Touring a Bohemian Dream Come to Life in an Old Mt. Washington Hunting Cabin

Welcome to House Calls, in which Curbed tours the lovely, offbeat, or otherwise awesome homes of regular Angelenos. Think your space should be featured next? Drop us a line with a few photos and details about your place.

What happens when a vintage store owner/designer and a hat-maker make a home in a former hunting cabin in Northeast LA that dates back to the 1920s? We found out when we visited the Mt. Washington home of Vanessa, Charlie, and their family, to explore the bohemian interiors and fantastic use of vintage items in every room of the two-bedroom house.

Who lives here?
Vanessa, designer / shop owner - Honeywood Vintage
Charlie, musician and hat maker - Lone Hawk Hats
Katie June, Charlie's daughter
Ruby Mable and Sweetie Belle, dogs

What are the stats?
The house is 2,300 square feet, and has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a detached guest house, a detached studio/office (under the guest house), multiple outdoor areas, and a two-car garage.

What's the rent?
It's a bit more than our last house in the Eagle Rock hills.

How long have you been here?
We've been here less than a year; it will be a year in March.

What's the best feature?
The views—we have amazing views. It's hard to have a bad day when you can see so much beauty: the clouds and sky, the mountains. It's very cleansing mentally.

What's the worst feature?
The master bath is on the smaller side and it is the only bathroom upstairs. I wish it had more counter space. We came from a house that had a huge master bathroom, and it made for much better gender relations, if you get my drift!

What do you love and/or hate about the neighborhood?
We love our neighborhood! The location, Mt. Washington, is a very dreamy spot. We have lots of large, old-growth trees; hiking paths; out of this world views; and very interesting architecture. We like to think it's the best kept secret in Los Angeles. Sshhhhhh….

What's your approach to decorating?
We have a very bohemian, eclectic style and we love Southwestern influences. I guess you could describe it as Ethnic Bohemian Ranch. Textiles, patterns, items with a history and story we are very drawn to. Luckily, Charlie and I work very well together and have similar tastes!

Any crazy/interesting stories about your place?
Our house was a hunting cabin in the 1920s. The kitchen was the original structure and the fireplace was an outdoor fireplace/oven. From what I understand, in the teens and '20s, Mt. Washington was considered an "escape from city life" so affluent Westsiders would have small rustic cabins to escape to on the weekends. Its great to still have some original elements.

Mt. Washington has a LOT of raccoons. While we love wildlife, the raccoons here are huge—the biggest we have ever seen! After dusk our back fence becomes the Raccoon Highway, and we tend to just let them do their thing.

How'd you end up here?
We found the house via a good friend who lives in Mt. Washington. We have a store on York Boulevard in Highland Park, just down the hill, so we wanted to be close and have a lot of friends in the neighborhood.

How's your landlord?
Pretty great. We rarely see him.

If you could have any living situation in LA, what would it be?
We are blessed and feel very grateful for where we are today.

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