Houzz Tour: A Bachelor Pad’s Part II
A designer has a hand in two phases of this movie director’s life and his loft in a landmark Art Deco building in L.A.
“This is what happens when an Art Nouveau aficionado and an Art Deco aficionado move in together,” says interior designer Shannon Ggem. Her client, a film director and editor, had a vast collection of mostly Art Deco and Streamline Moderne furnishings and accessories, and right after he bought his bachelor pad, she helped him find a way to arrange them all in a 580-square-foot loft. But this job had a sequel when, years later, the director fell in love and married a woman who also appreciated the era — but adored the softer lines of the Art Nouveau period as well.
The Eastern Columbia building was designed by Claud Beelman and erected in 1930. Turquoise terra-cotta and gold accents put a distinct L.A. stamp on the Art Deco architecture. The clock tower portion was an exemption from the 150-foot height limit in the city at the time, and brought the building to 264 feet, adding to its prominence.
Ggem was inspired by the distinctive vertical architectural details in the building’s entry, and they come into play in the loft.
The terrazzo flooring at the entry served as inspiration in the loft bathroom.
“The apartment was formerly the mezzanine level of the department store, and in old photos, you can see men’s hats and other menswear on this level, so we decided to call his loft ‘the haberdashery,’” Ggem says.
Greeting visitors at the door is an Art Nouveau burled wood buffet, a curvy mirror and an unusual light fixture.
Greeting visitors at the door is an Art Nouveau burled wood buffet, a curvy mirror and an unusual light fixture.
The head on top of the upper cabinets represents hat models of old. “He’s Streamline Moderne,” Ggem says. “Even his facial features are Streamline.” The old shoe advertisement also nods to the past men’s department mezzanine. The tiered pendant light was a local vintage find.
Pendant light: Crown City Vintage Lighting
Pendant light: Crown City Vintage Lighting
Although there is a men’s department theme, plenty of Art Deco nymphs inhabit the apartment. “He found a woman who loves all of his stuff,” Ggem says.
Ggem didn’t have to do much in the kitchen since the loft conversion in 2007 included a high-end kitchen design complete with Absolute Black granite countertops. But she found a vintage Eastern Columbia tray from the building’s original cafeteria to add.
The large jeweler’s sign was a find that required a sacrifice of personal comfort many years ago. The homeowner found it at a barn sale in rural Texas while on a cross-country trip after graduating from college. He shoved it into his convertible, then drove for days through New Mexico and Arizona with the convertible’s top down and his knees smushed up to the dashboard. “He’s carted this thing all through many places he’s lived in L.A., but it’s finally found its perfect home,” Ggem says.
This secretary desk provides an office area. Movies are edited here, while favorite pieces from the owners’ collections fill the surrounding display cabinets.
“Wallpaper usually goes above the chair rail, but we decided to break that rule here,” Ggem says. Because the ceilings are so high and all the ductwork is up there, she wanted to direct the eye down. The embossed chartreuse metallic paper is just right for the era.
The coffee table is one of the more Machine Age-style pieces in his collection, crafted of metal and glass.
Wallpaper: Bradbury & Bradbury; table lamp: Barclay Butera
The coffee table is one of the more Machine Age-style pieces in his collection, crafted of metal and glass.
Wallpaper: Bradbury & Bradbury; table lamp: Barclay Butera
Inspired by the vertical lines on the outside of the building and in the lobby, Ggem and her client re-created the look with crown molding run in vertical lines above the windows. The client himself painted the piece along the bottom to reference the building’s architecture. “Usually I’m a little nervous to trust clients to do DIY like this right, but he is so meticulous, I knew I didn’t have to worry,” the designer says.
Because the couple hold film screenings and entertain often, they needed a comfortable seating area. The leather armchairs are new but have lines that fit in with the era. The two-tone Art Deco chairs on the left are vintage. “We reupholstered them in a way that was really a restoration of the original upholstery,” Ggem says. The Art Deco sofa is upholstered in mohair.
The big tube hanging from the ceiling in the upper left of the photo hides a large projection screen. The vintage table between the two leather chairs has a blue glass top. Ggem found a glassmaker to install mirrored blue glass on the projection wall to pick up on the tabletop. The floor lamp has a fun surprise — the inside of the shade is a leopard print.
The big tube hanging from the ceiling in the upper left of the photo hides a large projection screen. The vintage table between the two leather chairs has a blue glass top. Ggem found a glassmaker to install mirrored blue glass on the projection wall to pick up on the tabletop. The floor lamp has a fun surprise — the inside of the shade is a leopard print.
When the couple show movies, the screen rolls down. Speakers are integrated into the vertical molding detail that Ggem repeated here.
“It’s not often I get clients who want cherry floors these days, but they were of the era, and he went for it,” Ggem says. As a bachelor pad, the loft had no rugs; now a rug here and another in the bedroom soften the space.
