Our Inspiration: The classic Modern architecture really set the tone for the design of the house. We are fortunate to live at Village Green, which was built in 1941 as Baldwin Hills Village. Baldwin Hills Village was (and still is) a very innovative concept in multi family housing. It is located on 68 acres in the center of Los Angeles, and an exceptional amount of that space is devoted to open green space and landscaped garden areas, now mature and lush. No streets bisect the �superblock� of the property. The buildings are simple yet modern, and were designed by Reginald Johnson, in association with the partnership of Robert Alexander (later Neutra�s partner), Edwin Merrill and Lewis Wilson. Clarence Stein was the consulting architect, and Fred Barlow, Jr. was landscape architect. Lewis Mumford called it the most fully realized of all the Garden Cities. It is now a National Historic Landmark, one of only a handful in Los Angeles.
We are also inspired by mid-century architect/designer Paul Laszlo�s use of color, and the way Billy Haines and Paul Frankl mixed Asian accessories and lamps with their own modern designs. Gilbert Rohde wrote very interesting �What is Modern/What is Not Modern� treatises for his Herman Miller catalogues in the 1930�s and 40�s; those are invaluable. My mother grew up in Hawaii in the 40�s and 50�s, so there are modern tropical elements mixed throughout as well. We also collect interior design magazines from the 40�s, and find great ideas for color and accessories there, in addition to classic Hollywood films.
Favorite room: My favorite �room� in the house is the balcony off the master bedroom. The lacquered rattan couch is SO comfortable, so on the rare days I�m able to stay at home and read all day, I go up to the balcony with piles of books and magazines and a tray of snacks. It�s paradise!
Most talked about element: My favorite piece in the house is the Zebra chair. It�s a very rare design by Rohde for Herman Miller, from 1939. I found it in a thrift store outside of Sacramento, my only Gilbert Rohde thrift store find! It was covered in a horrible 1960�s Early American tapestry, but the lines were there. Rohde showed it with zebra skin upholstery at the Chicago Herman Miller Showroom, so when I had it reupholstered I went with that.
Biggest challenge in designing my home: I think the biggest challenge is always the budget, not being able to do everything you want to do right away, and finding the patience to wait until you can do things right. We had most all of the furniture when we moved in, so another challenge was trying to fit all these things that we already had and loved into a space that was smaller than our old house. Letting go of things that wouldn�t work in this space was hard, but sometimes you have to let them go back into the world for someone else to enjoy, rather than storing them.
Another challenge is living in the chaos in the midst of a project. Having the bathroom torn apart (and there is only one bathroom) during its restoration makes me apprehensive about restoring the kitchen, which is the last room that really needs attention. The kitchens at Baldwin Hills Village originally had beautiful stainless steel countertops, and nice marbled linoleum floors, so I want to return the kitchen to its original splendor - but don�t relish the thought of living in a dust filled mess of a house during the process.
What friends say about my home: Everyone seems to find it very comfortable above all, which is very important to us. People always love to hear about the history of the Village Green, and also how we came to acquire each piece inside the house. John finds great things in thrift stores, and has a side job selling them on eBay, so friends are always asking what came from thrift stores, and what came from dealers/auction houses.
Biggest Embarrassment in my home : We are thrilled to have a service porch/laundry room (most units at Village Green don�t), but it has turned into a chamber of horrors - the home for everything that doesn�t have a home. Luckily it has a door, but I was giving a tour to a group for the California Preservation Foundation conference last May, and naturally someone on the tour found that door. I was mortified.
Proudest DIY : I wasn�t able to find a competent furniture restorer in Sacramento, where we used to live. Most weren�t interested in doing it the right way, which is VERY labor intensive. So I decided I would have to do it myself. I wrote to Herman Miller, and they provided me with the process used to finish the furniture the first time, in 1941. I got books on furniture refinishing, and taught myself how to do the job correctly (with a lot of practice). My father restored antique cars, and was highly sought after for his perfect bodywork and paint, so it must be in my blood.
Biggest indulgence : Buying some rather expensive Maharam mohair for the Dining Room chairs � I saw that burnt orange color, and couldn�t live without it. It just so happened that I got the last ten yards left in the world, after they discontinued the color.
Best advice : Wait, and live in the space for awhile before you do anything major to it. You can avoid costly or ill-informed mistakes if you see how you use the space first, and let the space tell you what it needs. In our case, I learned to have greater respect for the original design intent of the architects, and found that no changes were needed, and that the original design was perfect for us already.
