Lauryn Evarts of the Skinny Confidential Shares What Makes Her Home, Her
Spending time between San Diego and Los Angeles, Lauryn Evarts has an eye for making things look good. Since launching her blog, The Skinny Confidential, at the end of 2011 Lauryn Evarts has become a go-to girl for what she best describes as “major realness.” The blogger, influencer, author, and entrepreneur has since then garnered a major following and expanded her brand into her books, podcasts, and a YouTube channel. As stated in her blog, a great way to describe her would indeed be “kale in one hand, champagne in the other.”
Evarts’ Los Angeles home is very much reflective of her personal style. It’s chic, classy, grown-up, with just the right amount of seriousness. The West Hollywood condo where Evarts and her husband Michael frequent a couple times a month may seem a little different from Evarts’ brand style at first. “A lot of my life is very feminine,” said Evarts pointing out the soft hues of pink on both her website and Instagram photos. “I wanted a very masculine vibe throughout the whole house. I wanted it to feel almost like a bachelor pad thrown in with a feminine touch.” No pink is found in the house. Rather, black and white dress the walls, floors, and furniture. Almost like a chic tuxedo. Or a chic power suit if you will. In the living room are black leather sofas on top of a big fluffy white rug. The aesthetic continues outside the house where modern black planters contain minimalistic looking plants like horsetails.
“I don’t want to say it’s necessarily a party house, but it’s definitely a place where you entertain and have a cocktail. You’re not going to want to get cozy there on a Sunday,” Evarts said. Adding on to the bachelor pad inspiration, she admits that the place is far from being a family home and explains they have their whole lives to have a family house. None of the displayed photos are of the couple, the contemporary furniture does not shy away from sharp corners, and the beautiful matte white bar is fully stocked. When designing the house with LA interior designer, Courtland Bascon, who helped fuse her and Michael’s styles together, they wanted to go for a more sexy look. “It feels a little bit cold, but you still want to be entertained there. It’s very clean and simple. It’s very un-family,” Evarts said laughing.
Perhaps the most bachelor pad-esque item in the house is the beautiful black and white vintage 1970s Café Racer hanging above the dining table. And yes, it is real. “It’s kind of a joke because my husband always wanted a motorcycle and I told him he can do whatever he wants besides have a motorcycle,” Evarts said laughing. “He gets his motorcycle on the wall, he just can’t ride it.” Evarts’ home is just full of uniquely curated pieces and artwork.
Making the house Instagram-worthy was another goal of theirs and indeed it is. The bright natural light which Evarts found important does well in highlighting all the contrasts and textures of the furniture and art against the white walls.
Aside from the pad’s minimalistic and stylish design, it is efficient and smart, much like Evarts herself. Organization and practicality are among the priorities Evarts has in both her San Diego and Los Angeles homes. “Everything has its place and there’s not a lot of stuff out. We designed the house so that anyone can walk in and know what to do,” said Evarts. Their television console, which the couple designed themselves, allows the television to disappear, exemplifying the efficiency. With a career that allows her the freedom to work from home, having a stress-free environment where things are where she wants them to be is important. Evarts praises The Container Store and advises against nonnecessities. “Anything that’s pointless, I like to put away because I find that when things are put away, I have less stress,” explained Evarts.
Evarts’ main advice for decorating is to think outside of the box like finding pieces one wouldn’t expect to hang on the wall or place on top of a coffee table. She also encourages mixing high and low-end pieces from different places such as the online shop Society6 or HomeGoods, two of which she likes to shop at. And of course, vintage is always an option. “We love to go to vintage stores, especially in Palm Springs. We find some of the best stuff there,” said Evarts.
As for art, Evarts likes to look for upcoming artists and emphasizes that they don’t have to be expensive or really popular. One of her first commissions were from her early days as a bartender where she paid a 12-year-old to paint something for her now husband. “I am such a huge believer that you could decorate your house within your budget.”
When asked what kind of drink she would pair her home with, a martini was her answer. “It’s straight up, super classic, with a little bit of flare and a twist,” said Evarts in comparison to their San Diego house, which she describes as a glass of rosé. “It’s really cold. It’s a straight up shooter. There’s no extra added shit, if that makes sense.”
Home-Sweet-Home: Located in a classic Los Angeles midcentury building, Lauryn and her husband Michael didn’t have to do any remodeling. All they had to do was come in, paint walls, and start designing and decorating.
Location is Everything: Upon finding the condo, Evarts was attracted to its size, its matte black floors, and its matte white marble bar decorated by the condo’s previous owners. Being located in one of LA’s trendiest neighborhoods, Evarts said, “It was in a cute location where we could just walk to get a smoothie.”
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Written By: Rae Ann Varona
Photographed By: Wil Cohen Lauryn Evarts
