Our Ultimate LA Apartment Tour
WE MOVED!! We’re officially California residents and are so excited to finally give you ‘Our Ultimate LA Apartment Tour!’ What a whirlwind this year has been already. It seems like we were just ringing in the new year in the Virgin Islands— meanwhile still living in Bali with no clue how quickly and drastically things were about to change in our lives. Little did we know that in just 3 shorts months we would be where we are today— living in Los Angeles and stuck in quarantine with the rest of the world!
If you follow us on Instagram, then you’ve been on the journey with us since January when we first announced that we were moving. After living in Bali for 2.5 amazing years, we decided it was time to move back to the US and found an apartment on a quick trip to Los Angeles at the end of January. We finally moved into our new home on March 1st, and have been getting settled in ever since. You guys know that Zach and I don’t sit still for very long, so being in our 6th week without any traveling is a big deal for us. Needless to say, we’ve had plenty of time to make our LA apartment feel like home, and it’s been so much fun sharing all the updates with you guys. We couldn’t wait to give you a proper update to our home since it is nearly done now, as well as share a bit of our inspiration along the way!
I (Tara) am pretty much obsessed with all things interior decor. Decorating our Bali home was SO much fun for me, and it was really hard to leave it behind. However, I was able to fit ((okay, CRAM)) a lot of my favorite decor items in our luggage for the move, and made sure to use a lot of our Bali home as inspiration for our new apartment. I wanted it to feel boho and beachy like our house in Bali, but to also be a bit more refined and mid-century style to fit the LA vibe.
Here’s a screenshot from my Pinterest ‘HOME 2020’ board that I used to pull inspiration when deciding how I wanted it all to look… *click here for more!*
LIVING ROOM:
I knew that designing the living room area was so important because it is the focal point of our apartment, and a place where we would be spending a lot of our time. I wanted it to feel cozy and inviting, as well as light and airy. I planned to stick mostly with neutrals, but still wanted to incorporate aspects of rust and mauve to add in pops of color. I wanted the color palette to feel almost like a sunset with oranges, pinks, and yellows— but with more muted tones so it didn’t feel too bright and overwhelming.
Another thing I was sure about was that I wanted a lot of plants! Unfortunately we were only able to go to our local plant shop once before the shutdown, but I’m so thankful we got as much as we did then. However, there will definitely be more plant babies throughout the apartment when we are able to get more… ;)
Our Bali house was full of rattan pieces that we were able to have custom made— which were definitely the hardest to leave behind— but I was shocked to find so many gorgeous rattan pieces here in the US to add throughout our home! I started with the coffee + end table from Target, and later found this adorable chair from Urban Outfitters. I loved it so much that you just might see it again in another room soon… The color + texture of the sectional is exactly what I had in mind, and I love how it pairs so nicely with all of our throw pillows. I wanted the pops of color to be incorporated in the decor items, like the pillows and blankets, so that someday if I get tired of these specific colors all it takes is a simple pillow case swap to change the look of the room.
One important thing to mention is that there are a few missing pieces to our apartment— our prints coming from Framebridge! Unfortunately they had to close their factory for the time being due to COVID-19, but at least it gives us something to look forward to. We have a full gallery wall coming for above the couch with ocean-inspired prints + designs from our travels, and we will also have a surfboard mounted above the TV when we can drive and pick one up when the shutdown is lifted.
Shop our living room here:
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KITCHEN/DINING AREA:
We always love for the main hosting area of our home to be the dining table. Zach and I used to cram as many people as humanly possible into our Brooklyn apartment in our NYC days for dinner parties, and we couldn’t wait to make this tradition true again in our new home. We knew we wanted a spacious table, but without it feeling too overwhelming because it takes up a large part of the room.
We currently have 8 chairs set up as pictured, but we plan to only leave 6 out and store the extra 2 in the closet. On a normal day, especially now that we won’t be hosting friends anytime soon, we don’t need as many chairs out and it feels more spacious with less. I actually found our table separate from the chairs and was nervous about how they would look together, but I am so happy how it turned out! Since we do have a lot of boho decor items, it felt like a nice balance to keep the table super simple and minimal. Also, adding a lot of white created such a nice contrast against our dark hardwood floors.
We went back and forth so many times about what to do with the space under the stairs— I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put a shelving unit there, or a decorative bench, or if I should just leave it empty and possibly move the table over… but now this area is one of my favorites in our home! It really helps to open up the space and make good use of it as well. Unfortunately our exact storage cabinet was out of stock last I checked, but hopefully will be restocked. If not, Urban Outfitters does have plenty others that I considered and truly love if rattan isn’t your style. Having the record player out on display makes us use it so much more. Now we really need to get some new records!