Dream Source for stuff : Since there isn�t room for any more furniture, I would love to find some of the great modern clocks Gilbert Rohde designed for Herman Miller, and I would love to find them in thrift stores! They�re considered some of his finest designs, and many go for over $10,000.00 - so I won�t be stocking up on those at retail prices anytime soon�
Resources
Appliances: Refrigerator � 1948 Hotpoint.
Stove � 1941 General Electric. We found it at an antique mall near Palm Springs, and bought it because we loved it. A couple of years later, we went to a poker game at another Village Green apartment, one that hadn�t been touched since 1941, and there was our very same stove. At the Village Green, half of the units (ours included) were all-electric, a deal the architects made with the DWP to bury the utility lines underground, something almost unheard of and radical for 1941.
Hardware: Refrigerator � 1948 Hotpoint.
Original brass hardware � stripped of old lacquer, polished and re-lacquered.
Furniture: Gilbert Rohde, for the Herman Miller Company � most every piece in the house is from Gilbert Rohde�s Paldao Collection of 1941 (collected over the last ten years, using dealers and auction houses around the country � though a couple pieces came from eBay).
The exception is the Living Room sofa, and the two club chairs in the Library, which are from J. Robert Scott. They are keeping with the 40�s style we like, and are just so well made and comfortable. That sofa is the most comfortable bed in the world. They were found by John in L.A. thrift stores, in perfect condition, for under $100.00!!!
Upholstery work by Residence, in Los Angeles.
Accessories: We collect vintage pottery, and are attracted to stylized animal forms. Most John finds in thrift stores. Also Weiner Werkstatte pottery, like the Walter Bosse donkey in the library, and the circus characters on the bedroom vanity. I also love Tommi Parzinger�s brass candlesticks and serving pieces for Dorlyn Silversmiths, Russel Wright Casual China for Iroquois, Dorothy Thorpe crystal, Raymond Loewy china for Rosenthal.
Lighting: Vintage Stiffel, Wilshire House, Kurt Versen, and other Asian inspired lamps collected over the years. Custom lampshades by Carl�s Lampshades on Beverly Blvd, near La Cienega. He�s been around forever, and really knows exactly what each lamp needs!
Paint: I generally think Dunn-Edwards is the best, but used Sherwin-Williams in the Living Room and Dining Room, a Martha Stewart color called �Mission�, which is a very deep olive - and appears almost brown - but changes depending on the light. That color followed me from our last house.
A lot of people seem to be afraid to use dark colors on the walls, thinking it will make rooms seem smaller. I think that dark colors make the walls virtually disappear - and the colors we have used in the downstairs rooms really pop against the dark walls. We use the Living and Dining rooms for entertaining mostly at night, so the dark walls create a glamorous, slightly mysterious atmosphere which is nice and people look good in.
Sherwin-Williams �Netsuke�, a warm ivory, is used in the rest of the house, with accent walls in the Library and Master Bedroom a deep, muted blue.
Flooring: Original oak parquet on the ground floor. Oak strip flooring on the second floor (now covered by carpeting).
Rugs and Carpets: Ivory shaggy textured rug in the Living Room is vintage, from a thrift store. Most people think I�m a freak for admitting this, but I prefer carpet to hardwood flooring, so the entire upstairs and stairway are wall to wall carpeting, a very short dense velvet pile from Expo Design Center in Westwood. Plain velvet wall to wall carpeting was considered �Modern� by Gilbert Rohde and other modern designers of the 30�s and 40�s, and I prefer the quiet acoustic qualities and warmth underfoot, especially in bedrooms. Wall to wall carpet also unifies spaces and makes rooms appear larger. I know I�m not going to convince anyone to cover their beautiful hardwood floors, but this is our style.
Tiles and Stone: Original pale yellow tile in bathroom. From the Mosaic Tile Company of Zanesville, Ohio (now out of business). We�re still trying to get some reproduced for the bathroom, where we have some gaps after being re-piped last year.
Window Treatments: 2� Venetian Blinds from Aero Shade on W. 3rd Street. Vintage 1940�s draperies in Living Room and Dining Room are beige linen, woven with gold Lurex threads, and hand screened with a Japanese/Tropical HUGE pattern. Upstairs draperies are vintage blue �raw silk� � I think they�re some sort of miracle synthetic material though.
Beds: Sealy Posturepedic, firm. The bedroom furniture is Gilbert Rohde, with dark mahogany cases, and ivory leather upholstered drawer fronts. The lamps on the nightstands are vintage Stiffel; the lamps on the chests of drawers are Target, though we lacquered them the persimmon color ourselves.
