Victorian Parlor Meets Candyland: Inside The Maximalist Apartment Of A Silver Lake Stylist

“More is much and little is simply a bore.” ― Iris Apfel

After spending decades collecting clean-lined Midcentury Modern furniture and accessories, stylist Wendi Weger felt it was clip to springiness her Silver Lake flat a playful update.

“Everything was brown,” Weger says arsenic she sits connected a plush sofa covered successful pinkish and chartreuse striped Christian Lacroix fabric. “It looked for illustration a UPS motortruck successful here. I mean, look astatine me,” she adds, fluffing nan ruffles of her Accidente Con Flores dress, her intricately manicured fingers dressed up pinch colorful Zuni Toons rings. “That is not me.”

In this series, we spotlight L.A. rentals pinch style. From cleanable assemblage walls to impermanent decor hacks, these renters get creative, moreover successful mini spaces. And Angelenos request nan inspiration: Most are renters.

Indeed.

Weger, who grew up successful Madison, Wis., studied cinema during postgraduate schoolhouse astatine NYU and later moved to Los Angeles to activity successful Hollywood arsenic a shaper and stylist, is nary minimalist. Always expressive, she describes her style arsenic much akin to a “Victorian parlor meets hunting lodge.”

So it’s nary astonishment that her one-bedroom apartment, successful a Storybook-style fourplex built successful 1922, is conscionable arsenic melodramatic arsenic she is.

Wendi Weger views her Silver Lake flat arsenic her imaginative studio. “I don’t mind a batch of frenetic activity,” she says.

A wall covered successful hollyhock wallpaper from House of Hackney stands retired successful Weger’s bedroom, on pinch a handmade quilt signed by Grace Verburg that includes crochet, beadwork and hundreds of ribbon rosettes.

Weger thrives connected “kinetic energy,” beryllium it color, texture aliases a brace of bedazzled Italian loafers. In her bedroom, she mixes floral textiles and modern creation pinch a quirky stepstool shaped for illustration an receptor of corn. In nan eating room, vintage Doyle Lane ceramic beads dangle from a Mission-style woody timepiece while designer handbags are draped complete chairs and chapeau racks.

On her fireplace, an ornate gilded reflector from nan 1940s she recovered astatine Sunbeam Vintage is flanked by porcelain figurines. A porcelain Capodimonte lamp nestled nether vintage Japanese prints is described arsenic “Rococo connected acid.” Nearby, a handmade chandelier by artist Helen Stickler, dressed up pinch vintage Swarovski crystals and beads, adds to what Weger describes arsenic her “Candyland vibe.”

Weger twirls successful a pinkish taffeta Batsheva dress. “My flat is fundamentally really I dress — for illustration an Edwardian shade successful a prairie dress who wandered into a circus and decided to support everything,” she says.

“That’s wherever I americium correct now,” she says astir nan flat she has called location for 17 years. “I consciousness for illustration I tin yet play. I’m trying to bring successful a candy taxable without making it excessively grandma. At this constituent successful my life, I don’t attraction what anyone thinks astir me.”

Her friend, imaginative head Dana Sidell, says self-expression is cardinal to really Weger lives her life. “Wendi has nan unsocial expertise to bring nostalgia, whimsy and personality each together into maximalist style,” she says successful an email.

In 2020, arsenic nan movie manufacture slowed down because of COVID-19, Weger took a chance and opened the Curatorial Dept., a vintage and designer resale shop successful Atwater Village. Popular pinch celebrities including Lake Bell, Nick Thune and politicians Nithya Raman and Laura Friedman, nan shop is known for Weger’s signature “clothing sculptures,” wherever she layers mannequins pinch dozens of pieces of clothing and accessories.

“Styling is my art,” she says. “To me, clothing is sculpture.”

A silk Gucci skirt hangs alongside artworks successful Weger’s bedroom. “Whether it’s producing a film, building a boutique, styling a room aliases a mannequin, it’s astir assemblage and synergy,” she says.

To demonstrate, Weger starts layering a mannequin successful her bedroom, picking from racks of clothes, handbags, color-coordinated shoes and jewelry nearby. She layers an “I’m With Stupid” T-shirt complete a dress garment and Yohji Yamamoto linen pants, past keeps adding more. “It needs a ruffle,” she says, caught up successful nan process, earlier adding a frilly collar and sparkling vintage brooch.

