How to Decorate With Kids' Toys in a Beverly Grove Bungalow

Welcome to 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?
Robin, 32, Marketing Consultant
Noni, 36, CEO/Psychologist
Liam, 5 mo, Party Animal
Zippy, 4, House Security + Miniature Dachshund
Bug, 3, Professional Cuddler + Miniature Dachshund

What're the stats?
3 Bedrooms
2 Bathrooms
1700 Sq Ft House
6050 Sq Ft Lot
Pool House/Garage
Pool & Hottub

What did it cost?
$1,050,000 in 2011

How long have you been here?
4 years

What's the best feature of your house?
Backyard/Pool Area – its green and sunny and such a great place to entertain (pool parties and candlelit dinners) and hang with the baby during the day.

What's the worst feature?
Our second bathroom has 2 too many doors – Its awkward and small.

What do you love and/or hate about the neighborhood?
We love our neighbors – many have lived here for 30+ years and raised families here. We also love that it's such a great and easy place to go on long stroller walks with Liam – West 3rd Street, The Grove and The LACMA are all within walking distance.

It's definitely a shame that there are so many 4500 sq ft boxes sprouting up all over the neighborhood – it's taking away from much of the original character and uniqueness of this special little nook.

What's your approach to decorating?
We like to mix masculine and feminine, wood and metals, bright art and neutral furniture – We have similar taste in design and décor but Robin has to be surrounded by bright colors to survive (;-)) whereas Noni could live in a mid-century modern wooden box. We like collecting random knick knacks and art pieces from our travels – most things have some story behind them. We've always liked playful design (like legos on the side table or snack pillows from SkyMall (RIP)), but lately we are loving Liam's toys as accents and accessories around the house.

Any crazy/interesting stories about your house?
The only major change that had to be made was the master bath. The previous owner had quite an 80s cocaine bathroom vibe going – a 7 foot black marble Jacuzzi tub, gold fixtures, mirrored walls and ceilings – completely inconsistent with the rest of the house.

A story we love to tell is that Noni closed on the house about one month before we met each other. We met for the first time at the party of friend who lives a few blocks from here. A few of us went for a walk to see the house and Robin tagged along. She was living there less than a year later!

How'd you end up here?
Noni was looking for a house to buy for over a year – he looked at over 50 houses. He put offers on maybe 3 or 4 houses before this one – those didn't work out. He saw this the day it hit the market and loved it right away.

If you could have any living situation in LA, what would it be?
We're pretty happy where we are right now – the 5 of us fill out the space pretty well. We'd love to eventually find a bigger lot somewhere that would give us more privacy and some real nature in the backyard.

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