My Houzz: In Love With Echo Park Style

For David Greening, it was love at first sight when he saw the unique oval arch and view of the downtown skyline from this one-bedroom apartment in Angelino Heights. As the oldest surviving suburb of Victorian-era Los Angeles, Angelino Heights is a hidden pocket of Victorian mansions, Craftsman bungalows and Spanish revival buildings. It is the city’s first historic preservation zone and also part of the greater Echo Park district, one of the last east-side hipster havens to maintain its roots. The residents are a mix of families, musicians, designers, film people and even old money. This diverse cultural scene prompted Greening, a paralegal who moonlights as a musician and an entrepreneur, to migrate from the mid-Wilshire district and make Echo Park his home.

“I love it here,” he says. “It’s a vibrant neighborhood filled mostly with independent businesses that cater to the whole community, whether it’s artists and musicians or working families. I enjoy having a good coffee shop, bookstore and record shop within walking distance, as well as a variety of restaurants, bars and music venues.” His apartment reflects the spirit of this exuberant neighborhood.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: David Greening and his cats, Curtis and Phinneus
Location: Angelino Heights in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: About 1,000 square feet (93 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Year built: 1922, as 1 of 4 apartments in a Spanish revival-style building. Recently refurbished in 2012 according to strict guidelines from the Los Angeles Conservancy.

A distinctive and most unusual oval arch is the apartment’s standout feature. One can surmise that the architect was probably inspired by nearby Chinatown, only a couple of miles away, as it resembles a traditional Chinese moon gate, a round, inviting entryway in Chinese gardens meant to attract visitors. It is well suited to Greening’s apartment, which is a treasure trove of intriguing objects.


Decorated in a palette of warm grays and browns, the apartment is masculine yet inviting. Greening describes his decorating style as “eclectic midcentury.”

“That’s my starting point, and from there I layer it with interesting acquired pieces,” he says. His main piece of decorating advice: “If you see something you like, grab it and then find a place for it.” Greening’s sources run the gamut from obscure online vendors to garage sales and thrift stores to major retailers like Target and Design Within Reach.

He bought the 1950s hi-fi stereo system at a neighbor’s garage sale for $25. Though not functioning, it serves as a beautiful cabinet for his record player and other collectibles.


Greening has been a musician since he was 15 and is also a lover of comics and graphic illustrations. He’s developed an art collection to reflect his passions. “You don’t have to be rich to be an art collector, just resourceful,” he says. “There are so many sources of great affordable art.” Two of his favorite sources are Pressure Printing and Exhibition A. “They sell signed and limited-edition prints from relevant, collection-worthy artists,” he says. “It’s the perfect entryway into the world of contemporary art.” His tastes gravitate toward artists who are also musicians and those who are “weird and comical,” he says.

The collage in the top-left corner here was purchased directly from the artist Winston Smith, most famous for doing ’80s album covers and flyer art. The bottom print, by Dasha Shishkin, was purchased from Exhibition A.

To the right of those, at bottom, the left oval print is by Mark Mothersbaugh, composer for many Wes Anderson soundtracks. The right oval print is by Travis Louie. Above them is a print by Scott Musgrove. On the far right is a 3D scratch and sniff print by KRK Ryden. All were purchased from Pressure Printing.

The two lawyer prints are vintage Vanity Fair caricatures that Greening inherited.


The apartment is compact but appears spacious due to the open and light-filled layout of the living room and dining room spaces. “These vintage apartments can be challenging when shopping for sofas. A regular-sized sofa doesn’t quite fit, and I didn’t want to buy love seats. Thankfully, Room & Board and DWR make apartment-sized versions of their sofas,” Greening says. To achieve a conversation-friendly layout, Greening placed the TV in front of the fireplace with two couches facing each other. “It’s a nonfunctioning fireplace, and I didn’t want a living room centered around a TV,” he says. A card catalog cabinet from Target holds his CD collection. “You can find great furniture anywhere,” he says. A view of the downtown L.A. skyline can be seen through the two windows.


