Maximalist Apartment Tour: Creative DIY Projects & Fun Thrifted Items

Entryway

Let’s begin in my grand foyer where I often greet dignitaries and diplomats. This coffee table is the first piece of furniture that I ever dumpster-dived. It is a stunning, authentic, mid-century coffee table. It looks like a guitar pick, which perfectly complements the vibe of what I call the record lounge.

Minibar lounge

I designed this section for my boyfriend who collects vinyl records. I wanted to create a station that was part listening lounge, part minibar.

When I envisioned this space, I wanted to find the right cabinet. Since I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for I refurbished an old cabinet. I hand-cut these detail insets for 8 hours and it almost killed me. I painted it black and added the cane hardware and the legs.

I really like the caning because it looks like old 70s speakers. 

I custom built this console table to run the length of the sofa. This corner of the apartment doesn’t get much light. I find that if you use peacock feathers instead of a live plant, it gives the effect of some sort of flora without having to water it or worry about sunlight.

I love our thrifted rolling bar cart. I especially love this embellished liquor bottle. It really dresses up the shelf.

Closet office

Let’s have a look at my closet office. This is the world's tiniest office. We’ve got a cozy little rug and a cute little velvet chair. I love the jungle wallpaper. This space is filled with some very fun DIYs.

Living room

Now let’s move over to the living room. This living room, as with many rentals, came with some funky stuff in it, specifically, this awkward very weird alcove. It was a closet. I decided to make it a full faux fireplace.

I am a big thrift store girl, and one thing I'm very into lately is buying things and making them planters when they are not planters. My new favorite find is this brocade Chinese takeout box. Where did it come from? What did it hold? We'll never know.

One of my favorite things about my home is my coral pink sofa. It’s an IKEA sofa with a slipcover I custom-dyed in my bathtub. I almost died of poisoning while doing it, but that’s ok.

My peacock rug actually had a gray background and I custom painted in this sunset.

I can never decide if I want to be Boho or traditional, Grand Victorian, Hollywood Regency or full Glam, so my house is a mix of a ton of different materials. I especially love this end table I thrifted for $10 a few years back.

It’s the perfect place for my incredible disco ball plant stand. I have a kitschy disco ball next to glamorous velvet chairs, next to punk rock art.

I cannot live with blank walls, but this is actually not painted. It’s washi tape, which I taped all over the walls in a freehand pattern. Is it a lot? Yes. But guess what? So am I.

Here we have the most incredible piece of furniture I've ever found. This glass display case is a Hollywood Regency pagoda-style rattan shelf. Pagoda-style shelves can be expensive, but I found this one on Facebook Marketplace for $300, which is a steal. 

I constantly change what's on this shelf. Right now, I have an old vintage globe that’s also a lamp, and my clamshell candle which is also something that I made from a bunch of stuff I thrifted. I have not read any of the books, but the color scheme was so cool, I had to buy them all. 

Then we have my collection of antiques. I collect vintage matchbooks. I also collect vintage compacts.

Bathroom

Now I would like to welcome you to my bathroom of lies. When we snagged this apartment, we didn't realize this bathroom does not have a window, so I decided to do as much as possible to make this a fun space. I added tile stickers, my fun little scalloped rug, and turned the walls pink.

My favorite hack is the green contact paper on the cabinet. I also swapped out the hardware. My favorite decorative object in this bathroom is my brass giraffe toilet paper holder. If you're going to have a toilet paper holder, why not have a brass giraffe?

Dining room

Let’s make our way to my beautiful pink tropical dining room. I really wanted to define the space. I love a big, bold moment. When I saw this wall mural online, I said, this must be mine. I wanted to add some luxury and glamor, so we went with our beautiful blue velvet chairs.

Kitchen

Then we have my mostly unexciting kitchen. One thing I do love about many LA Apartments is that they often have a lot of cute features. I love my green tiles. These crystal-cut, seafoam green glass knobs came with the place.

I did change the floors. The original tile is brown linoleum. I added this peel-and-stick barbershop floor.

Cat quarters

I custom-created this kitty cabinet front with a swinging pet door for my cat’s litter box. It's securely lined so it doesn't smell. 

Although this kitchen is pretty minimal compared to the rest of the house, we do have to add a little dose of maximalism, for my cat. I created her own mini dining room, fully equipped with photos, sconces, and a table with a tablecloth. 

Maximalist apartment tour

I hope you enjoyed today's maximalist apartment tour. I hope it inspired you to always be on the lookout for cool thrifted furniture. I also hope it inspires you to embrace your own style, no matter how funky.