Artwork: Vintage watercolor and airbrush paintings in the Living and Dining rooms. Hand hammered copper tropical portraits, in their original frames on stair landing. I was an Art Major, and the fake Tamara de Lempickas and Matisse upstairs were college projects. The painting in the Living Room of the two turbaned ladies was my Grandmother�s, from the time they lived in Hawaii in the 40�s.
Other: Bookshelves in the library are �Billy� from Ikea.
You have a gorgeous place! Thanks for letting us take a peek!
view chiffonade's profile
Interesting house and furniture but don't you have a kitchen? My favourite room.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
absoutely beautiful. Love the way you hung the big mirror. I just adopted one and would like to know what you had to hang it with........mine is a wee bit on the hefty side
view robilu's profile
Lovely!
view Enrique's profile
The Village Green, wow what a blast from the past!
Great space, thank you for sharing!
v.
view Turquoise's profile
Spectacular! When do I move in?
view communicatrix's profile
I love this place. Way to go Steven and John!
view spinsLPs's profile
Love Gilbert Rohde furniture and glad to see it treated with such love and respect. A truly beautiful home -- congratulations!
view DL in DC's profile
I am in love with those chairs in the bedroom!
view Lexo's profile
Comfortable. Curvy. Classy.
view SkippyB's profile
This is so beautiful that I am moved to come out of lurker-land just to say so! I love the green and orange tones throughout, it makes the place feel so warm and inviting. I love that wall of books and the lamp with the Asian statue. The place looks so much bigger than 1100 sq. ft. Genius!
view RJD's profile
Lovely. Looks like a swank boutique hotel. And I mean that in a good way!
view Trumystique's profile
i love the "library" shot - it looks so comfortable and tactile with a nice light coming in through the window.
books and a sunny chair.
and that ottoman is magnificent.
view annalyssa's profile
Great colors, great ambiance. What a great place to live and entertain!
view Genevieve with a smile's profile
So so fabulous--congratulations on your beautiful
home...when can we visit!
view Aline 's profile
I think what makes this whole thing such a success is that you've put together the place with a straight face, as though it was decorated--by adults--in 1941, and then perfectly maintained for 65 years, rather than as a modern collage of funky retro artifacts assembled by a trendy fashionista, with invisible quote marks around everything. Nothing can spoil an authentic vibe like a knowing wink.
That's what I love about this place: it's dead serious about its warm, organic glamour. It's hard enough to assemble a handsome collection of period pieces like this (the design vocabulary) but getting the period design grammar right (the way things are used) is a lot tougher, and you guys nailed it. This is one of the best recreations of a specific--and, unfortunately, short-lived--moment in decorating that I've seen in a long time, and it's warm & welcoming, besides. Congratulations.
view magnaverde's profile
Hi! It's Steven here...
First of all, thank you everyone SO much for your really lovely and welcoming remarks, I truly appreciate it.
Magnaverde, you put into words exactly the way I feel about the house too, and wanted to achieve, but never really articulated. The process of filling out the Apartment Therapy questionaire was more difficult than I had imagined, but I think you've said it all, and clearly!
HRH Princess Fiona - by royal decree, I have added a couple of photographs of the kitchen... It may appear that we are drunkards, but the photos I had available were taken right before a big party. You may also now see the bathroom.
Robilu - Hanging that enormously heavy mirror was daunting, just be SURE that you use the heaviest hooks you can find (use at least two) - I used those earthquake proof hooks made of very heavy plastic - and be SURE that you are screwing these directly into a stud. Even with a studfinder, you may have to do this using trial and error.
Communicatrix - You move in Tuesday, July 31st. Just bring a toothbrush.
Boomer - The curvy green chairs in the living room are Gilbert Rohde, for the Herman Miller Company, from 1939.
SpinsLPs - Thank you so much, I've seen your beautiful place online, so coming from you that is nice!
Aline - Of course you may visit whenever you'd like! I looked at your photographs, they're amazing!
To everyone else, I really appreciate all of the kind things you've said. I'm in no way a design professional, so I had no idea what to expect...
