Lauren’s Idyllic Home in Silver Lake

Name: Lauren Spencer King and Ava
Location: Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Size: 800 square feet
Years lived in: 6 years; Rented

Lauren was living in Paris when a dear friend from Los Angeles told her about the apartments right across the street from hers and how she dreamed of Lauren living there. Lauren didn’t think too much of it at the time. However, a few months later an apartment opened up at the building and Lauren’s friend went to check out the place for her and sent her photos. Lauren fell in love with it right away, signed the lease, left Paris and moved back to LA. It was meant to be.

Lauren is a talented artist who works primarily in watercolor, graphite, and glass. Her home is filled with meaningful and inspiring pieces, like her grandmother’s paintings, collections of geometric crystals and stones (something her mother used to have), and furniture pieces that have been passed down through generations. It is beautiful to see all these different pieces, with all their different origins, collected and layered throughout the rooms.

When not at home, Lauren is leading meditation circles and workshops and teaching art to kids. She also writes about the moon in her blog.

My Style: It’s less about achieving a look and more about creating a space that has intention and meaning. The objects in my home are thoughtfully placed, and it is full of things that are personal. Almost everything is a family heirloom, or is made by a friend or an artist I admire. I want my home to feel grounding and magical.

Inspiration: My grandfather’s mid-century architecture, my mother’s jewelry, my grandmother’s paintings, Finn Juhl’s home, the Eames Case Study House No.8, Georgia O’Keeffe’s home, what I’m making in the studio.

Favorite Element: The afternoon light that filters in through the trees in the living room

Biggest Challenge: Having enough shelves for books. Hiding a large dog kennel in the space. And I wish I had an outdoor space for Ava and a garden.

What Friends Say: The space is peaceful, meditative, restorative, magical, and layered with history. Some friends have said they leave feeling better than when they walked in.

Biggest Embarrassment: I always have my windows open and the city air makes everything such a mess, and so quickly. Turn around for a second and you have to dust and clean again. And I have one closet where I have to store everything. Actually, these could go in both the biggest challenge and embarrassment section.

Proudest DIY: It is a project I am about to do, which is to reweave my vintage Jens Risom lounge chair. It was my grandfather’s, and was in the house he designed and built that my dad grew up in. The leather is over 60 years old, so it’s brittle and breaking.

Biggest Indulgence: My bed: the frame, mattress, and sheets. Having a beautiful and cozy bed is very important. And flowers, I always have fresh flowers by my bed. Most are picked on hikes and neighborhood walks.

Best Advice: Trust your intuition when creating your home, listen to what the space needs and wants. Not everything has to be perfect — perfection is boring. Let your home reflect who you are and surround yourself with what is important to you. My mum always told me it takes time to create a home, it’s something you build over years and years. Invest in good quality items you can pass on to your kids. Have plants. Don’t follow the rules.

Dream Sources: The storage unit that has all my mum’s and grandparents’ things, objects and art that friends make, things from travels, anything from Braun when Deiter Rams was designing for them, anything designed by Muller van Severen, anything Eames, Denmark 50, Tortoise, Donald Judd’s plywood furniture, Astier de Villatte, Totokaelo art-object, WAKA WAKA, anything by Finn Juhl – especially the Poet Sofa, Le musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and anything made by Alma Allen.

• Table : vintage Danish Modern
• Native American Pipe Pouches : my mum’s
• Chinese Mirror : my grandmother’s
• Round Dish : Ben Medansky Ceramics
• Cacti Pot : Tortoise
• Malachite Box : a gift from Dream Collective

• Chair : by Finn Juhl that was my grandmother’s
• Moroccan Side Table : my grandmother’s
• Tea Table : Little Paris Antiques
• Rug : West Elm
• Lounge Chair : by Jens Risom for Knoll that was my grandfather’s
• Stool : by Florence Knoll that was my grandfather’s
• Native American Tablita : my mum’s
• Lamp and Vase : BZIPPY & CO
• Record Collection : my parents
• Art by : Peter Beard, Ben Medansky, Roger Harris, Ann Faison, Thunderwing Press, Joseph Albers, my grandmother, and me

• Table : my grandfather’s
• Chairs : Eames molded plywood and fiberglass chair’s, Hans Wegner chair, all from my grandfather
• Ceramics : Ben Medansky Ceramics and Astier de Villatte

• Bowls : grandmother’s vintage Heath, great grandmother’s salt container, Ben Medansky Ceramics, Emilie Hapern, Heath
• Grater : Tortoise
• Cookware : vintage Dansk, vintage and new Le Creuset
• Dishes : grandmother’s Gustavsberg Spisa Ribb and Heath

• Bed : Case Study Alpine Bed from Modernica
• Sheets : Area and Merci
• Side tables : Eames from Modernica
• Light : onefourtythree
• Art : my mum’s Goya etching, drawing by Roger Harris, painting by my grandmother
• Chair : antique African birthing chair that was my mum’s
• Brass Bowl : my mum’s
• Native American Child’s Teepee : my mum’s
• Chair : Eames from my dad’s office in the 60’s
• Armoir : was my parent’s, found in England
  
  

Thanks, Lauren and Ava!

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