He turned his one-bedroom West Hollywood apartment into an entertainer's paradise

When Julio Miranda-Martin began his flat search, helium had 1 nonnegotiable: He wanted a dedicated eating country to entertain his friends. He was scouring Zillow successful 2025 erstwhile a listing for a railroad-style, one-bedroom connected the borderline of West Hollywood came up that included the requisite eating room. It was besides walking region to his part-time occupation arsenic a selling coordinator astatine furnishings store Lawson-Fenning. More importantly, astatine $2,500 a period it was wrong his budget.

Miranda-Martin met with his landlord the aforesaid time helium recovered the listing, who told him helium looks similar his son. Feeling similar uncovering this 950-square-foot flat was kismet, Miranda-Martin signed the lease and acceptable astir creating a blase and color-saturated sanctuary. Miranda-Martin decided helium needed to marque 2 large investments earlier moving in: coating the walls and changing the lighting. “I was yet capable to determination into a spot that I really like, not conscionable retired of necessity. I was like, let’s marque it consciousness similar my own,” says Miranda-Martin, who refers to the abstraction arsenic his “living canvas.”

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The flat is connected the 2nd level of a fourplex, up a windowless staircase. Miranda-Martin embraced the deficiency of airy and painted it a high-gloss crimson. Without earthy light, helium hard-wired sconces recovered connected Facebook Marketplace that callback ornamental 18th period candlesticks. They formed a dim but moody airy passim the staircase, ending with an ornate reflector astatine the top. The reflector shows a glimpse of the apartment’s interior successful its reflection erstwhile Miranda-Martin opens the door. “Every clip radical locomotion in, particularly astatine night, it’s specified a melodramatic entry,” helium explains. “It’s precise cinematic,” agrees person and co-worker Kristin Reeder, who is often a impermanent astatine his soirees, “like thing from ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ ”

In contrast, the surviving country offers a calmer palette of entity blues and earthy browns. Miranda-Martin tends to take overgarment colors based connected the light. The surviving room, with abundant west-facing windows brings successful soft, agleam light. Miranda-Martin painted it with Benjamin Moore’s Navajo, a level white, arsenic a backdrop to the softer hues of the furnishings helium designed astatine his furnishings and lighting company, Studio MM. “It adds a stillness,” helium says.

The country is anchored by a ample velvet sofa successful a affluent brown. The modular sofa is anchored connected each broadside with Art-Deco influenced broadside tables, lamps and airy bluish slipper chairs helium designed, mounting up a cozy tableau for hosting his friends. Pale pinkish cushioned ottomans supply further seating that tin easy beryllium moved astir the country to accommodate further guests.

A velvet sofa acts arsenic a connection portion successful the flat surviving room.

(Etienne Laurent/For the Times)

French doors abstracted the surviving country from the eating room. The chartreuse-infused eating country returns to a much melodramatic colorway. With little earthy light, Miranda-Martin wanted to play up the thought of dining-room-as-treehouse, reflecting the second-floor foliage disposable from the tiny windows. Rather than trying to brighten the room, helium leaned into the moodiness by buying inexpensive, USB battery-powered spotlights that are mounted connected the ceiling with magnets. Taking an intoxicant marker, helium tinted the lights a brushed amber, allowing him to item the creation successful the country without adding harsh overhead lighting.

The eating country is meant to bespeak the foliage conscionable extracurricular the window.

(Etienne Laurent/For the Times)

A shell-adorned reflector anchors the partition facing the windows and built-in shelving, making the country consciousness larger. Miranda-Martin sourced 2 shell-shaped sconces that flank the reflector astatine an property merchantability successful San Francisco. Most of the creation and location decor comes from Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, oregon is thrifted from section stores. Estate income are besides a source, though Miranda-Martin feels the rising popularity of these income successful Los Angeles has led to an summation successful pricing. “They’ve gotten truthful implicit the apical present successful L.A. [They’re] ace expensive. You’re not truly gonna find a deal,” helium laments, citing the equipped information checking bags precocious astatine immoderate of the hottest property sales.

In summation to changing the lighting and coating the walls, Miranda-Martin prioritized the model treatments, with pinch pleat curtains from Ikea. “Drapery tin conscionable marque a abstraction consciousness ace elevated,” helium advises. He prefers a premix of caller and vintage decor, balancing some for an eclectic but profoundly idiosyncratic look to his home. He tries not to overthink his aesthetic choices. “I deliberation it’s precise instinctual. I’m not truly thinking, ‘Is this successful bully sensation oregon is this going to beryllium weird?,’ ” helium says.

Down the hall, the bedroom’s mostly achromatic plan taxable returns to a much serene composition, providing a quiescent sanctuary. Miranda-Martin removed the headboard from his bed, making it look similar it’s floating betwixt the nighttime tables helium designed. “Everything feels benignant of streamlined and smooth,” says Miranda-Martin. Like the surviving room, the chamber is painted the aforesaid level achromatic but the prime of the eastbound airy filtering into the chamber casts a buttery glow.

The tiny room retains its midcentury charm, but unfastened shelving supra the antagonistic provides an airier, much modern cupboard to amusement disconnected Miranda-Martin’s crockery and glassware collection. The easier entree comes successful useful erstwhile he’s entertaining. His flat is the cleanable pre-game abstraction for him and his friends earlier a nighttime connected the town. He tries to marque definite helium pre-batches cocktails earlier his guests arrive.

He besides likes to big much elaborate meal parties and crippled nights. He attributes his emotion of entertaining to his upbringing arsenic an lone kid successful Downey. “I similar hosting due to the fact that I bask being astir much radical than erstwhile I was increasing up,” explains Miranda-Martin. His goal, ultimately, is to bring unneurotic disparate groups of radical from antithetic spheres successful a abstraction everyone volition consciousness comfy in. Dinner parties astatine Miranda-Martin’s “feel similar an event,” says Reeder. “It’s thing you’re excited for and you privation to get dressed up for.”

“I’m benignant of going done a signifier close present wherever I request to beryllium astir people,” admits Miranda-Martin. “I deliberation I conscionable hatred being alone.”