A boho home like no Sunday School I know

Churches repurposed into homes are out-of-the-ordinary but hardly unheard-of. But what about living in achurch basement and going to Sunday School day and night, every day of the week? Los Angeles residents 

Lourdes Hernandez and Zach Leigh actually got married in the upstairs of this Highland Park church then decided to buy it to live in, refurbish, and rent out.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

They first thought they’d use the upstairs as a music venue since both are musicians. But the church’s potential as a wedding venue was all too clear, and The Ruby Street is now booked with weddings nearly every weekend. And the home they’ve built together in the basement of their income property is an amazing boho mix of their tastes, styles and interests. 

Divide, conquer and cozy-up

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The biggest decorating challenge involved keeping the 1,900 square feet of space completely open but with cozy, welcoming areas.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

A friend painted the “Sunday School” sign on the reeded glass entrance door.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The kitchen is tucked in one corner, with an IKEA island on wheels for work space and IKEA shelving for extra storage.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

A bright and cheery IKEA sofa separates the TV viewing area from an office the couple shares.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

A DIY desk allows both to work comfortably side-by-side.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The desk was made from finished plywood with legs added. As large as the work surface is, Zach says it still fills up.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The couple removed the actual wall that separated the stairs from the rest of the home and installed this yarn wall instead. It’s anchored by eye hooks, top and bottom, and adds just the right amount of division and whimsy to the space.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

A living room area features a vintage sofa, coffee table, and mirror.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

Three identical hanging planters and plants help separate the living room from the rest of the space.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

Friends call the place “a playground for adults,” and it’s easy to see why.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The desk is a midcentury modern reproduction from West Elm and functions to hold bar essentials, as well as collections.

Marisa Vitale photos / Apartment Therapy

Lourdes believes in making items you use part of the décor, so guitars hang on walls and cases stack under credenzas.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The credenza also functions as a divider between living space and sleeping space. The couple designed the bed and had it custom-made to fit the existing nook. Lourdes says this is her favorite part of their home.

Doors where they're needed

Marisa Vital photos / Apartment Therapy

The closet is one of only two completely walled-off-with-door areas in the home. Lots of shelving has been added to keep everything neat tidy, including Lourdes’ fun shoe collection.

Marisa Vitale photos / Apartment Therapy

The bathroom is, of course, the other. The same artist who painted “Sunday School” on the front door painted “Clean” on the door to the bathroom.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

That marble tub is a looker, but those Pendleton towels grabbed my attention first. Such a classic stripe!

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

And an indoor SAUNA!! Absolutely to-die-for!

A hefty dose of fun, funk and fantastic charm

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

More IKEA shelves divide the space, and another guitar decorates a support column. But look a little closer…

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The shelves hold a collection of vintage cameras. Say cheese!

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

And just beyond the shelves is a music performance area, stage and all.

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

The faux melting ice cream cone is one of Zach’s keepsakes. It was his favorite thing from his grandmother’s house.

If you want more…

Marisa Vitale photo / Apartment Therapy

• Continue your tour of this boho home at Apartment Therapy. There’s lots more photos to see and even source info. 
• Learn more about The Ruby Street. You might even want to schedule your next wedding there! 
• Lourdes’ new album, Karaoke, is available through her website, Russian Red. You can also follow her on Instagram. 
• Learn about The Good Form, an LA rehab firm where Zach works as a designer/builder. You can follow him on Instagram as well. 
• Shop (and follow!) both my Etsy and ebay stores for vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often.
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!

How to unleash your inner boho florist for le$$

Think you have ZERO talent as a flower arranger? Guess again!

The real answer may be you’re just trying too hard. Waaay. Too. Hard. Or your arrangements are too big. Waaay. Too. Big.

If you re-envision the results on a smaller scale, everything changes. Think smaller arrangements, but more of them! And if you use unexpected vessels, like vintage china and tchotchkes, you make it fun.

That’s right, I’m talking old sugar bowls, cream pitchers, cups that never knew a saucer, and (more likely) saucers that outlived their cups. (Because who uses saucers for coffee and tea anymore, right?) 

Did you say you got rid of all that stuff when your parents or grandparents passed away? Not to worry, there’s lots available for little cash outlay at thrift stores, flea markets, or on shopping websites that feature used and vintage items. 

With sugar bowls, many are missing their lids, and that’s what makes them bargains. If you repurpose as a vase, you don’t need those pesky lids anyway!

Pair up a pretty saucer or bread-and-butter plate with a cup, pitcher or small bowl—they don’t have to match, mind you—then pick up some flowers next time you’re at the grocery.

In these parts, Krogers has the best selection of blooms, but most any big box grocery retailer carries at least some. Pick out a mixed bouquet or a few bunches of your favorites, and get ready to earn the BoHo Home Flower Arranging Merit Badge.

For the arrangements pictured in this post, I bought a bunch of white spider mums with a purply blue border and a bunch of yellow gerbera daisies.

To that I added a bunch of filler-type material—in this case, a spray aster otherwise known as goldenrod. I spent about $20. Of course, you could also pick blooms from your garden and goldenrod from a field or ditch. It's in season about now. 

Queen Ann’s Lace is another wildflower growing just about everywhere throughout the summer that would make lovely filler. Evergreen shrub trimmings are an additional option—boxwood or yew. You won't be taking off enough to leave any bare spots, but if you're worried about that, cut from the back of the bush.

Separate out your blossoms, snip those luxuriously long stems short enough to sit in your small-scale “vases” and start packing in the blooms as tight as they’ll go.

You’ll be awed at the results, and at your own sweet self for being so fantastically talented.