Two intricate ray guns accent his music cabinet. They were made by Weta, the special effects and prop company started by director Peter Jackson, and are part of a line of collectibles.


“Prop houses and prop stylists are also fantastic sources for furniture and accessories,” Greening says, referring to the midcentury chair and footstool that he scored on Craigslist. “The seller was a stylist who had refurbished them for a Dwell magazine spread and then needed to unload them after the shoot.”


The chair and footstool, along with a matching circular table, were all purchased for a mere $250.


Two more circular tables can be seen in the dining room. “I wanted to play off of the oval arch and contrast against the square lines of the apartment,” Greening says.

Pillows: Target and West Elm


On the table nestled behind the sofa, a small display of personal items shares space with vintage juggling pins purchased at a nearby thrift shop. “I was close with my grandfather Robert Levy, a decorated World War II hero, who gave me his medals displayed here. I paired his little Buddha statue with my souvenir from the King Tut exhibit I saw as a kid,” Greening says.


The circular glass dining table is from Target, and the chairs are from Urban Outfitters. “I don’t need something to be fancy,” Greening says. “I just have to like it.” In keeping with that philosophy, the vertical bookcases are from CB2. “I like that they take up very little space,” he says.


The dining room’s original built-in cabinet houses Greening’s record collection and more artwork. A portrait of his uncle sits behind the barware. “He was an architect and architectural photographer,” he says. “He was a big influence on me and gave me an eye for appreciating design.”

A selection of eclectic art pieces occupies the top shelf. “I got this arrow-ridden guitar directly from the artist Anthony Ausgang. The mask is by the artist Gary Baseman and came from his 2013 Skirball Cultural Center exhibition,” he says. To round out the display, Greening added skulls found on eBay, created by a prop company that specializes in making cryptozoological “specimens.”


Making the maximum use of the available space, Greening uses a corner of the dining room as his home office. “My band Old Toy Trains used to play at a local art and music venue called Echo Curio [now closed] that would showcase affordable art from local artists. Some of the artwork above my desk was purchased from them,” he says.

In the corner is a little tepee for his cats.

Mid-Century desk: West Elm


The dining room also provides a place for Greening to keep his guitars, banjo and amps.


The bathroom shelves display random toys and objects. “For me, there’s no rhyme or reason to decorating — it’s mostly trial and error,” Greening says. “I first made the obvious choice of putting toiletries there but didn’t like how it looked. I eventually ended up with this unexpected assortment, which is a lot more fun.”


Greening’s bedroom is filled with treasured personal items, such as a small Pac-Man pillow he loved as a kid, an architectural photo taken by his uncle and 1950s card chairs handed down from his grandparents. The bed is a platform bed by West Elm. “I’m not a fan of box springs and prefer my bed simple and low to the ground,” he says.


A colorful vintage dresser and poster ad make a bold statement opposite the bed. On the adjoining wall (not pictured) is a vintage British naval chart from Deutsche Optik, which specializes in vintage military items. “I love finding cool stuff from interesting online vendors,” Greening says.

Greening has a large shoe collection that has outgrown his closet, and he has resorted to storing pairs where he can. “It’s in my blood,” he says. “My grandfather was a shoe manufacturer and owned the shoe department at Fedco (Costco’s precursor). It’s no wonder I have more pairs than the average man.”


The manufacturing bug must also run in his veins, as he is an investor and part owner of The Bernhardt Watch Company, a manufacturer of men’s and women’s sport watches. “I’m a watch nerd,” he says. “I have more watches than I can count.” A lovely display of leather and wood boxes holds some watches along with other mementos, including a silver shoe horn from his grandfather. “He valued things made of quality … even if it was a mundane, ordinary object like this horn. It’s beautifully crafted and made of silver, so he had it monogrammed and passed it down to me.”


Greening, pictured here, recalls that he initially thought there was one drawback to the apartment. “Since I’m in a historic preservation zone, I’m not allowed to make any alterations to the place,” he says. “However, putting my personal stamp hasn’t proven to be a challenge at all. I’ve simply filled it with things I love and enjoy and that have meaning to me.”

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