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Refinery29
  • 4 years ago
In this episode of Sweet Digs, we explore Scarlett's one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica, CA which she rents for $2,375/month. Scarlett shows us her vintage furniture and knick-knacks filled with memories. Watch this week’s Sweet Digs and see how she makes her apartment feel like home.

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High rent, small spaces, nosy neighbors — we put up with A LOT of things to live where we love. In Sweet Digs, Refinery29 gets a peek inside the homes of the coolest people we know, from tiny studios to sprawling houses, and ask the real questions like, "Wait, how much is your rent?"

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Transcript
00:00This is my cat, Pearl. She is my soulmate, love of my life, and my roommate. Yes, you are my
00:06roommate.
00:07Yay! She's in the video!
00:14Hi, I'm Scarlett. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica.
00:18Fun fact, this apartment was built in 1914. Welcome to my sweet digs. Come on in.
00:23I pay $2,375 in rent. When you first walk in, my dining room and kitchen are to the left,
00:30and then my living room connects to my bathroom and my bedroom with a hallway.
00:34This is my dining room. Over here, I have two 1950s movie posters that came from my dad.
00:41The first one is called The Truth About Flying Saucers, and the second one is We Came From Beyond Space.
00:46I love the colors and how they add such a fun pop into my dining room area.
00:51My dining table is from Ikea, and I hand-sanded this and painted it myself to match the colors in
00:58my apartment,
00:58and I'm really happy with how this DIY project came out.
01:01My cat will actually run down the hall and launch herself onto the table,
01:05so there are a bunch of claw marks deep in the wood.
01:08My dining chairs are original Seska cane chairs, and I absolutely love them,
01:13although they are a bit fragile, so I try not to sit on them with too much force.
01:19One of my favorite finds from my apartment are my Facebook Marketplace Seska chairs.
01:23These are the real, authentic Seska vintage chairs that I found and drove all the way to San Diego to
01:28pick up,
01:29but it was definitely worth it.
01:30My kitchen is pretty small. I wish it had a little bit more counter space,
01:33but since I'm only cooking for one, it is the perfect amount.
01:37I love keeping knick-knacks above my sink.
01:39I have my Studio Ghibli cup.
01:41I also have this mortar and pestle that I brought home from England in my suitcase.
01:45It was very heavy, but it was worth it.
01:47Because I don't have a ton of cabinet space, I have a little kitchen utility cart
01:52that keeps my spices and produce and any other things that I need for cooking.
01:58Follow me into my living room.
02:01My living room is where I spend most of my day,
02:03so I wanted to create an area that had nice flow
02:06and also a lot of space for me to do yoga and make it kind of a multifunctional space.
02:11I love film and TV. I actually work at an animation studio working on adult and kids animation.
02:17I watch a lot of TV and movies due to the nature of my work,
02:21so having a really comfortable place that I can sit in front of the TV and relax is my utmost
02:26important thing.
02:27The most expensive item in my home is definitely my couch from Living Spaces.
02:32This is supposed to be a dupe of the cloud couch,
02:35but I'm so glad that I bought it because it's super comfortable for watching TV and hanging out
02:40and it fits a lot of people on it.
02:42Definitely worth the price and I'm super happy with my purchase.
02:46Here is my desk.
02:47I work here three days out of the week and having a standing desk is definitely the most beneficial thing
02:53for working from home because it makes sure I get up throughout the day.
02:57I really wanted the space to be somewhere I would actually sit and focus and actually want to hang out
03:03in.
03:03So having fun little knickknacks and cute things around me helps me stay focused and stay present.
03:09When I was laying out my apartment, my most important thing was making sure that I had the most natural
03:15light as possible.
03:17Because I work from home, I wanted to create a little area for my desk and all of my electronics
03:23and create a space that I actually want to work in.
03:26I'm a big reader, so I have a lot of books and I think the most fun way to organize
03:30them is in rainbow order.
03:33My knickknacks are honestly from all over.
03:35This is from my grandparents' house and it's a little balancing jockey and I've coveted this since I was a
03:42child.
03:42So when I got to take it home with me, it was a very, very big deal.
03:45Behind my couch, I have to keep my surfboard because it is nine foot four
03:50and it's too tall for me to stand up against the wall in here.
