interior_heidi_merrick_atelier_dore_1

Heidi’s House is a Home

7 years ago by

Just a few words about Heidi, whom I met this summer and absolutely love (her, and her family John, Hiver and Alfie).

1. She’s the absolute coolest.
2. She surfs whenever she can.
3. She has a brand I can’t seem to stop wearing.
4. She has the loudest and warmest laugh around.
5. She lives her life on her own terms, makes fashion on her own terms.
6. This is her city house, but they also bought a piece of land in Ojai where they glamp like it’s Out Of Africa.
7. She’s the Heidi I went to the spa with.
8. She has the house everyone dreams of having in LA, a Spanish style house.
9. Also, she decorated it perfectly, without it being too perfect. You know?
10. And even though she has and does all that, she’s not for one second annoying.

And that’s what I can say for now. Meet Heidi!

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

Can you tell us a little bit about your home? How did you find it and how long have you been here?
It’s in the hills of Silverlake, we followed my childhood friends there almost 10 years ago. My husband found the house, he does real estate, and wasn’t sure I’d like it. But when I stepped on the front porch saw the view and the giant bird of paradise, I knew we needed to do everything in our power to buy it. We’ve never looked back, I’m so happy here.

How would you describe the overall aesthetic of your home? Was this your goal?
My friend, Raan, said it was a salty Chateau Marmont, I cracked up and was very complimented! My goal is always trying to tame and clean, I could fill a castle and make it weird. Editing, that’s my only goal in decor.

What is the most important thing in making a house feel like a home?
For me it’s not letting anything be precious, except the people, obviously. The people are precious! Maybe knowing that and making it beautiful for the people in it, making it a happy place to be. For example, letting my daughter have ugly piggy banks or weird rock collections.

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

interior_heidi_merrick_atelier_dore_8

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

Your furniture is so interesting and amazing – where do you find it and do you have a method when it comes to shopping / buying for the home?
Thank you! I have no method at all. If I see something I love and I’m out shopping, I buy it! Then I bring it home and let it melt in. I don’t believe in planning everything in your house, I believe in loving everything in your house. I’ve been known to go without things like couches or beds for years until something strikes me. I also gladly accept hand-me-downs, it keeps the history and realness in a family.

Can you tell me about all the old books?
My grandmother (on my mom’s side) was a painter and had a beautiful art book collection that I now have. Also, buying loads of art and fashion books is one of my main indulgences. My husband is bookie and he’s collected a load of first edition classics. I have some of my grandmother (on my dad’s side) old books, her tiny bible, some Robert Louis Stevenson… A book collection becomes a family history of hobbies and devotion, I love the presence of them.

What about the books on the floor, why put them there versus on a shelf somewhere?
I don’t have enough book shelves is the simple answer. I’m a book hoarder. I love books.

interior heidi derrick atelier dore photo

interior heidi derrick atelier dore photo

Heidi’s House is a Home

What’s your favorite thing about your home?
The people in it! But the less ethereal answer would be the light. It has magical light at all different times of the day. When people are over, I love to move the party around to follow the light.

The wood platform bed is amazing…is there a story behind it?
Yes! My friend Bernard Brucha is the designer, and he and his girlfriend (my best friend, Jenny Murray) gave it to me for my 40th birthday. An extravagant and luxurious gift, maybe the best present I’ve ever gotten. Aside from the wooden surfboard my dad made me, maybe those two are tied for best.

When you entertain at your home, what’s one thing you hope people experience, feel, leave with, etc?
I want people be uplifted and relaxed and feel like life is good and the world will survive. I want them to remember that friends and family and food all the things right in front of you are worthy of your attention and love. I want them to escape the world of their phone and live and laugh a bit with my family.

What’s the best thing about living in Los Angeles?
You can live the way you want to. You can be in the hills or at the beach, you can be fancy, or skateboard barefoot- you can be yourself. Los Angeles is not the city of conformity, it’s the city of dreamers who want to live as beautifully as they create.

interior heidi merrick atelier dore photo

14 comments

Add yours
  • Sunny Side September, 15 2017, 9:51 / Reply

    Tu commences à me donner envie d’aller à L.A !!! Cette nature dans le jardin, ses fauteuils sublimes, cette maison a une âme ! Les livres partout et le bois et les chevaux … qui réchauffent. Juste les shoes ds la chambre çà non ! Cà casse l’histoire. On sent qu’Heidi a un sens de l’accueil chaleureux et simple. Si précieux les amis qui nous acceptent dans notre spontanéité ! You desserve it !

  • Pas mal ! Mais je n’aime pas les chaussures près du lit , ni les livres par terre…. la maison est
    claire lumineuse ….
    tout est dans la lumière !

  • Ahah! Pareil pour les chaussures et les livres! Moi j’ai besoin de ne pas voir de chaussures dans la chambre et d’avoir des livres en vertical pour tous les prendre quand je veux sans tout démonter ;-)
    Le reste de la maison est génial par contre!

  • Amazing! The sight of stacks and stacks of books makes me swoon! This house has warmth and a lived in soul – major inspiration. Thanks for giving us a peek into a Silver Lake gem.

  • This eclectic environment is everything interior design should be . It tells me who lives here , that they have great taste and that they live a balanced life ! Beautiful!
    Jandrew
    Dress The Part
    http://www.jandrewspeaks.com

  • Very pretty. This is the best decor i have seen. Thanks for sharing.

    http://couturevillage.com/

  • Ha! I had to laugh about the shoes, yes maybe this is really a matter of taste. If you love your shoes, then sure why not! But I can understand how some may not want to have them next to their bed ;-)
    I love the light and eclectic chairs. The beautiful door frame that opens up, very shabby chic. Beautiful.

  • You forgot to mention she’s the nicest person in LA fashion!

  • Simply inspiring.

  • Jorge Alexandre Teixeira September, 17 2017, 6:13 / Reply

    *_* !!!

  • It looks like a beautiful home. The bed in the bedroom is so stricking – it forms such a graceful silhouette + it’s as if the wooden frame stands guard and protects you so you have the best of sleeps.

    I, too, can’t understand having all those shoes right where you sleep, but I like to believe that the (what seems to me a) door they are stacked on is actully the door to the closet room/another room. So no shoes in the bedroom after all :)

  • Quel syle ! J’adore ce mélange de couleurs et matières très éclectiques ! Merci pour la visite ;)

  • Tanya Sahi October, 10 2017, 9:05 / Reply

    I love the pictures, the space is very tastefully done …. however i am sure she accepts hand-me-downs, not ” I also gladly except”… apologies …just OCD about it.

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