When fashion designer Heidi Merrick moved into her Silver Lake home eight years ago, she discovered its tumultuous past. Built in 1923, this Spanish-style hacienda played a significant role in Los Angeles during the Prohibition era as the site of an alcohol-smuggling operation. “Legend has it there’s a tunnel from our garage that connects to the house that was excavated to smuggle in alcohol during Prohibition. You can see remnants of the openings in our garage and basement,” explains Merrick. “The house next door was then owned by the police commissioner – it was still occupied by his grandson when we moved in – and the house across the street was owned by the head of the mafia.”
Merrick grew up in Carpinteria, a quaint oceanside city just south of Santa Barbara, immersed in Californian surf culture. Her father, Al Merrick, is an acclaimed board shaper and her mother ran the family surf shop. The essence of that California spirit is very much present in both Merrick’s collection of minimal, made-in-L.A. readyto– wear and in her home’s decor. “In both I try to be true to what I like and to what makes me happy,” she says.
The heart of the house, which Merrick and her husband restored to its original floor plan, is Merrick’s spacious living room, a bright and airy space filled with treasured objects. “I love the bones of the room,” she says. “The barrel ceiling, the French doors and the grand window that spans floor to ceiling.” Family and friends often gather around the fireplace, still clad in its original tiles designed by Ernest Batchelder, a California-based leader in the early 1900s American Arts and Crafts Movement.
As a lover of unique and eclectic objects, Merrick often scours Silver Lake’s vintage institutions like Casa Victoria, where she picked up the striking horse sculpture, currently perched on the fireplace. “It’s my favourite,” she says. “One day I hope a bunch of magical gnomes crawl out of it and surprise us all!” It is framed by ornate sconce lights she snapped up from her mother-inlaw’s antique store. The delicate glass coffee table was another antique find, although Merrick is now questioning its durability with two small children around. “So far, so good,” she says.
Anchoring the centre of the room is a Moroccan-inspired rug from One Kings Lane, another one of Merrick’s favourite haunts for rare pieces. “I needed something that was comfortable and would withstand the children and all their messes,” she says.
A family of four requires ample seating, and Merrick masterfully mixes rustic and modern with sculptural leather sling chairs crafted by an artist in Sausalito (purchased at Lawson Fenning) and a slick daybed, which she reupholstered in a white perforated vegan leather from a past clothing collection. The designer added personal touches throughout the room with throws and pillows from her forthcoming home collection.
Aside from the gorgeous interior, it’s the views that breathe energy into the room. The bungalow is surrounded by a rainbow of tropical, West Coast vegetation; “The giant birds of paradise right outside make me feel like I’m living in a tree house,” she says.
GET THE LOOK
1. Manoir sconce, $1,195 at The Cross (www.thecrossdesign.com). 2. Maffens basket, $26.99 at Ikea (www.ikea.com). 3. Bloom Relics 10 rug, $13,995 at Elte (www.elte.com). 4. Leather sling chair, $719 at West Elm (www.westelm.com). 5. Crashpad divided daybed sofa, $995 (U.S.) at ABC Home (www.abchome.com).