03:53So every time I go surfing, I have to finagle it out behind the couch
03:57and pull it and walk it down the stairs to take it to my car.
04:00This mushroom drawing was done by my grandma and it's just so special to me
04:04that I get to look at it every day while I work.
04:07This mirror is one of my favorite pieces in my apartment.
04:10My friend actually bought this for her place months ago
04:13and she recently sold it to me and it was the biggest score.
04:16I spend a lot of time at the beach and outdoors so I collect a lot of rocks and shells
04:21and sea glass
04:21on my different adventures and on my bar cart, I keep some of my favorite, most precious pieces.
04:27My bar cart was given to me by my stepmom and it's actually from the early 1900s
04:32and the inlay and the wood is so beautiful.
04:35It's just one of my favorite pieces I have in my apartment.
04:39I could talk for hours about every single one of these rocks and shells
04:42but this is a short video so I'm not going to do that but every single one has a story
04:47and they're all very precious to me.
04:49Whenever I come home, I always take my shoes off immediately and put them on my shoe rack.
04:54I love having a little entrance station where I can drop my keys or anything that I need to take
04:59with me
04:59as I'm heading out the door.
05:01It's super helpful so I don't lose things throughout the day.
05:04This is my media console where I keep all of my books and records
05:07and I spend a lot of time listening to music and watching TV
05:11so it's nice to have everything displayed here.
05:13When I was first moving into the space, I really wanted a particular record console
05:17from Urban Outfitters but it felt way too expensive for what it was
05:20so my ex-boyfriend actually hand-built me my TV and record stand.
05:25He spent the time picking out the wood and hand-crafting it
05:28and it's a super beautiful piece.
05:30We're not together anymore but at the very least, I got this beautiful media console
05:35and I will appreciate that forever.
05:36Down this hallway is my bathroom and my bedroom.
05:40And of course, next to my sink, there's sea glass and shells
05:43and of course, in my shower, there is more sea glass and shells.
05:47Follow me into the bedroom.
05:49My bedroom is my true sanctuary.
05:52I really only spend time in here to sleep, read, journal, and stretch
05:56so I wanted it to be a super safe space for myself
05:59that felt like a really true authentic expression of my style.
06:02I love all of the colors and that it feels super girly.
06:05It definitely makes me feel super feminine when I'm getting ready for the night in here.
06:10My headboard is a Facebook Marketplace find that I was so excited to see online.
06:16I think I paid about $300 for it but for me, it was super worth it
06:19because it was exactly what I was looking for.
06:22My pillowcases are from the 1960s designed by the artist Peter Max
06:26and online, the entire sheet set goes for about $500
06:30but my mom actually found both of these pillowcases in the thrift store for a super cheap price.
06:35My least favorite thing about this apartment is that every time the metro goes by,
06:40my back bedroom shakes like an earthquake.
06:43And the first time that it happened, I was super shocked
06:46but honestly, I got used to it after a few days.
06:49I have a ginormous vintage purse collection
06:52and instead of hiding them in my closet, I wanted to display them
06:55because they are such beautiful pieces of art.
06:57This one came from my aunt
06:59and this other one came from the vintage store Hidden Treasures in Topanga Canyon.
07:03My heart lamp, I thrifted for $6 when I was in college
07:06and it is such a coveted piece, I will never ever get rid of it.
07:10And I added the pink light because it adds such a fun hue at night
07:13when all of the rest of the lights are off.
07:16Across from my bed, I have a bookshelf full of knickknacks,
07:19my perfumes, different things I use for getting ready
07:22and of course, more sea glass and shells.
07:25Over here, I have my full-length mirror that I use for getting ready
07:28as well as my guitar that I am still learning to play.
07:30I found my rug secondhand on Facebook Marketplace.
07:34My closet, although it is small, it actually does fit all of my clothes
07:38but I keep some other things like camping equipment,
07:41my suitcases are tucked in the back
07:42and of course, all of my clothes are super bright and colorful
07:46so it makes me very happy when I open the door and get ready.
07:49I wear a lot of secondhand clothes
07:51and just standout vintage pieces,
07:53a lot of bright patterns and colors
07:55so I think my apartment definitely reflects my personal style in every way.
08:00this is my ultimate sanctuary and place that I get to express myself
08:04and it feels really safe in here because it feels like me.