Houzz Tours
My Houzz: 700 Square Feet of Bold Contrast and Color
New York dramatic meets laid-back L.A. chic in a small apartment that doesn't fall short on style
Saturated hues and organic patterns reward the eye in Michelle Sison's 700-square-foot apartment. Raised in New York, Sison left for the West Coast to attend interior design school in Los Angeles and easily adjusted to small-space living. By playing with scale, color and texture, she's turned her tiny apartment into a chic and stylish urban retreat.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Michelle Sison
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 700 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
That's interesting: Sison donates her interior design skills to Door of Hope, an organization that provides help for homeless families.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Michelle Sison
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 700 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
That's interesting: Sison donates her interior design skills to Door of Hope, an organization that provides help for homeless families.
Cardboard safari heads and massive stone crocodile jaws catch the eye in the dining room. Sison found the croc skull at Eden LA, one of her favorite to-the-trade sources.
Panton S chairs flank a modern dining table; the orange molded plastic chair is from Blueprint.
Panton S chairs flank a modern dining table; the orange molded plastic chair is from Blueprint.
The cardboard animal "trophies," from Cardboard Safari, provide rough texture and white accents against the bright orange accent wall.
Sison went with a charcoal-gray sectional to ground the main living space in a complementary neutral.
"My favorite designer is Philippe Starck," she says. "The AK47 table lamp says it all." Until she can afford a pair of those, she loves her glossy ceramic stand-in that rests opposite a curvy Jonathan Adler vase and a ceramic monkey.
Coffee table: Z Gallerie
"My favorite designer is Philippe Starck," she says. "The AK47 table lamp says it all." Until she can afford a pair of those, she loves her glossy ceramic stand-in that rests opposite a curvy Jonathan Adler vase and a ceramic monkey.
Coffee table: Z Gallerie
It took some New York audacity, but Sison brought her baby grand piano into her petite apartment. She has played piano since she was young and considered a music career before falling in love with design.
"The length of the room was the most challenging in trying to configure where to place the piano," she says. A mirrored wall reflects the piano's strong, solid lines and visually lengthens the room.
"The length of the room was the most challenging in trying to configure where to place the piano," she says. A mirrored wall reflects the piano's strong, solid lines and visually lengthens the room.
In another corner of the apartment, Jonathan Adler's Disco Lady pillow accents a custom snakeskin-upholstered swivel lounge chair. Sison scored the chair at a great price after an upholsterer's client never came to pick it up.
Sison designed her bedroom in a soothing palette of blues and neutrals to soften the saturated colors in the main space. She found the Patrick Nagel print over the bed at a Pasadena flea market.
Sison's pared-down sensibilities are seen throughout the apartment, and she offers this advice to other small-space renters: "Be mindful of your space planning and don't buy too many knickknacks."
Pendant lamp: Brasa, Ikea
Sison's pared-down sensibilities are seen throughout the apartment, and she offers this advice to other small-space renters: "Be mindful of your space planning and don't buy too many knickknacks."
Pendant lamp: Brasa, Ikea
Sison carved out a much-needed office space in a corner of her bedroom. This shallow Ikea desk is just deep enough for her computer, tablet and Panton chair. "My decorating philosophy is all about comfort, high style and utilitarian function," she says.
"Originally I wanted my house to have that coffee house vibe — very cool and lived in. But as my tastes evolved, I still wanted that comfort but with a more mature look," Sison says. "That's when I started building the accessories around a color palette of grays, browns and orange." Her tabby cat, Wendy, fits right in.
Houzz call: Do you live in a creative small home? Share it with us!
Houzz call: Do you live in a creative small home? Share it with us!
Buddha head statue: flea market; floor lamp: Alpha Carbon, CB2