And you won’t be able to stop at just one arrangement, so make sure you buy enough vintage stuff to spread around your house or apartment and hold all the flowers in your bunches. Pretty soon you'll have mini bouquets all over your house, just like in the décor magazines!

Most of my small pitchers and cups held one or two mums, maybe another daisy or two, and some filler. Those with narrow openings sometimes got just one bloom and maybe a sprig of aster. A big bloom, like the spider mum, also looks pretty floating in a small bowl filled with water.

And I’m going to make it easier on you still...

All the cups, saucers, pitchers, plates, and plant stands you see in this post can be purchased from either my ebay store (individual items) or my Etsy shop (grab bags of 3-5 items). 

And while you’re visiting my stores, don’t forget to look around at the other vintage and gently used items up for adoption—uh, I mean sale. It's Labor Day weekend, so most everything is 15-percent off through Monday, Sept. 4.

There are so many pretties out there just waiting to claim you, so why not take in a lonely sugar bowl or cream pitcher today?

Give it a bread-and-butter plate or saucer for company (and to protect your table). Your boho home will thank you, and so will I.

You may even find room in your tabletop arrangement for a figural salt and pepper shaker or two, like these chubby bluebirds!

Alas, this pair recently sold (no surprise there!), but I’m on the hunt for others, so check back often.

And the occasional survivor lid you do find will add an extra dash of panache to your tablescape just resting amid the blooms. Sculptural and elegant, isn’t it?

If you want more…

• Check out all the good stuff in my Etsy and ebay stores. Use the links here or the tabs at the top of this page, just above the headline. There's lots of vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often. (Follow, FOLlow, FOLLOW!!)
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!

BoHo Home opens an Etsy shop & you can win a discount!

BoHo Home now has a presence on Etsy. My store, BoHo Home By Susan, opened its “doors” on Saturday, June 17, offering a curated selection of vintage finds and a few items handcrafted by me.

Right now the selection is small, but we aim to grow.

A “curated selection” means this is what there is until I go thrifting again, which, I’m hoping, will  be soon. And as I include DIY projects on the blog, you may be able to buy the results in the Etsy shop, depending on how a project turns out.

One thing I know I’m really good at is shopping, and with my new-found fondness for digging through other people’s home edits, I’m sure to find some fun, funky and fabulous finds for the homes of my boho friends, readers, and any other aging hippies who stumble across my shop through the magic of  the Internet.

Would you believe, it all started with this box?

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

Yep, that’s the first thing I found for the store. But beyond being a cute  and functional storage box, I don't know anything about it, like where it came from, when and how it was made, or by whom. And knowing me, you know I want to learn the story behind EVERYTHING. Right now, the mystery that is this box is keeping me awake at night, and y'all gotta help me get some sleep!

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

The tag at the flea market said “old,” and the booth owner was nowhere to be found, of course. I searched the Internet for something even remotely similar, but came up with zip, even when searching with the actual image in place of keywords.

The impossibility of labeling it MUST mean it’s boho, right? 

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

It COULD also mean it IS old and its siblings haven't survived. But then why did this one survive so well?

Both my husband (a woodworker) and I found its construction fascinating. Not a tack nail is loose or missing, not a reed end is unsecured. The structural wood pieces are a layered veneer product, similar to lauan. And the ribbing on the corners and edges, as well as crisscrosses on the lid top and underside fittings, are some sort of split reed. Or maybe bamboo?

I’m no expert, that's for sure.

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

I asked an expert. Or at least an aficionado—a friend who runs an antiques business. She identified it as Asian, which she was quick to say wasn’t one of her areas of expertise, but she didn’t think it was old. That knob on top, for instance, looks manufactured and common. You could probably find one exactly like it in any home-improvement or woodcraft store. Might it have been added later?

That the structural wood used is a type of plywood may seem to make it more modern, but common plywood has been around since the late 19th century. Lauan plywood, on the other hand, which is also called “Philippine mahogany” (even though it's meranti wood and not mahogany), was first manufactured in Japan in the mid-20th century. 

So maybe it’s old in the midcentury-modern sense. But is it Phillipine? Or Japanese? Or??

Anyone else care to weigh in?

And then there are those embossed panels...

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

This is an up-close-and-personal look at each of the four side panels. They’re well-adhered, not bubbling or peeling, and not scratched, scuffed or torn. They don’t feel like plastic, paper or leather to me—though all those are possibilities.

They do remind me of Lincrusta, a type of wallcovering also invented in the late 19th century and made, like linoleum, from linseed oil. It was meant to be painted or stained, as this is, but most examples I’ve seen are more deeply textured. 

Whatever it is or isn’t, it IS, decidedly, a sweet box.

BoHo Home By Susan on Etsy

And it’s in pristine condition, just waiting to lend its one-of-a-kind look to someone’s one-of-a-kind boho home. Yours, perhaps?

I hope you’ll browse my shop when you get a chance. 

“Heart” the items you love and give me a follow to make it easier for yourself to check back in frequently. I've added a linked tab just under the blog nameplate, as well as a shop logo link in the sidebar, for easy access anytime.

So go see what's there quick before I sell out!!

And if you can lend any insight on how, where and when this box was made, I’ll issue you a coupon for a store discount off one item. Tell me what you know in the comments, and be sure to add any Internet links you find to relevant info. Also be sure to leave your email address so I can send you your coupon.

Know that I remain very truly yours,

BoHo Susan

XOXO

If you want more...

• Stay tuned: There's also an eBay store in the offing. Why? Because stuff has to be vintage or handmade to sell on Etsy, and I have some neat finds I want to pass along that don't meet either criteria. 
• In the by and by, be sure you don't miss a day of BoHo Home, the BLOG. Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). 
• Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
• You’ll also find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Houzz, and now ETSY, so be sure to give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!