Location is everything – until you see the prices and diminutive sizes in your dream neighborhood. Matthew Herman and David Kien encountered this very relatable situation a few years back when they went looking for a new home in the Echo Park and Silver Lake enclaves of Los Angeles. What they needed was space. The house would have to act as a home for the couple, yes, but also as an office and production facility for their budding candle brand, Boy Smells. After a few months of looking, the pair broadened their search to Pico-Union, a less trendy but highly convenient neighborhood just west of Downtown. There, they spotted a 2,100-square-foot house owned by a pastor and his wife, who held church services in the living room.
The walls were painted lavender, green carpeting ran wall-to-wall, and the kitchen was retro pink – but they bought it. Matthew and David had backgrounds in fashion and design, and they saw potential underneath the scruff (up came the carpet to reveal solid wood floors). Read on to see how they decorated it on a dime, then check out the full work-live space on One More Thing, a blog from the founders of Of a Kind. (Spoiler alert: Their candle company totally took off – thanks to beauties like this “copper, rust, moss, saffron, and plug tobacco”–scented candle of theirs called Coin.)
Don’t Give Up on a Damaged Piece: One might think of reupholstering an old sofa, but there are other ways to update it even more. “This is a CB2 couch we reupholstered and added new legs to after our dog ruined it,” the pair explains. Sally, the culprit, is one of three canine roommates.
