Staging LA's Westside
The call came in to stage a recently renovated home on LA’s Westside (Mar Vista neighborhood), a highly sought-after part of town with mild weather and family-friendly streets. We toured the space and admired its tall wooden-beamed ceilings and intrinsic farmhouse charm. We instantly knew we needed to bring furniture and decor of a large scale to stand up to those high ceilings — with just a hint of transitional farmhouse to address today’s potential buyer.
The entry of this home leads to a vestibule with plenty of space to put a bookcase, mirror and lamp on one side and a vintage church pew on the other. We love the juxtaposition of formality and comfort that these choices bring.
Above our treasured vintage church pew (purchased at a store that no longer exists — The Sniveling Sibling in Eagle Rock) we installed a trio of handmade African Iringa baskets. A couple of textural neutral pillows rest on the bench.
If we could style coffee tables all day long, we would. Oh, wait. We actually do that for a living. Anyway, sign us up for that. A hand-hewn dough bowl holds a string of wooden beads while stacks of hefty coffee table books create a squared-off styling quadrant. We finished it off with a tall vase of Monstera leaves.
The dining room celebrates neutral tones and a soothing palette of textural grays. We DIY’ed a textile art piece by stretching mudcloth fabric over a canvas frame. Living Spaces chairs round out the scene while a cowhide rug underneath brings in the warm tones.
A kitchen corner affords the opportunity to add a small table and chairs for quick work-day breakfasts or leisurely weekend brunches.
Adding a bit of blue to the primary bedroom adds subtle color — even though these blues are soothing and co-exist well with neutrals. Staying with our dark furniture theme, the king headboard is a dark wood caned bed from Ballard Designs. A nubby textured rug sits underneath to warm footsies upon waking in this symphony of comfort.
More neutrals abound in the guest bedroom, with its cotton and linen bedding and oversized fringed wool throw. Another DIY: The terra cotta lamps were formerly a gray which we updated to reflect the warmer neutral tones of beige and terra cotta that we see everywhere these days.
We stage outdoor spaces, decks and patios with the same care and attention to detail that we bring to interiors. Here, scale was important so we brought in Modway’s eucalyptus wood patio loveseat and club chair with matching coffee table. A couple of Chinese garden drums serve as drinks tables against a flowering hedge backdrop.