This Creative Couple’s Dreamy 100-Year-Old LA Apartment Helped Launch a Netflix Series
“We moved into this apartment our second year in Los Angeles, more than a decade ago. We met in New York City and both began our careers on Broadway. And it blew our minds that we could ever live in a place like this, with vaulted ceilings and French doors and outdoor space, and we’re incredibly grateful for it,” begins writer and filmmaker Kit Williamson, who shares this home with husband and creative partner John Halbach.
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John now works as the director of video and social media for q.digital. The couple splits their time between their apartment in Silver Lake and their home in Joshua Tree, El Dorado Oasis, which was previously featured in Apartment Therapy. "The homestead renovation project sparked a love for interior design in me, which led me to take on our second project in the desert, Benecia Oasis. Both homes are now available as short-term vacation rentals when work brings us back to Los Angeles," Kit writes.
The couple found this apartment — a 1920s Los Angeles Spanish style one-bedroom apartment in Silver Lake — while driving around the neighborhood 14 years ago. “It felt like fate, and it was love at first sight,” Kit writes, though the couple initially had doubts.
“At the time, we remember thinking there was no way we were going to get the apartment when we applied, because a college professor handed in an application in front of us,” Kit admits. “But we hit it off with the building owner, Susann, who told us that another gay couple had been living in the apartment for a few years but moved out because they broke up. She made us promise to stay together for at least three years if she gave us the apartment. Can’t believe that was nearly 15 years ago!”
“In addition to being an LGBTQ+ ally, Susann is a patron of the arts,” Kit continues. “She gave us permission to film a web series in the apartment called ‘EastSiders’ that I wrote and directed, and we both starred in alongside our friends in the neighborhood. It went viral and got picked up by Netflix in the second season, and making the show really changed the course of our lives.”
Susann has also allowed the couple to sublet the apartment at times, like when John worked in advertising in New York for two years, and when the couple bought and renovated a 1950s homestead in the desert (that we featured in a house tour a few years ago).
“When we came back to LA, we wanted to update the space to reflect the ways we’ve grown personally and professionally, so we brought in new furniture and art to complement our favorite vintage finds,” Kit writes.
Resources
LIVING ROOM
- Sofa w/Detachable Ottoman — Burrow
- Pixel Pillows — Burrow
- Ivory Lodge Chair, Walnut — Burrow
- Dram Bar Wood Cart, Oak — Burrow
- Brass Coffee Table — Bend Goods
- Night Swim Rug — Burrow
- Cotton Throw — Burrow
- Walnut Desk — Article
- Brass Mirror — Perigold
- Vintage NYC Subway Sign — Flea Market in Brooklyn
- School Desk — Vintage
- Card Catalogues — Vintage
BEDROOM
HALLWAY
- Black dresser — Vintage
- Audience signs — Vintage
- Index Console — Burrow
- Mirror — IKEA
PATIO
- School Desk — Vintage
- Bistro Table — Bend Goods
- Lucy Chairs — Bend Goods
- Peacock Lounge Chair — Bend Goods
Thanks Kit!
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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