A agleam bluish first-place ribbon materializes and becomes nan cleanable accessory. “It’s not maximalist enough,” she says pinch a sigh.

Weger says her flat reflects nan measurement she dresses, pinch layers of art, vintage apparel and accessories, each pinch its ain story. She jokes that it looks for illustration 1 of her clothing sculptures has “exploded crossed a room.”

When asked if there’s specified a point arsenic excessively much, she shakes her caput pinch conviction.

1

2

1. Weger holds a brace of sparkling JVB X Nomasei ‘Nono’ loafers. 2. The hollyhock shape from House of Hackney appears passim Weger’s apartment, moreover connected this cloth lampshade.

1

2

1. A Gucci cashmere bunny cape hangs for illustration an artwork successful nan bedroom. 2. Doyle Lane ceramic beads bent connected a woody timepiece supra a postulation of $2 bills.

“I’ll deterioration a babe cup arsenic jewelry,” she says, picking up a mini metallic cup from a furniture to show her point. What’s 1 much charm connected 1 of respective necklaces already dense pinch lockets and hearts?

Weger’s location decor follows nan aforesaid idea. Some pieces, for illustration a pinkish silk pleated Gucci skirt by Alessandro Michele, bent connected her chamber wall adjacent to vintage artworks, including a framed transverse stitch by a friend that sounds “Live. Laugh. Toaster Bath.” Others are neatly arranged successful her butler’s pantry. Clothing racks capable nan hallway, surviving room and moreover her bedroom. “Clothing and handbags are creation to me,” she says.

Then there’s nan cashmere embroidered rabbit cape by Gucci, which she purchased secondhand.

“People pursuit maine down connected nan thoroughfare whenever I deterioration it and inquire maine wherever I sewage it,” she says. “To me, it’s art.”

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Humor is important to her too. In nan surviving room, a bluish resin java array shaped for illustration a candy wrapper adds to nan playful feel, on pinch vintage candy dishes.

“There’s a batch of absurdity and drama here,” she says, pointing retired nan Spanish angels pinch guns, a bid of artworks from nan 1600s.

“There’s thing astir these Spanish archangels pinch weapons,” she says. “They look reliable and unisex to me, pinch mild expressions, beautiful clothes, tights, ruffles and sleeves, positive a firearm. It’s a awesome awesome for being a warrior, particularly arsenic a mini business owner.”

Nearly everything successful her flat is secondhand, from nan vintage Audubon prints arranged salon-style successful nan surviving room to nan Navajo rugs and David Shrigley people she recovered astatine a car shed sale. Mixing aged and caller is important, she says, referring to nan House of Hackney hollyhock shape she precocious added to nan walls of nan surviving room and bedrooms, arsenic good arsenic nan eating room lampshade.

Handbags are draped complete eating chairs.

Her spot settings are besides layered, including Weger’s grandmother’s Wedgwood china.

Her flat is fundamentally her atelier, aliases arsenic she calls it, “the imaginative motor behind” nan Curatorial Dept. She often does intake for her shop astatine her room table, surrounded by needlepoint pillows made by her Great-Uncle Elliott, who was besides an entrepreneur. “This is not cluttered to me,” she says. “This is conscionable wherever everything gets sorted.”

“Wendi’s style has a touch of nan harlequin to it — playful, theatrical and ever fresh for an occasion,” writer and erstwhile NYU classmate Josh Rothenberger says successful an email. “Her world is simply a lukewarm pastiche of vintage and bespoke, histories inherited and histories invented connected nan fly. Her furnishings invites nan benignant of existential frolic that pairs champion pinch Cuvée — only to punctual us, hours later, that existent beauty should ne'er beryllium excessively precious to creation on.”

Although Weger says she isn’t a “woo-woo person,” she believes her flat and shop came from asking nan beingness for what she wanted. “Tell group what you want,” she says. “Especially successful L.A. People support you and thief you scope your dreams. I said I wanted this apartment, and because of that, my friend thought of maine erstwhile she was moving. The aforesaid point happened pinch my shop. I was successful a different manufacture erstwhile I told a shop proprietor friend I’d ever wanted a shop, that I intended to person a shop, and she thought of maine erstwhile hers became available.”

She’s already reasoning astir what she wants next: “I’ll beryllium judge to show everyone I know.”