So many styles in such a big beautiful city. When you think of a big city you think of chaos, clashing styles, and grime. When you imagine California you see the mass-marketed picture of palm trees, beaches,  surfers, and grapes which ultimately misrepresents the unique and authentic local styles of LA. In the spirit of ‘keeping it real’ we turned to local LA interior designers that are making a statement with their designs. Here are a few of our favorite homes from local Los Angeles interior designers to inspire your California dreams and challenge your misconceptions of what defines LA style.

“Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.”

― Frank Lloyd Wright

ot what you we’re expecting from such a colorful city is it? The most trendy homes in California are keeping it incredibly clean with bright white walls from top to bottom to really make the most of the year-round sunshine. On hot, dry, summer days these refreshing whites make spaces feel calm and cool. Los Angeles is essentially just a dessert climate in disguise which results in quite the build up of dust particles due to the Santa Anna winds. While all this dust gives LA its hazy, color muted, vibe on exteriors we think it’s quite ingenious to contrast this look with stark, clean, interiors that feel like a mini oasis.

Stefani Stein

“As a native of California, the relaxed yet refined lifestyle is a major influence on her work. Clean, modern touches intertwine with both classical and unexpected elements throughout her projects in the bespoke commercial and residential spaces.”

The vast majority of the designs in Stephani’s portfolio adorn, white washed, invigorating walls and ceilings. With the incredibly diverse architecture of Southern California, you will never see cookie cutter houses among these local neighborhoods and the interior architecture is just as distinct. The white-on-white walls are an excellent choice for highlighting the natural shapes and shadow layers of the interior architecture while the colorless consistency beautifully exhibits decor. Los Angeles is a very eclectic city making it the perfect place to find many one-of-a-kind vintage and vintage inspired accents to give the space a friendly, worldly, feel. Next time you find yourself in LA make a trip out the the vintage shops in Silverlake and along La Brea to pick up some true conversation pieces.

Catch up with Stephani on Instagram @stefanisteinla

ink is incredibly difficult to design with because the shade must be perfectly chosen according to the room it’s going in and because it’s really an all-or-nothing color choice. Each of these three designs use different techniques to give this color a more sophisticated feel.

Los Angeles interior designer Christina Karras uses the low light as a way to mute the all over pink in a small corridor. If you’ve got you’re mind set on pink make sure you try the colors you’re considering on a wall near both the natural and artificial light sources of your room since both can greatly change the perceived tone. Vintage Edison Bulbs or Milk Glass fixtures are the recommended light sources to soften pinks because LED lights tend to give them almost childish undertones.

Taylor + Taylor of LA are known for rich paint tones in some truly incredible shades softened by lime-wash or milk-wash paint for natural undertones that only get better with wear. This local design firm uses lime-wash to mute the all-over pink, add a seemingly old-world stucco feel to the room, and bring visual interest into the space without overwhelming the guest. While the molding features are more saturated contrasting pink tone that acts to frame and ground the design. If you’ve grown bored with your feature wall color try adding some visual character to it with the modern versions of limewash or milkwash paints that make it easier than ever to achieve this look.

ward-winning LA design firm, David Dalton Inc balances the two-tone pink tiles in this small bathroom by flanking each color in crisp white. By vertically orienting the tiles it makes the space feel taller and gives the design a more masculine feel to counteract the more feminine shades of pink. In design, vertical lines represent strength and masculinity. We can’t get enough of how ingeniously this design is balanced.

The thing we love most about this design is the subtle 50’s vintage vibes that is exudes. In this time period two-toned pink bathrooms were incredibly popular and we can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this bathroom design was inspired by the era. With the movement to #savethepinkbathrooms popping up everywhere, we’re feeling inspired to take on a similar design challenge. Stay tuned for the Saving Pink edit coming soon!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

– Virginia Woolf