My first impression of our kitchen was that it is pretty old school. Before we moved in, we asked about painting the cabinets white to make it feel a bit more modern— but the landlord wouldn’t allow it. So instead of fighting the retro vibe, we decided to embrace it and the kitchen is actually what inspired my color palette choice for the downstairs in the first place! I tried to incorporate bits and pieces of the colors throughout the dining and living room areas, for example the dark wooden TV stand and the muted yellow rug under the dining table. The yellow tiles are so much fun, and the look of the kitchen has really grown on me as we’ve lived here. At Target I was able to find the kitchen mat and dish towel that are the perfect shade of yellow, and now it feels much more like a statement color than an accident. ;)
Shop our kitchen here:
**if the shopping links aren’t loading, try refreshing your browser! We are trying to fix this problem ASAP!*
BEDROOM:
I couldn’t wait to decorate our bedroom— partly because I knew I wanted it to be almost exactly like our Bali bedroom so it would be easy, and partly because it was going to be blue + white, my fav combo! We somehow managed to pack ALL of our Bali bedding, from the linen duvet cover + bedsheets I sourced the fabrics for and had custom made, all of my favorite decorative pillows, and even our custom macrame piece! We packed both the macrame above our bed as well as the one in the dining area by breaking the stick in half to allow it to fit it in our suitcase. Then we bought a new wooden rod at the hardware store, transferred the macrame, and viola! Good as new. All of our Bali pieces are so special to me, and I could not believe all that we were able to pack (with the help of vacuum seal bags, of course).
Shop our bedding here:
As I’ve already mentioned, leaving behind our rattan pieces ((bed, couch, chairs…)) was so hard for me. However, as soon as I started looking online for furniture and discovered the variety at Urban Outfitters, I was so happy! I am really into cane furniture right now, and fell completely in love with their Marte collection from the moment I saw it. I spent so much time looking online for other furniture options… but I had already fallen in love with this set and couldn’t shake it, haha. The dresser is exactly the same as the one we had in Bali, and the crazy part is that it all was made in Indonesia! I like to think that it was made in the same place, but who really knows. ;)
Shop our bedroom furniture here:
My favorite color is blue, so being in our bedroom makes me so happy. The different shades of blue mixed with neutrals is such a calming and peaceful combo to me. I was so thankful to have enough space to add in my favorite rattan chair, which is the same one that we have in our living room too. Zach uses this area to play his guitar every night, and this corner has become such a valuable part of our home because of it. We also have a few prints missing from the bedroom, and I can’t wait to share them with you when they arrive! There will be two big ones by the chair, and one on the dresser in the missing space.
The final decor touches of our bedroom are thanks to Poppy + Sage! All of their pieces are handmade in Bali, and I chose several items from their collection that I knew would add bits of ‘home’ to our new apartment. The rattan vase, tray, and beaded box sets are all from Poppy + Sage, and really made our bedroom feel complete.
Shop our bedroom decor here:
STUDIO:
The biggest deciding factor when choosing this apartment from others was the amount of space we would have here! Even though it is a one bedroom, it has an additional loft and really high ceilings because of it, which makes all the difference. The loft is also attached to a small patio on the rooftop and it has quickly become my favorite place to hang out while in quarantine. I don’t know what I would do without it!
Finding a separate space to work at from home is so important, and we are grateful to have the loft as our studio. We don’t have much in this area besides our IKEA desks and a storage cabinet, but keeping it minimal and open is ideal. The open area sometimes functions as our indoor “gym” and even a mini photo studio, and later will have another giant print on the wall from one of our favorite Bali spots! Outside we have a small table and chair set from IKEA with string lights on our patio, and we can’t wait to finish decorating it when we are able to buy plants again. For now, we are just so grateful for a place to spend time outdoors in the sunshine, enjoy and afternoon drink, or a beautiful romantic dinner!
Shop our studio + patio here:
**if the shopping links aren’t loading, try refreshing your browser! We are trying to fix this problem ASAP!*
Our transition from Bali to California has been an interesting one to say the least, but we are SO thankful we moved when we did to be able to have a week and a half to settle in and buy furniture before all of the shutdowns started. It is still so hard for us to believe that we are California residents, but I know that reality will set in the more we are able to explore our new home. Settling into our apartment and feeling at home here has been such a blessing, and having the time to do so is something we do not take for granted.
We hope that you guys are staying home + staying healthy, and maybe feeling inspired to update some areas of your home! Sending so much love your way— and if you have any questions about any specific items in our home, please don’t hesitate to ask!! Thanks for joining us in this new chapter of our lives! Hope that you enjoyed ‘Our Ultimate LA Apartment Tour!’
Xo- Tara
PS— All items are also linked on our SHOP page, so make sure to check it out if you’re interested!