My Houzz: Modern Moroccan Chic in a Victorian Carriage House

“Last week this room was all done up in yellow,” Tamarra Younis says of her sitting room, now decorated in soft neutrals. The interior designer loves redecorating her one-bedroom apartment in the Angelino Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles based on her moods, the seasons or even the current project she is working on. “It’s like a test lab where I can experiment and workshop whatever new ideas I have,” she says.

The 1,000-square-foot apartment occupies the second floor of what was formerly a carriage house for the Victorian mansion in front. The apartment, at the back of the property, is a haven from the tourists and film crews that frequent Carroll Avenue. The avenue is famous for Victorian homes, such as the ones featured on the TV series Charmed and Mad Men and in the Michael Jackson music video Thriller, so it’s often very busy and popular. A residence on this street is very hard to come by. “This apartment is one of those rare L.A. finds, and I couldn’t believe how fortunate I was when I first saw it,” Younis says.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Tamarra Younis and her dogs, Pizza Party and Hugo Boss
Location: Carroll Avenue, in the historic preservation zone of Angelino Heights, Los Angeles
Size: About 1,000 square feet (93 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Year built: 1885

Despite its petite dimensions, the apartment is grand in feel, thanks to the open layout, high gabled ceiling and large triple windows, which flood the living room with natural light. It’s the perfect setting for Younis’ ever-changing looks.

London-born Younis, who spent much of her childhood in Lebanon and Dubai, describes her style as Moroccan-inspired modern mixed with vintage pieces from all over the world. “My parents believed that the world is a small place and should be explored. We traveled a lot growing up, and they encouraged me to go to New York to study fashion,” she says. “My home is a reflection of my upbringing, my travels and my fashion background.” Younis worked as a fashion designer in New York for 15 years before relocating to California.

Fez lamps: vintage; pillows: Union of Art


Perhaps it is her nomadic spirit that causes her to change up the furnishings so often. “Nothing is permanent here. The only things that have never moved are the two bar stools near the kitchen,” Younis says. Here, dogs Hugo Boss, left, and Pizza Party relax on the couch in an earlier configuration and design approach than the seating area seen in the previous photo.

In addition to designing interiors, Younis often custom designs pillows and furniture. “As a fashion designer, I specialized in fabric printing, embroidery and embellishments, which gave me many great sources for my current work,” she says, noting that many of the pillows were custom made by one of her sources in South Korea. “This is definitely a lady’s apartment,” she says with a laugh, in reference to the abundance of pillows throughout. “We women love to feel things and gravitate towards anything soft and touchy.” Pillows are an essential element of Younis’ design style, and she admits to having a stockpile in the garage. “They are interchangeable and easily add texture and color,” she says.


At the far end of the living room, a turquoise table doubles as both worktable and dining table. “The table was thrown out by my old landlady and was an ugly dark brown that I painted blue. Every Thursday used to be ‘dump day’ in New York. People could leave large items on the street, and the city would pick them up. I got a lot of great things from dump day,” she says.


Like the rest of the interior furnishings, the worktable often changes location. In this case, it has been repositioned to transform the living room into a dining area for six. Younis, who entertains often, says, “This is the beauty of a free-flowing layout. I can have a dining area when I need one even though there is no formal dining room here.” The cage-style work and dining chairs look equally at home outdoors.


A collection of art pieces from around the world occupies both corners of the current office area. “I love to collect art. It’s the easiest thing to bring back from a trip,” Younis says.

Four oversized lamps in vibrant shades of blue flank each side of the table. “These were found at various vintage shops and flea markets. I never bothered to have them rewired. I just loved the color and the shape of them,” Younis says. Two wooden wardrobe doors with inlaid mother-of-pearl are from a Syrian palace. “They were purchased from a charming woman with a shop in London, along with the wooden frames,” she says. “She was an amazing lady who was passionate about Syrian art and workmanship, and always had a wonderful story about the origins of the items I purchased. Most of my pieces are acquired at vintage shops, flea markets and garage sales and are not precious, but these items were a splurge.”


An earlier configuration of the same space shows its versatility as a seating area.


Two leather club chairs from the ’70s round out what is now the seating area. “One of my neighbors in New York was a cop. I was known to everyone on the street as the woman who was always hauling furniture and artwork into my house. One day he asked me if I wanted to look in his basement and see if there was anything that piqued my fancy. I got these great chairs from that basement,” Younis says.

The chairs also serve a design purpose. “Often I’m challenged with balancing masculine and feminine aesthetics for my clients who are coupled. So long as I keep the furniture lines clean and unfussy and avoid curves, then I can go soft and feminine with colors and texture,” she says. These chairs teamed with silk pillows and a soft white shag are a perfect example of mixing the two aesthetics.

Metal Moroccan table: Overstock


A secondary worktable that was formerly her drafting table sits in one corner of the room with file boxes stored underneath. Both are covered in decorative shawls.

The mood board is made from a simple corkboard painted white. “I like to have my workspace feel like my home. These small touches allow the office furniture to blend with the rest of the space,” Younis says. The desk chair was one of a line of chairs Younis designed. “I often design based on what is trending in fashion. At the time, rich brocades and embroidery were popular because of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette movie. It was the inspiration for re-covering this ’70s chair in metallic leather and embroidered flowers. I made reproductions and sold them.”