The owner chose a film from 1940 to show in this photo. (Bonus points for anyone who can name the movie in the Comments below.)
“It’s not often I get clients who want cherry floors these days, but they were of the era, and he went for it,” Ggem says. As a bachelor pad, the loft had no rugs; now a rug here and another in the bedroom soften the space.
The owner chose a film from 1940 to show in this photo. (Bonus points for anyone who can name the movie in the Comments below.)
Ggem added the dining table for the couple to have meals together. They can pull it out from the wall for more room when they have extra guests over for dinner.
“Because the space is so tight, we had all of the furniture hug the walls,” Ggem says. “I was afraid it might turn into ‘table city,’ but we were able to fit in a home office space, a dining room, a lounge and a screening room all in one space, and it works.”
“Because the space is so tight, we had all of the furniture hug the walls,” Ggem says. “I was afraid it might turn into ‘table city,’ but we were able to fit in a home office space, a dining room, a lounge and a screening room all in one space, and it works.”
Now we’ll head back toward the entry and into the bedroom. One of the things Ggem helped her client create on the first pass was a place to house a lot of his favorite objects. “I went to the L.A. Public Library architecture section, which is such a great resource, and researched Art Deco architecture and interiors in Los Angeles,” she says. They inspired her to design custom shelves based on local architecture of the period.
The opening they create nods to the stepped-back architecture prominent in Art Deco buildings. The shelves provide places for favorite objects and an entry to the bedroom. Joining his and her households involved editing down his collection of antique film-editing equipment, and adding some of her favorite things and objects they had collected on their travels together. “We wanted to keep the spirit of the loft alive, providing separation between public and private while still keeping the open feeling,” the designer says.
The opening they create nods to the stepped-back architecture prominent in Art Deco buildings. The shelves provide places for favorite objects and an entry to the bedroom. Joining his and her households involved editing down his collection of antique film-editing equipment, and adding some of her favorite things and objects they had collected on their travels together. “We wanted to keep the spirit of the loft alive, providing separation between public and private while still keeping the open feeling,” the designer says.
To soften the bedroom, they brought in new bedding in an Art Deco blush, a mosquito net and a shaggy rug with Art Deco scalloped shapes. On the right, you can see where they added a theater curtain to cover the closet. “The fabric district in L.A. is one of the best in the U.S.; there are just blocks and blocks of stores full of bolts and bolts,” Ggem says.
“Their bathroom isn’t much of a getting-ready bathroom — we had to find ways they wouldn’t need to be in there at the same time,” Ggem says. The vanity on the left is where she gets ready. The one in the back left corner of this photo has a flip-up top and serves as his.
“Their bathroom isn’t much of a getting-ready bathroom — we had to find ways they wouldn’t need to be in there at the same time,” Ggem says. The vanity on the left is where she gets ready. The one in the back left corner of this photo has a flip-up top and serves as his.
His vanity is such a neat piece that it deserves its close-up. “They are both really well-traveled and like to pick up vintage things or an antique wherever they go,” Ggem says, such as the psychedelic 1960s prints on the wall.
When a bathroom was designed by Kelly Wearstler to fit into a landmark Art Deco building, you want to just tweak it at most. One such tweak was one of those DIY projects Ggem trusted her client with; it was also inspired by the terrazzo entry floor we saw at the beginning of this story.
They shopped together to figure out how to create an Art Deco pattern on the existing epoxy-coated concrete floor, and decided that putting flecks of mica into the floor paint would make it look like terrazzo. Thanks to his meticulousness with tape and a straight edge, and his perseverance while dealing with really stinky paint, he pulled the project off beautifully in one weekend.
They shopped together to figure out how to create an Art Deco pattern on the existing epoxy-coated concrete floor, and decided that putting flecks of mica into the floor paint would make it look like terrazzo. Thanks to his meticulousness with tape and a straight edge, and his perseverance while dealing with really stinky paint, he pulled the project off beautifully in one weekend.
Ggem added a vintage rolling dentist’s cart to use as an extra surface and for storage.
“I love this trick they used — using a tub insert, and then creating the tile and granite surround,” Ggem says. “Of course, we had to add a black toilet seat!”
Glass towel bars: Restoration Hardware
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Glass towel bars: Restoration Hardware
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A film director-editor and a physician’s assistant
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Size: 580 square feet (53.9 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
Designer: Shannon Ggem
The loft is in the Eastern Columbia building, an iconic Art Deco building that used to house a department store. “Back when development in the bank district took off in downtown L.A., everyone knew that this area, the Broadway district, would be next,” Ggem says. When the building was transformed into lofts, Kelly Wearstler was the interior designer. But then the recession delayed the area’s comeback.