A Minimalist LA Home Is Inspired by Earth, Rocks & the Cosmos

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.
published May 10, 2018

A Minimalist LA Home Is Inspired by Earth, Rocks & the Cosmos

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.
published May 10, 2018
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.
Bedrooms
Square feet

900

Sq ft

900

Name: Kristine Claghorn and Mark Harrison and SETI the cat (stands for “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”, of course)
Location: Silver LakeLos Angeles, California
Size: 900 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, renting

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Kristine and Mark knew they were meant to be together when they both bonded over their separate rock collections. She’s a creative producer and artist, he’s a documentary editor, and their cat, SETI, is an expert at being adorable. “Since this is our first apartment together, we had the challenge of condensing two places into one. Luckily, we have similar tastes and personalities, so we enjoyed the process of designing our space together.”

A love of the cosmos and the earth influences both Kristine’s watercolor art—subtle, haunting moon-inspired pieces that can be found around the home—as well as her essential oil brand, Claggie (also her nickname). It’s not all moons and rocks, though. There’s plenty of art and accessories by local makers sprinkled around, along with items found in nature. There are DIY projects the couple have completed together, too, from building the entertainment center to reupholstering a Craigslist find. Most of all, you get the sense that this is a space truly loved by its inhabitants, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. And of course, the cute cat is a big bonus.

“In our free time, these two Midwesterners can’t get enough of California’s various nature sights and drives, we keep up with many of the incredible film events this city has to offer and we play endlessly with SETI. She has so much energy.”

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My/our Style: While we gravitate mostly toward simplicity and minimalism, we’re both pretty sentimental, so there are plenty of examples around our home– like a rock that we collected from a meaningful hike, or other artifacts from our past. Our space features a practical, comfortable and welcoming aesthetic, which we love to share with visiting friends and family.

Inspiration: We’re inspired by practical design and efficient use of space. If possible, we like to dabble in finding custom solutions that we can build ourselves, which is always rewarding.

Favorite Element: The amount of natural light in this apartment is something we appreciate every day.

Biggest Challenge: Not having real doors on our closets and lack of kitchen storage.

What Friends Say: “Let’s drink some wine out on the deck soon!”

Biggest Embarrassment: Lack of nearby parking!

Proudest DIY: The first DIY project we completed when we moved in was our entertainment center, which was super affordable and helped make our living room plan concrete.

Biggest Indulgence: Our Modernica Case Study daybeds. Mark had found one that was in great condition on Craigslist a few years back, but it needed reupholstering. For this space, we really felt that two would work best, so we splurged on an additional daybed and reupholstered the one we already had to match. We definitely don’t regret it. We spend a lot of time on these and it’s nice to have something where we can both comfortably lie down… and they fit a lot of our friends! When we have multiple friends staying with us, they’re also extremely convenient because they turn into a king-sized bed when they’re side-by-side.

Best Advice: If you can, make it.

Dream Sources: Stumbling onto the perfect find when you least expect it.

Resources

LIVING ROOM
Case Study Daybeds — Modernica
DIY Entertainment Center — Wood and cinderblocks from Home Depot
Coffee Table — Melrose Trading Post Flea Market
Side Table — Poketo (sold out)
White/glass shelf unit — IKEA
Vintage Mid Century Modern Slat Bench — Rosebowl Flea Market
Wood cube unit — We found these at High Fidelity, a record store that used to be in Los Feliz.
Record Player — Rega RP-1
Linen Throw Pillows — Matteo
Kilim Pillow — UO Home (this is similar)
Wall lamp — Andrew Neyer
Artwork — Kristine Claghorn
Indigo Textile — Blockshop

DINING ROOM
Table — IKEA
Chairs — Amazon
Locker Cabinet — IKEA
Artwork (left) — Found in Ohio
Artwork (right) — Satsuki Shibuya
Ceramic vase — bX Ceramics
Circle Vase — Found in Yellow Springs, OH
Favorite wine — RASI
Tabletop vase — Thrifted
Book — NASA
Rug — Found Jute Rug

KITCHEN
Ceramics — bX Ceramics; Umbra Shift; Totokaelo; Tanner Goods
Others — found in Tipp City, OH.
Glassware — Broome St General; Amazon; Amazon
Cacti — Ponderosa Cactus
Tea Kettle — Umbra Shift
Water Filter — Berkey Filters
Metal Basket — Need Supply

MASTER BEDROOM
Wood Bed Frame — IKEA
Bedding — Matteo
Throw Pillow — Kilim
Dresser — IKEA
Arch Painting on Dresser — Kristine Claghorn
Books above bed — Both Patti Smith from Amazon
Moon Painting above bed — Kristine Claghorn
Wooden sculpture above bed — Thrifted
Bedside tables — High Fidelity
Bedside lamp — Mark got this from a set he worked on years ago.
Fan — Restoration Hardware

GUEST BEDROOM/OFFICE
V-leg bed frame — DIY by Mark
Bedding — Matteo
Throw Pillow — Target
Cactus artwork — Julia Kostreva
Capybara Artwork — Illustration for Mark’s old band when they played with Daniel Johnston. This doodle was the shirt design for the show!
Linen + watercolor artwork — Kristine Claghorn
Desk — IKEA legs, wood top
Desktop Fan — Restoration Hardware
Lamp — West Elm
Bookcase — Found at a friend’s garage sale
Desk chair — Vintage Eames Aluminum Management
Plant stand — Found it by a dumpster

BATHROOM
Shelf outside of the bathroom — IKEA
Artwork — Kristine Claghorn
Ceramics — Thrfited in Ohio
NASA Standards Manual
Linen Shower Curtain — Echelon
Turkish Towels — Cacala
Bath Mat — Target
Beauty Essentials (on sink) — Aesop Body Balm; Biossance Squalene + Vitamin C Rose Oil; Ritual Vitamins; Journeymen Deodorant
Fragrance — Kristine Claghorn
Ceramics — Found in Kansas City, MO

FRONT BALCONY
Table — Umbra (sold out)
Stools — Amazon

BACK DECK
Benches — DIY by Kristine and Mark
Metal Shelf — IKEA
Table — Poketo (sold out)
Cacti — Sunset Nursery + Ponderosa Cactus
Pillows — Poketo (sold out) and Amazon

Thanks, Kristine, Mark and SETI!


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