The minute we laid eyes on Kristin Johns’ home, the CEO and Founder of Kristin Made, we were overwhelmed by it’s happy character, charming decor and sun-soaked kitchen. Kristin’s adorable LA abode is the perfect mix of vintage flee market finds and trendy modern details. Oh, and if you fancy yourself a plant enthusiast – this house is literally about to be your dream… over 60 (yup, we said 60) plant friends come together to bring so much life to this little house of hers. Top it all off with two of the cutest golden retrievers we’ve ever seen and its official – this home tour is one of our all-time favorites!
When you were shopping for a home to buy in LA, what were a few things that were really important to you that you knew you couldn’t live without?
When we were looking to buy a house, there were two things that I knew I were super important to me: bright light & character. I work from home shooting videos and photos constantly so that is why the lighting in the house was really important to me. I am also someone who just loves natural sunlight, it makes me so much more energized & happy. Luckily our house is probably one of the brightest houses I’ve ever been in so it definitely checked off that box! Buying a house with character was also very important to me because I love when things feel cozy and lived in – I don’t so much love the super modern & new feeling that comes with most of the houses here in LA. Right when I walked into our house I knew it had character, there are scalloped edges around the built ins, original molding from the 1940’s, and so many little quirks that are funny & special to us.
It’s clear from your YouTube channel and Instagram that you have a knack for fashion and beauty. How does your personal style translate into the design of your home? Are the two similar or not really?
My personal style is a little bit all over the place! I love super flow flowery dresses and clogs but I also love mom jeans, crop tops & Doc Martins! I feel like this somewhat translate into the way I decorate my home because I love vintage decor as well as modern decor but my goal has been to seamlessly mix the two! A good trick I’ve learned from decorating our house is that you don’t have to have the aesthetic of each room the exact same because then it starts to feel a little like a showroom. The key is just to make your house feel cohesive & don’t be afraid to add things that are really special & unique to you!
What would you say is more difficult, pulling together a room or pulling together an outfit?
I would definitely say pulling a room together is a bit more tricky than pulling an outfit together. Now, honestly that might just be because I am much more picky about my home decor than I am about my outfits! I just feel like there are so many aspects about pulling together an entire room – it takes a lot of time as well as trial & error.
Which room is your favorite in the house and why?
My favorite room in the house is our kitchen & it has been since the first time I walked in! It is the perfect size for us, it’s always bright & sunny, there is abundant storage everywhere & I love the way it is decorated. It is also the room in the house where everyone hangs out when we are having friends over. I always thought the living room was going to be the hang out spot but no, there have been times where there’s about 30 people all sitting around & hanging out in my kitchen & I love it!
How does your passion for plants affect how you design each room in your house? Do you hope to have a garden one day?
I do have to admit I am a little bit of a plant addict that’s for sure – I have about 63 plants placed around my house right now & I seriously want more! I would say that putting a plant in a room is always the finishing touch for me. I love how they add so much life & color to a room the second you add one in. There are at least 4 plants in each room in our house & each one has their perfect spot! I hope one day to have my own greenhouse actually. My husband & I actually spent about a month going around to thrift stores looking for old windows & collected enough to build an all window greenhouse but we are still deciding if we actually have enough room outside to put it together!
What’s your advice to someone who is really excited to decorate their first home but doesn’t know where to start!
My advice would be to start slowly & get your key pieces first. Get your couch, your dining room table, large area rugs & your bed & then you can build out your style & your aesthetic from there. I think the biggest mistake I made when we first bought our house was feeling this pressure that everything had to be decorated immediately but that would A. Drain your bank account and B. Not allow you the time to find things that are really special to you. Take your time & only bring things into your home that you absolutely love.
What room do you spend the most time in?
I probably spend the most time in my kitchen. I cook in the kitchen, eat in the kitchen & work in the kitchen as well because we have a cozy little breakfast nook in there.
Walk us through your kitchen. Do you have any tips for keeping an organized kitchen?
When you walk into our kitchen you first see our breakfast nook which is where we eat 90% of our meals. Our dishwasher & trash can are actually camouflaged as regular cabinets which I think is genius (no need to see a big black trashcan!) Then at the end of our kitchen we have a little coffee nook as well as our pantry. Keeping your kitchen organized can be a bit of a struggle because cooking always causes a bit of a mess. The number one tip that I use is to clean as you go when you’re cooking, then you aren’t left with a big mess to clean up at the end of the night. As far as organization goes I tend to lean on the side of minimalism. I don’t enjoy having a bunch of mix matched mugs and plates and utensils so that makes things in the cupboards look much more organized!
We are big fans of your brand, Kristin Made!!! What inspired you to start Kristin Made?
Thank you so much! I can’t really think of one thing in specific that inspired Kristin Made because all of my interests & passions inspired it! My love of home making, design, plants, cooking, making things with my hands, fashion, beauty & encouragement are all things that inspired the creation of Kristin Made. It’s like my brain & my heart joined together to create a brand.
The Kristin Made “Watch Me Grow” shirt is SO cute, we are so excited to see what new products are around the corner! Any chance we can expect to see some Kristin Made home décor products in the future?
The Watch Me Grow shirt was definitely a hit which I was so happy about. I am so glad people could see how much detail was put into it & how special it really is! We actually just launched our second round of products which are hair scarves! I’ve always loved wearing bows & ribbons in my hair & at this point I feel like I am kind of known for it to my followers so it was a no brainer to make my own. It is a bundle of three hair scarves called “The Root Collection” and I hope to keep adding more and more colors! We also have so many other amazing products launching in 2019 that I could not be more excited for!
Camper and Honey are the CUTEST – any tips for keeping your house so neat and tidy with two pups running around?
They are the best! I have always wanted to Golden Retrievers of my own because my family always had them growing up. They are so sweet & hilarious I wouldn’t trade them for the world BUT they are shedding machines! I am not joking when I say I could make a sweater a day with all the fur they shed! I have just made it part of my morning routine to walk around the house & sweep up the fur & vacuum the rugs. We also just got a Roomba which helps out a little bit. When I get frustrated with the shedding though I always think back to a quote my dad always says “it’s called FURniture for a reason!”
Are there any mistakes you feel like you might have made when decorating or remodeling? Will you be remodeling any other areas of your home soon?
I don’t feel like I’ve made mistakes with decorating because things are never permanent, you can always move something or get rid of things that you don’t enjoy anymore! When in comes to remodeling, yes we have definitely made our fair share of mistakes. We remodeled our front yard, built a pool & remodeled our backyard, & we completely renovated our master bathroom. Every single time we hired the wrong contractors. It is so important for your contractors to know what they are doing & stick to a timeline & unfortunately we ended up with not so great ones. Thankfully everything turned out perfect but it wasn’t without lots of stress! I don’t think we are planning on doing anymore renovations soon, but I’m sure in the future we might decide to!
What stores or online resources are your faves?
I love getting inspired on Instagram and Pinterest – there are so many beautiful & unique homes to look at! If you are struggling to decorate your shelves you can just type in “style shelving” on Pinterest & you will have never ending photos to gain inspiration from. I also find that I get most inspired when I am traveling. Seeing the styles of different cultures is so much fun. The two places that I have visited that I feel like made the most impact on my decor style are Copenhagen & Morocco.
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Photography: Elate Photo
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