Come Tour a $650-a-Month Micro-Studio in Frogtown

Welcome to a special Micro Week edition of House Calls, a new feature 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.

Who lives here?
Me, myself and I. Louise, PR Director at hovelstay.com

What're the stats?
It's like a micro-studio with walls. I have a bedroom with a closet, my bathroom is actually fairly bigger than it should be, my kitchen is a hallway kitchen, I even have a patch of grass that I should turn into a cute garden! [Ed.: It's about 250 to 300 square feet.]

What's the rent?
$650 for everything.

How long have you been here?
A year as of last week.

How'd you end up here?
My mom, she's an overprotective Filipino mother so she didn't use Craigslist to find this place. She actually went to a Filipino grocery story and found the ad in a local Filipino Newspaper!

Was it hard moving into such a small space? Did you have to do anything to cut back or accommodate less?
Not at all. It was my first place on my own. My parents helped me find all my furniture via Craiglist and whatever we had laying around the home.

What's the best feature of your place?
Parking is never an issue. I can have friends over and they can still find parking. My location is perfect. It's close to the freeways, DTLA, Echo Park, Atwater Village and Griffith Park. It's seriously all I need.

What's the worst feature?
No built in A/C but that's why I have a portable air conditioning unit!

What are the upsides and downsides of having such a small place?
Upsides - the upkeep is simple, downside is not good for a pet :(

What's your approach to decorating?
Less is more - I try to stick to a small number of colors. I'd love to have more "chic" worthy designs like Pinterest but I consider myself to be pragmatic and don't spend too much on expensive furniture. It's all about Craigslist, Goodwill and Ikea for this girl!

Any crazy/interesting stories about your place or living here?
Last summer was my first summer living in an apartment with no central A/C...let's just say it was a little tough!

How's your landlord?
She's a nice, frugal little Filipina lady.

If you could have any living situation in LA, what would it be?
I love where I'm at but I'd get a bigger place just so I can have a dog!

· Micro Week 2015 [Curbed LA]
· House Calls [Curbed LA]