Molly & Tyler’s Classic Cool Cottage

Name: Molly and Tyler King
Location: Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
Size: 680 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years; Owned

I first met Molly and Tyler years ago when I tagged along with a friend to their Labor Day barbecue, and since then, I’ve watched them welcome countless friends into their charming Eastside home. They’re the quintessential Los Angeles couple; she’s a successful actress and he’s a coffee connoisseur and co-owner of the very popular Coffee Commissary.      

With plenty of light, white walls, and careful editing, they’ve created a space that feels miles bigger than 680 square feet. And it’s not small on style. The textiles, colors and patterns in the apartment, as well as artworks like the map of Molly’s hometown of Chicago or a friend’s portrait of their dog, Willy, work together but don’t necessarily match, reflecting the couple’s classic-cool vibe in a way that’s subtle and not overwhelming. The result is an effortlessly stylish space. It’s uncluttered but not sparse, and it feels as warm and comfortable as the perfect cup of coffee.  

My Style:  I like clean, bright white with splashes of color, and I really like pink.

Inspiration:  Domino, Martha Stewart, Door 16, Sacramento Street, Apartment Therapy, Living Etc, and the new shop Dekor on Sunset and Mohawk.

Favorite Element:  The backyard and the laundry room! Sometimes you just need to venture out of those 600 square feet.

Biggest Challenge:  The floors. We tried for years to achieve the white painted flooring seen in so many blogs and mags, but realized our floor just wasn’t the right canvas. Too porous, uncleanable, basically a nightmare. So we ultimately re-did the floors in a white-washed oak about a year ago. 

What Friends Say:  It’s so cute! Cute is a nice word for small. I tend to think this house might veer toward the feminine, but then there is that big leather couch grounding it and I move on!

Proudest DIY:  Gutting the kitchen and literally holding up a load bearing wall with my own two hands. And the hutch involved a lot of sanding and perhaps some lead inhalation… but those drawers glide now!  Decorating en couple can be challenging at times. My husband wasn’t comfortable with wallpaper on walls, but gave in for the hutch and oops, it just went up on this little corner wall as well!! 

Biggest Indulgence:  Neither of these are furniture, but I’d have to say my Miele vacuum or the sprinkler system for the yard. 

Best Advice: It’s a work in progress.   

Dream Sources:  Cisco home, Jayson, 1^st dibs, ABC, The Rug Company, any fabric by Madeleine Weinrib (for the time being, I love to decoupage the paper ads of her fabric and decorate cards with the pretty patterns!). 

• Benjamin Moore, Cloud Nine in living, dining, trim & hutch Simply White

• Benjamin Moore, Smoke in office

• Behr Dolphin Fin in bedroom
  
• Kitchen, that was some leftover from I don’t know where.

• TV credenza: CB2

• Lamps, ottoman, coffee table: Saint Vincent DePaul

• Record player cabinet: Ikea and I’ve been looking for a year

• Sconces: Pottery Barn

•Couch: HD Buttercup

• Our dining table was a curb find that we sanded and stained.

• Bertoias came from Craigslist (via the Enron liquidation in Texas?!?); I smudged them with Sage very thoroughly.

• The mirror was from 45 Three on Fairfax

• Wallpaper: Fabrics and Papers songbird 

• DWR kitchen table (on sale cause it’s meant to be patio furniture),

• Swivel Chair from ebay

• Built in benches are actually IKEA cabinets with upholstered foam on top!  Storage underneath too…

• And pretty much the whole kitchen is from IKEA & the sales folk there should be canonized. 

• Bedding mostly West Elm and Crate and Barrel

• Caned Mirror was from St Vincent DePaul

• Curtains are actually shower curtains from Target

• Dresser is from CB2

• Dog bed from Target.  Willy likes to go camping every night.  Oh let’s be honest, he mostly sleeps in our bed.   

BATHROOM —  Our sweet bathroom.  Those sinks are cute, but try washing your face!

• Most of the fixtures are from Pottery Barn

• Shower curtain is West Elm

Thanks, Molly and Tyler!

(Images: Jennifer Hunter )

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