This LA Blogger Packs So Much Color in 900 Square Feet
One of our favorite things about Instagram is getting to discover the amazing, one-of-a-kind living spaces of designers and bloggers around the country (and around the world). So, of course, we fell head-over-heels in love when we stumbled upon Jest Cafe blogger Mila Moraga-Holz’s color-saturated home in Los Angeles. The design enthusiast, feminist, writer, and mother of two has poured so much heart and soul (and color!) into her 900 square foot home, filling every nook and cranny with beautiful details, textiles, and custom murals. In short, we’re obsessed.
The very on-trend combination of bright red and muted pink kicks things off beautifully in the kitchen. Moraga-Holz has a total soft spot for plants, something that works its way into almost every room. Even though the space is amazing now, it wasn’t always that way. “We bought the house six years ago. It was an absolute disaster, but slowly, we’ve been transforming it into a home where we really like to live,” Moraga-Holz tells us. (TBH, we’d like to live here too!)
Red cabinets and a terracotta-toned floor might seem overwhelming to some, but Moraga-Holz totally pulls off the look. The color picks up in the laundry room with sporty red appliances. “I like to see the different colors through the doorways and see how they offer a glimpse to a different colorful space,” she says. There’s always something new to catch your eye around the next corner, and we dig how every room seems even more interesting than the last.
Moraga-Holz’s home is proof that breaking the so-called design rules can sometimes pay off in a big way. Bold colors and graphic prints totally work in this hallway, in spite of the conventional wisdom to the contrary. “At under 900 square feet, our house is small, but it’s packed with color, plants, and vintage decor in a way that doesn’t make it feel too busy (for me),” she says. “When people come to visit, they notice all the details, and that makes them (and me!) happy.”
A serene, neutral bathroom offers a modern break from all the color, but ties in beautifully with the hand-painted blue and white hallway. But even this room has a punch of color to show off once you’re inside…
Moraga-Holz draws inspiration from lots of places, especially design magazines. “My absolute favorite is Architectural Digest Spain,” she says. “I also buy a lot of designer books and, of course, I love Instagram!”
While she’s certainly a fan of many colors, there’s one pairing in particular that Moraga-Holz can’t get enough of right now. “I have to say that I can’t get over the pink and green combo,” she gushes. “I just love those colors together so much!” After seeing her living room, we think this combination is a winner too.
The murals are another passion of Moraga-Holz’s. “The one in the living room is a copy (in different colors) of a textile by Roberto Burle Marx,” she tells us. “Finding new colors to paint this mural was not easy; I knew I wanted green tones, but I had to use Photoshop to give me an idea of the best tones to use for my living room.”
As for the rest, “The kitchen mural was all me but inspired by Joan Miró. I used Adobe Sketch to create a draft and then used a pencil to create the drawings on the wall. The painting process was really fast! I was done in one afternoon,” she says.
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(Images via Jest Cafe)