Turkish teakettle tables: vintage from a flea market in New York; large lamp: Casa Victoria; chair: custom, Union of Art


Two simple couches covered in Moroccan bedding and pillows create a plush and cozy seating area in the den. “You can dress up anything with nice fabric. Staple guns are an amazing and handy tool for transforming just about anything,” Younis says. “The beauty of covering furniture with fabric is that it is never permanent and can easily be changed. It’s a great solution for families with kids.”

For unusual and reasonably priced fabric and bedding, Younis recommends online retailers of Moroccan goods. “Most will be reasonable. And don’t ever be afraid to search downtown at the fabric district for great finds.”

The framed Arab leather camel bag above the couches was a bargain purchase at a consignment store in Palm Springs, California. “They didn’t know what it was and had a hard time selling it. Being half Iraqi, I obviously knew exactly what it was,” she says.

Camel bag: antique, The Estate Sale Co.


Previously, she had covered the couches with simple white bedsheets and metallic and neutral pillows that played off the colors in the art above, giving the space a light and airy feel.


More inlaid mother-of-pearl frames decorate the space behind the TV. A simple Ikea bookcase doubles as a media unit. “I’ve been searching for the perfect bookcase-cabinet in these dimensions. I may end up designing one and having it made,” Younis says.

Kallax shelving unit: Ikea


Pillows in soothing pastels decorate the bed. “I love using strong colors elsewhere, but for the bedroom, I always choose calming colors,” she says.

Pillows: West Elm and HomeGoods; quilt: Pottery Barn


A large painting by Courtney Arwin takes up most of the wall to the side of the bed. “The art I collect from my travels is usually bought to remember the time and place, and is therefore quite varied. When I buy art for purely decorative purposes, I like large color washes that are soft and abstract, pieces that resemble beautiful fabric,” Younis says. “This painting inspired the colors for the bedroom.”


Younis designed the bedroom lamps. “I loved the Turkish teakettle tables that I got in New York so much that I wanted to make a line of lamps to sell that were similar. These were manufactured by one of my sources in India,” she says. The nightstands are part of a Moroccan-inspired collection that she codesigned with James Coviello for Spiegel.


A beautiful antique Syrian wedding chest serves as her dresser. “I bought this chest from the same woman who sold me the wardrobe doors in the living room. Wedding chests are meant to be passed down from generation to generation as heirlooms. I was so enamored by this chest that she decided to sell it to me even though it was already on hold for another woman who already had a vast collection of inlaid furniture. She saw how strongly I felt about it and that I would treasure it as an heirloom,” Younis says. It is also one of the few pieces that were big expenditures for Younis.

A statue of Quan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, sits on top of the chest. “I’m not Buddhist, but I do meditate. She represents compassion and serenity and changes form. I like to wake up to her,” Younis says.


A wide niche above the cased opening to the kitchen holds various mementos. “Being far away from home, it’s nice to have things that are familiar and remind you of home,” Younis says.

She designed the silk pillows. “They are embroidered Arabic letters made into the shape of a horse. It’s a poem written by my brother and translated into Arabic by my father,” she says.

Pillows: Union of Art


Another painting by Courtney Arwin decorates the entry wall. The old grain sacks draping the stair wall were acquired during a road trip from L.A. to Seattle. “We stopped off at many rural towns along the way and came across a general store that was selling vintage tools and farming equipment. I always like to bring back a memento of a trip, however random it may be,” she says.

Embroidered pillow: Union of Art


A stone garden fountain and vintage folding chairs decorate the entryway at the base of the stairs. “I like the messages on the pillows. It’s nice to see when I walk out the door,” Younis says.

Suitcase: vintage, Pasadena City College Flea Market; garden fountain: Casa Victoria


Also decorating the entryway is a photo of her parents and a framed vintage money sack, which she bought because it was printed during the year in which she was born.


Not surprisingly, the patio is also decorated with vintage pieces and colorful pillows. Younis has created a lush setting with potted plants and a trellis. “Since this is a rental, I didn’t want to plant anything permanent,” she says. The Moroccan lamps are from a New York fashion show that she staged, and were given to her as payment.


All the pillows are indoor ones. “I don’t recommend spending the extra money on outdoor pillows. They never have zippers to allow you to wash the covers, and the fabric, though more durable than indoor pillows, will eventually fade as well. Just buy indoor pillows and replace as needed,” she suggests.

Pillows: CB2; chairs and table: vintage, deKor


“These wicker chairs were from a client who was getting rid of them. As usual, I dressed them up with pillows,” she says.

Seat pillows: Ikea; chair-back pillows: CB2


Younis, seen here with Pizza Party, believes that “a dwelling becomes a home when it is filled with pieces that make you smile since there is a story behind them, or they have a special meaning or memory.” She adds, “I start every job asking my clients about their family, trips or something funny that happened to them. I then go out and find things that reflect that time, place or person. This is the approach I take with all my clients, and my home is a true reflection of that.”

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