This L.A. Home Explodes With Crafts and Hobbies

Art director Camille loves making crafts at home — think: designing jewelry, making prints, and airbrushing her nails. “I have this problem where when I see something cool, I think, I can make that…” she laughs. Camille lives with her husband, Josh, an environmental scientist who enjoys woodworking on the side. Here’s a look around…

LIVING ROOM

Sofa: EQ3. Leather chair: ’70s Bionic Chair passed down by family. Lamp: World Market, similar. Rug: Alameda Flea Market. Curtains: Amazon.

On family rituals: I’m Filipino American, and every single household in my extended family has a karaoke machine. My machine has a ratings feature, and I’m always trying to get the perfect score. Sometimes Josh will ask, ‘Why are you trying so hard?’ when I’m singing alone in our living room. But I tell him that practice is key! A perfect warm-up song is Ain’t No Mountain High Enough because two people can sing together, and it gets everybody loose.

Joni Mitchell photograph: Tom Gundelfinger O’Neal. Speakers: “Josh made the case and used a CSS 1TD Kit for the internals.” Elephant side table: World Market.

On a sense of history: The previous owners lived here for 25 years and helped revive this house back to its 1920s glory. There were seven layers of paint over the fireplace, and they meticulously removed every layer to discover that the tiles are Batchelder tiles, a very iconic Los Angeles tile designed by the artist Ernest Allan Batchelder.

Shelf: “Custom plant/shoe shelf made by Josh. It has movable shelves!” B.B King print: Tom Gundelfinger O’Neal.

On trying new instruments: Both Josh and I play piano, and we decided to learn different instruments. He chose the bass, and I chose the guitar. So far, I’ve learned a couple songs; I like to play Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead.

DINING ROOM

Table and chairs: vintage ’50s American of Chicago Dining Set. Pendant: Amazon.

On knowing the neighbors: We live in Silver Lake, which is really friendly. Our vet is a five-minute walk, and there are six coffee shops where we’re regulars. Everyone on our block knows each other — we share baked goods during the holidays and catch up while walking our dogs. I love it so much.

Shelf: by Josh. Cannon illustrations: by Josh’s grandmother; “She lived in Lone Pine and did watercolors of the Eastern Sierras.”

On a music area: Josh has a huge CD collection; he always says, everyone loves CDs! When friends come over, he’ll play Lawrence’s Living Room, Bob Schneider’s A Perfect Day, and Elliot Smith’s Figure 8.

Hanging shelves, side table and stool: by Josh.

On a meet-cute: When Josh and I first met at a friend’s house, he mentioned he liked woodworking. Just a few days earlier, I had drawn up plans for these hanging shelves, so I asked if he’d be interested in helping me put them together. We went to the lumberyard to get the wood — then went to a museum and out for drinks.

Alpacas: World Market.

On relationship traditions: For our first anniversary, we bought a fuzzy alpaca, and that turned into an annual thing. So, the number of alpacas on this shelf represents the number of years we’ve been together. The other day, Josh asked, ‘What are we going to do when we reach our 50th anniversary?’ I replied, ‘I expect to have 50 alpacas!’

KITCHEN

On finding the home: We started looking for a home in 2021, and it was rough. Everyone was over-offering, and we got outbid many times. But one morning I found a listing for this house and sent it to our agent. It wasn’t on the market yet, but the seller’s agent agreed to show it. At the front door, he said, there’s a superstition that whoever opens the door to the open house gets good luck, and I was like, ‘Let’s open the door!’ After walking around, I turned to Josh, who said, ‘I love it.’ What sold him was the kitchen — he was gushing about the carpentry.

On that teal color: The previous owners loved the ‘50s, so they wanted a retro kitchen — they even removed the dishwasher and garbage disposal! Some buyers wanted a more modern feel, but we simply added a dishwasher; Josh made a cover for it so it wouldn’t disturb the look of the space.

OFFICE

Shelves and flat file: by Josh. Chair: Icons of Manhattan. Calendar: Amazon.

On printmaking: My primary hobby-turned-into-side-job is printing. I used to teach it to my students when I was a high school art teacher, and I picked it back up with this rolling art challenge in October where I learned something every day. I posted progress videos on TikTok, and now I have an online shop, where I sell prints about growing up Filipino-American.

On painting nails: Earlier last year, I got my nails done at the salon and thought, Oh my god, that’s sooo expensive. I decided I’d learn to do them myself. I love the peel-off base Jello, which doesn’t destroy your nails. I’m also into chrome designs, airbrushing, and gems.

Peg board: Amazon. Pin board: Amazon.

On starting a new hobby: People think finishing a project is hard, but I actually think starting is the hardest part. Getting over the hurdle of thinking you can’t do it is really impressive. Also, trust the process. The middle is rarely what you expect it to be, but you figure it out.

BEDROOM

On evening routines: After dinner, Josh and I always take our dog on a walk. Then Josh will read or write sci-fi on the couch, while I go to my office and do art. We both throw ourselves into our projects. I’m a night owl, so Josh brings me coffee in the morning if I spend the night working on a print. It’s so nice to support and help each other.

Thank you, Camille!

P.S. Many more house tours, including a book lover’s dream home and a family spot in the Japanese countryside.

(Photos by Leela Cyd for Cup of Jo.)

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