After a year-long hiatus from the platform, I’ve suddenly found myself frequenting Pinterest again this year. It’s a borderline obsession. Perhaps it’s a sign of where my head is at. I’m in house-buying mode. I felt the urge hit me last year but it’s in full swing now. I really am feeling the need to nest and create a space of my very own. A home. So, as you can imagine, I have been pinning interiors I love to my dream home board and when these gorgeous images came across my desk I immediately wanted to do the same. That is until I realized it’s not actually a house, rather an exciting new event space in Culver City, Los Angeles called Festoon.
The 1900 square foot space is stunning and was dreamt up by the cool trio at 100 Layer Cake, Jillian Clark, Kristina Meltzer, and Amanda Dawbarn. But then I have come to expect nothing less from the insanely talented Sarah Sherman Samuel—she’s also the mastermind behind Mandy Moore’s truly jaw-dropping Pasadena home.
And while much to my disappointment you can’t move in, you can rent Festoon as an event space (and natural light photo studio) for dinner parties, corporate parties, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, pretty much any event you can dream up. Scroll through the images to hear more about how Samuel designed the cool space.
The 100 Layer Cake team wanted the main space to be really versatile. That is able to host anything from intimate dinners to workshops to photo shoots and everything in between.
Since the space will be used for multiple functions across varying party themes, they needed it to be akin to a blank canvas that you could layer personality on top of that felt unique to the person renting it. It will also double as a workspace for the 100 Layer Cake team and a space for photo shoots.
Before they moved in, the space had been a big office, so they tore out the electrical cords that went from the floor to the ceiling, installed floor-to-ceiling windows, and a new full back kitchen, as well as a front bar area. Tiles were also installed in the bathroom, and the entire thing got a fresh coat of paint.
By building out the cabinets and a countertop along the whole back, Samuel says it created a backdrop that could become a buffet, the back side of a bar, a wall for display or paired with the island to look like a kitchen.
A subtle blush plaster was applied to the walls and three pairs of brass sconces extend over the countertop. “I also designed the large island to be moveable (it’s in large caster wheels) so they can take it out of the main space to make room for larger events or reposition it around the space for different uses,” she explains. Sherman worked with Concrete Collaborative to make custom sized cement tiles in various shades of blush, tangerine, and white to create the pattern on the front of the island where you can pull up stools to sit. The front side of the island is more cabinets so when facing out it can also serve as a large credenza/versatile furniture piece.
The 100 Layer Cake team knew they wanted to hold dinner parties, workshops and photoshoots at Festoon, so they purposefully kept the color scheme somewhat neutral. The blush plaster wall and dusty lilac tile on the back kitchen are their main yet subtle pops of color.
There was no kitchen in the space before so Sherman’s team had to build out a new one. She used her own line of Semihandmade doors on the IKEA cabinets in the kitchen as well as the main studio (and the island), including her sss x park studio hardware. “Both are modern versions of classic designs that match the 100 Layer Cake Festoon aesthetic,” she says.
The Festoon kitchen was also the very first place Sherman installed her new line of Concrete Collaborative cement tiles. “It’s a series of four designs that you can altogether as shown in the festoon kitchen or create patterns with the various designs,” she says.
The tile color is a subtle lilac that borders on a warm gray but with just a touch of purple that reminds Sherman of the color of the mountains around the desert in Palm Springs.
While the 100 Layer Cake wanted the lounge to be a stylish place where they could welcome guests, it also needed to be durable enough for constant traffic. So they picked a sturdy leather couch and a rug that could withstand wear. “The design is sophisticated and a little feminine, with dusty lilac chairs that echo our kitchen tile, and softer elements of fiber art and giant pampas grass to balance it out,” they said.
Their favorite piece is the giant macrame wall hanging commissioned by Renata Stone of Knottery. It is now the focal point of their lounge area and really taps into the Los Angeles laid-back interior style.
The biggest challenge was coming up with a layout for the space that met their needs for both an event space and a workspace.
Now that it’s all finished, the team are excited to welcome people into the space to gather and celebrate.
Every corner in the space has been carefully considered for both purpose and play.
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