Gayley Terrace, Los Angeles, CA
CLIENT: self
While working in Los Angeles, I required an apartment. I lucked out with a small affordable studio in Westwood Village near UCLA. Gayley Terrace was already a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Landmark #363 and filled with lots of vintage charm! My apartment was a 1 story walk-up some great old stairs and had a view out the kitchen window of a Mediterranean garden and a view out the front window of a grand old ficus tree. The minute I saw the place, I felt like I was walking into a Noir movie!
However, it was only about 300+ square feet. I embraced the small efficient space challenge! I required a work space as well as a living space. So at first I simply put my office in the corner, but later we rigged up a temporary non-load-bearing, non-permanent wall. this was based on ideas from small apartments in Manhattan to create a living space as well as a work-sleep space. This allowed me to actually have friends sleep on my twin bed couch in the living room and everyone still had privacy!
Overall, I used the 1940s era of the building influence my design approach to the interior decor. In addition, I installed as many built-in shelves for storage.
Initial Before and After Pictures
After the Wall
Finer Details
I created 2 original Noir 1940s era paintings for the space…