made in l.a.

ortheast Los Angeles (NELA) is home to a signature style. It’s being celebrated in home renovations, house flipping and staging all over the eastern area that spans from Eagle Rock in the north to Echo Park in the south. We staged a home recently in Atwater, an area central to NELA and dear to the hearts of all Eastside-loving residents. Atwater boasts a village ambiance with its walkable Atwater Village featuring a string of shops and restaurants, a weekly Farmers’ Market and ridiculously easy access to all major traffic arteries, given its location between the 5 and the 2 freeways.

Proof Bakery, Alias Books, Out of the Closet, 55-Degree Wine, Link N Hops, Canele restaurant, Bikram Yoga, Atwater Village Farm… The amenities abound — and all within walking distance on the tree-lined streets. Managing to be family-, dog- and hipster-friendly all at the same time, Atwater also feels like old L.A. Back when it was built in 1941, this home represented a very real opportunity for affordable home ownership. Today, it offers the same to young families looking for their piece of the American Dream. Two bedrooms and a bath have now given way to remodeled three-bed, two-bath homes, ever so slightly enlarged from their original footprints to accommodate today’s expectations. Here’s a link to the active listing, courtesy of Courtney Smith and Kurt Wisner of Nourmand & Associates: http://courtneyandkurt.nourmand.com/listings/property-detail/2188

We started with an empty house. But what a cute empty house it was. Original hardwood floors. Paneling in the dining room. A breakfast nook complete with banquette seating. All it needed was a little wake-up with Mid Century modern furnishings and a palette based on CMYK.

LIVING ROOM BEFORE

Great floors, great windows, super cute rooms full of potential.

LIVING ROOM AFTER

Now, with the addition of a graphic B&W rug, a clean-lined modern sofa, vintage amber glass lamps, an IKEA DOCKSTA dining table with sleek upholstered chairs, and a limited edition poster of the Armand Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. show setting the color palette, you have a stylish set of rooms.

LIVING ROOM BEFORE II

We loved the abundance of windows in this room. But the shorty curtains just weren’t working for us.

LIVING ROOM AFTER

We found the B&W medallion curtains at Target. Their smaller scale pattern is a great foil to the bolder rug. A round glass top coffee table lets the rug shine through and the modern legs on the sofa and vintage side table make the room appear larger. We were thrilled to find a matching pair of vintage lamps with the plastic still on the shades (!) and vintage framed watercolors.

DINING ROOM BEFORE

Original white paneling, a nice wide window and an IKEA FILLSTA pendant were the ingredients we had to work with. Not too shabby. Just needed some punch.

DINING ROOM AFTER

The Made in L.A. poster is hung from metal clamps and the accompanying art is vintage. We love the ram’s head basket in the center of the table, set with light cyan bowls and vintage yellow and white plates. Simple white sheers let the light in.

BREAKFAST NOOK BEFORE

This house has the cutest breakfast banquette just off the kitchen. But it lacked a caffeine buzz in the form of earthy texture and warm color, which we provided below.

Blue loves orange. All the white and blue just felt a little cold to us, so we brought in orange pillows and baskets on the wall. A few earthy pieces of stoneware and a raffia-wrapped vase complete the scene.

MASTER BEDROOM BEFORE

MASTER BEDROOM AFTER

Everyone needs a log. And a cozy sheepskin. Oh, and a bed. We love how this room just ate up everything warm and colorful that we brought into it. We started by removing the dark set of curtains. A simple linen pair let in the light. The dual lamps were sourced at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The sheepskin is a Target find. The Pottery Barn Indian block print pillows bring in needed color.

MASTER BEDROOM BEFORE II

Before being painted a muted green, the bedroom sported a mottled look.

MASTER BEDROOM AFTER II

A vintage Mid Century modern dresser needs only a few vases and a framed B&W original photograph of a manzanita tree to feel properly attired. The master bath is visible in the background.

Bright orange and turquoise art, both hanging and leaning.

HALLWAY BATH BEFORE

The main bath was remodeled nicely. Just a little unfinished looking…

HALLWAY BATH AFTER

Aqua and white towels bring a breath of fresh air. We framed a vintage Good Housekeeping ad for the counter top that states “This Restroom is Kept Home Clean.”

OTHER SIDE OF LIVING ROOM BEFORE

OTHER SIDE OF LIVING ROOM AFTER

A vintage Heathkit radio and a turntable

Eclectic art hangs just outside the hallway.

OFFICE BEFORE

OFFICE AFTER

We painted a desk dark navy and paired it with a Tolix chair holding a thrift shop needlepoint pillow, a vintage industrial desk lamp and a limited edition framed silk screen sporting a red, white and blue color scheme.

SECOND BEDROOM BEFORE

SECOND BEDROOM AFTER

The side table was a last-minute find and fits right in with the MCM decor. A red glass lamp provides color punch to the overall B&W room. A vintage paint-by-number painting hangs over the bed.

AND NOW FOR THE DETAILS

We love how the yellow MCM chair just pops on top of this rug. Note the cyan in the rug’s border. Nat Geos and a vintage Bambi book in an African basket to the side.