Newfangled Kin: Theresa & Marjo’s Modern Spanish Home

If you ever get invited into Theresa & Marjo Mercado's home, you'll notice that everything has been carefully curated - there is meaning, working function, and a discerning taste. They're also the kind of couple you get jealous about because they're perhaps the sweetest, inviting (even on surprise visits), and gracious hosts with tons of stories to tell.

They're also east coast transplants - but by the looks of their home furnishings, stacks of artwork and collectibles, and a ridiculous amount of photos, they fit nice and squishy on the west "best" coast. Their home is not gender-specific. Their style relies on a neutral color palette with splashes of reds, oranges, and blues.

When I visited their home last month, I fell madly, deeply, truly in love with their kitchen (it's my favorite room in their house). It's received a makeover since they moved-in 9 months ago (one of their proudest projects in the new house, no doubt) and it's a kitchen any seasoned chef would feel comfortable cooking a full course meal in. Needless to say, I hope to get invited back soon!

Who

Marjo & Theresa Mercado (and Duke, their fur baby)

Where

Atwater Village, Los Angeles, CA

How Big

1468 square feet

How Long

9 months (own)

Our style

Eclectic and Comfortable

Inspiration

Our home represents a little bit of all the places we’ve lived in (SF, NY and now LA) the places we have travelled to (Peru, Turkey, Europe, Egypt, Latin America) and our heritage. Most recently we love the vibe that we get from visiting Palm Springs & Joshua tree.

Challenge

Patience.

The house was built in 1928 and there are so many parts that we want to gently tear down and rebuild. We did, however, decided to renovate the kitchen and that was a 6 week journey partly due to my committing to an all white kitchen. It was pretty rough living out of a Styrofoam cooler.

Indulgence

Our dining room chairs.

We had just moved from NYC and we decided to invest in some amazing dining room chairs from HD Buttercup in Culver City that had a mid-century modern feel, with simple beautiful leather seats. We now have space to allow for 6 grown up chairs.

Best Advice

My husband constantly reminds me to try to “not make our house look like a mish mash” so in my head I’m always trying to edit – self restraint is not my forte.

Dream Sources

Domino, Elle Décor (in any language), any of the home articles from WSJ or NY Times, 70’s films like “Play it Again Sam”, www.jinxed.com (Instagram - jinxedstore) based in Philadelphia, Michele Varian in Soho - NY, ABC Carpet & Home - NY, HD Buttercup - Culver City.