Name: Jasmine L.
Location: Washington, DC
Type of home: Apartment
Size: 686 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, renting
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Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I like to call [my apartment] “Haus on a Hill.” Seated at the top of the hill in the quiet northwest neighborhood of Kalorama, my home is more than an apartment and encompasses everything I love about DC. It serves as an oasis from long shifts at the State Department’s 24/7 crisis management center. It’s a time machine with different treasures I’ve collected from living around the world — China, Italy, Vietnam, and Spain to name a few. It’s a gathering point where all friends scattered across the world come back to meet up.
My apartment is a collection of all the places I have built a home around the world. It’s the Art Deco of New York, where I went to college, meets California modern, an homage to my hometown of LA. However, if you look around, you’ll see the journey my life has taken from lion and lioness bookends I bought in the antique markets of Beijing to Spanish artwork I bought in Madrid.
Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Art Deco meets California Modern in a bar in Hong Kong
What is your favorite room and why? Not the prettiest, but the place I spend the most time— the kitchen. One of the things I miss most about the United States when I am gone is the American grocery stores and farmers markets. The kitchen, regardless of what event I host, becomes the pulse of the party.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I’ve been obsessed with becoming a plant parent because I have the tendency to kill all my plants. I told myself when I lived in China when I moved back to the United States this time it would be different. Most recently, I bought a bird of paradise!
Any advice for creating a home you love? Buy things that call to you, don’t go into it with an idea. Items that you love will become a natural part of your home.