Steven.
view srk1941's profile
Steven,
From your AT details - I missed which bit of furniture did you redo yourself. I am real impressed with the reseach and work you did but I would like to know which one did you refurbish... under Proudest DIY
view Anusha73's profile
BTW - I totally love your house. It is plush. And also the entire staying true to art deco with enough playful touches makes your home so beautiful. LOVE it.
view Anusha73's profile
Thank you, Anusha73! I restored the game table, the coffee table, the large bookcase in the living room; the 3 cabinets in the dining room, and the legs of the chairs. The nightstands in the bedroom, the two low cabinets in the library, and the three biomorphic tables placed throughout. I think that these pieces look best when they are impeccably maintained, they are so clean that patina doesn't do them justice, typically. It's just a lot of work.
view srk1941's profile
I agree with magnaverde 100%. It's just an amazing space that has been beautifully realized to look like what the architect either dreamed of, or should have dreamed of.
And although I do have a sense of humor, and I think there is a certain amount of it here, and in all truly liveable interiors, this really is basically a serious kind of interesting beauty.
view Curtis's profile
This home is stunning...To take a design idea to down to the ultimate detail is simply amazing. Your place really looks like a period recreation or movie set.
Aside from that, it does all look very warm and inviting. I could definately kick back here.
It reminds me of my rather eccentric aunt, who fancied herself another Rita Hayworth....back in the 60's her place looked alot like your home. In her case, she was more caught up in a time warp than trying to recreate a specific look.
I expect to see Aunt Ruth lounging on your sofa, flaming red hair, smoking a cigarette in a very long holder,and a martini clutched in her other hand.
That's a real compliment...
view hdtex's profile
Your place is absolutely beautiful, elegant, but in an understated way that conotes good taste.
I'm a sucker for a vintage interior and do agree that many don't do it right, or with that wink, wink attitude or something along those lines. I've always wanted to have a place that is very faithful to the period (mid century modern) but yet, be up to date for today's lifestyle and technology where needed and you seem to have done just that.
Love even the vintage items such as the digital clock and the old record player/radio and of course, the old phones used as decorative pieces.
view ciddyguy's profile
Would it be presumptious to propose marriage to both of you!?!??!
view I Love Upstate's profile
This is completely awesome. Do you mind revealing the paint color in your bathroom?
view Jenny in DC's profile
How beautiful! You must have the patience of a saint to wait until just the right pieces can be sourced. Everything is perfect for the space and the style. It is a step back in time, and I feel the need of a cocktail.
I stopped at the photo of the Kwan Yin bust in front of the mirror in the dining room. I have the same one in front of a mirror in my dining room too. Spooky. Mine was a lucky find at a car boot sale. Is yours a lamp base as well?
view judy in TO's profile
Wow! Triple kudos!!! Though I don't share your sensibility, I adore your place and especially admire your ability for composition.
view Terry's profile
Wow. What a gorgeous place. I absolutely love that first photo with the greens and reds and oranges. So beautiful.
Steven & John--do you mind if I ask what that cream color is on your bedroom walls? It's so perfectly neutral without being plain. It's just the right color for my living room.
view Scout's profile
AhhhhhhHHHHHH!!!!! Resisting .... the urge ...... to be ...... COMPLETELY jealous ............
Damn, didn't work.
;-)
view ridge.'s profile
well-upholstered, colorful, glamourous, 1950's luxury. reminds me of my grandmother.
view godsfool's profile
This may be my favorite apartment ever posted on AT, and that's a tough competition. I love this place. Great job! I am so envious of your library/bookshelves and your outdoor space.
I wonder why LA seems so art deco-oriented, and NYC isn't, given that both places have such a rich history from that time?
view fiona's profile
Hi there, it's Steven...
I Love Upstate: We accept!
Jenny in DC: It's a Dunn-Edwards color, but I looked at the paint can and it's not listed there, I don't remember the name of the color, sorry...
Judy in TO: Wow, we have the same bust! I found it in an antique shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mine was not a lamp base, though I have seen almost exactly the same bust as a lamp before, this one had a more textured gold face, while our bust is smooth.
Scout: The ivory throughout is a Sherwin-Williams color called "Netsuke". Perfectly neutral without being plain is exactly what it is, and it goes with everything.
Fiona: Thank you, that's so very nice! I don't know why LA would be more art deco oriented, maybe because of Hollywood? Both cities have great 40's Modern architecture though. Is NY really not that deco oriented? That's interesting...
Thanks again everyone for your nice comments, this has been fun for us!
Thanks Gregory from Apartment Therapy for finding us, we've thoroughly enjoyed it.
view srk1941's profile
Thank you so much for the paint color, Steven!!!
view Scout's profile
Thank you for sharing in Complex Love or I wouldn't have found your house tour. Your home is wonderfully warm and inviting.
view mgb's profile