room for our son Arlo.

What Friends Say: They like how private the yard is and the lofted ceilings.

Biggest Embarrassment: The amount of daddy long legs hanging around. With tall ceilings you sort of have to accept them as part of the decor.

Proudest DIY: Arlo’s nursery. And Arlo of course! 😉

Biggest Indulgence: The rug in the living room. I searched and searched for months on Etsy until I found a rug that had all our favorite colors. I was surprised by how much I liked the purple in the rug, but I love how it plays with the green of the dining room chairs.

Best Advice: Try all options before making a decision, and be willing to make some sacrifices in order to make it work. We moved furniture around and around but in the end had to make the hard decision to get rid of a few pieces so the living room didn’t feel so cluttered.

Dream Sources: Lawson Fenning, Design Within Reach, Nicky Kehoe

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