When Jennifer moved from the wide lawns and cool basements of Chicago to settle down in Los Angeles, she was surprised to find mature trees shading historic homes in the Eastside neighborhood of Silver Lake. “There’s a village feel to the community, which almost makes this part of LA feel like a small town,” she explains. “I know my neighbors, and there are a lot of practicing artists, designers, and other creatives who gravitate to the area.” The Spanish-style bungalow she claimed had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the type of century-old architectural features that even someone with a penchant for change is sure to hold on to. “The original fireplace and picture window beside it are what drew me in,” she adds. “I appreciated the age of those details, and that nature was so visible.”
Olive branches peek in at the forefront, which acts as a backdrop to Jennifer’s ever evolving living room. A slipcovered sofa with a blue stripe on its edge is accompanied by variegated pillows that feel slightly muted, rather than bold. While that combination may be considered bohemian, Jennifer refers to the curved edges of the nearby side chair as midcentury. And sure, the fiddle leaf fig on a pedestal and the pleated curtains are contemporary, but the vintage artwork resting on the floor is not. In fact, it’s supposed to be leaning that way. “It’s a pattern design of custom carpet someone ordered in the ’60s that I found in Italy,” she notes. “I didn’t have any more wall space, and that corner had a void.”
