An Iconic Vintage Couch Completes This Los Angeles Rental’s Luxe Look
Lauren Talio described this 900-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles’ Melrose Hill as “sun-drenched” with “geometric Art Deco molding” and white plaster walls when she first moved in. A perfect blank slate, considering her line of work.
The horseshoe above the door was given to Lauren "from a chef friend of mine before he moved away from LA. We worked for many years at Gjusta together and it is another (tiny but major) reminder of home, the places I've called home, that restaurant being one of them."
“With glimpses of both the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, this home was the ultimate canvas for me as an interior designer in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Melrose Hill,” Lauren writes.
Lauren has had the 500-pound cactus in the royal blue pot for eight years, since her first home in Los Angeles. "I sourced it in Venice on Craigslist. I moved it five times, ultimately making it one of the most expensive things I owned because (despite otherwise selling all my furniture before moving) it was the one, totally inconvenient thing I'd always have to hire a moving team for. Sort of a running joke between family and friends, but I truly started to believe it was watching over me," she writes.
“The neighborhood as this constantly evolving canvas for business owners and creatives constantly inspired me. It didn’t force me to commit to a specific aesthetic, but sort of take notes from design inspiration happening all around me,” she explains.
After renting it for a year, Lauren described her home as a “layered retreat with a collected spirit. Vintage-driven, color-forward, and deeply personal, blending French heritage with a touch of 1970s Italian glamor.”
Resources
ENTRYWAY
- Vintage Sewing Entry Table — Long Beach Flea
- Perforated Vintage Lamp — Maker unknown, but sourced at the tried-and-true Urban Americana
- Vintage film photo of two people kissing between cars on what appears to be the Pacific Coast Highway — Rose Bowl Flea. “So unique and something so quintessentially California about it.”
LIVING ROOM
- Eames Chair — “Gifted by an old client who found it in their storage container. I basically saved its life.”
- Art — Zoe Rose
- Vintage Asymmetrical Natuzzi Mirrors — Rose Bowl Flea
- Svend Aage Holm Sorensen Wall Sconces — Sourced for $300 at the Rose Bowl Flea. “I knew these were a steal when I bought them, but I didn’t realize how much of a steal.”
- Vintage Trunk — Urban Americana
- Vintage Mid-Century Magazine Case — Sourced from Mart Collective in Venice. “I removed the base so it sits on the ground.”
- Rattan Plant Stand — Rose Bowl Flea
- Ceramic Bowl — Blossom Art Gallery in DTLA
- 1950s Allan Gould String Chair — Modern for All
- Coffee Table — DIY
- 1990s Roche Bobois White Leather Couch — Facebook Marketplace
- Vintage Mongolian Fur Throw — Urban Americana
- Marble Plant Pedestal — Rose Bowl Flea
- 1970s Gooseneck Floor Lamp — Urban Americana
DINING ROOM
- Black Bentwood Thonet Chairs — Facebook Marketplace
BEDROOM
- Vintage Fashion Film Photo — Rose Bowl Flea
- Rug — Nordic Knots
- Side Table Lamps — Facebook Marketplace
- Floral Pillow — Lone Fox Home
- Light Oak French Antique Dresser — Casa Victoria on Sunset Boulevard
- Arched Mirror — Facebook Marketplace
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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