Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: The Design Process & My Honest Thoughts

I can’t believe it’s been two years since I packed up my life and moved across the country to Los Angeles. I love living on the West Coast, and the transition has been surprisingly easy. While I miss my family and friends back East, I don’t miss the weather!

I knew I wanted to live in Downtown Los Angeles before I even moved out to LA. It seemed like a natural fit as an East Coaster: it’s walkable, has easy access to several freeways, and is super easy to get to LAX from DTLA with a toll/HOV pass. Plus, I lived within walking distance of Crypto.com Arena, the Staples Center (IYKYK), and the Convention Center, making attending concerts, games, and special events easy. 

I recently moved out of this apartment, but it was a special place that I loved calling home during my first two years in LA. Here is my Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour, some tips on how to find an apartment in LA, and my honest thoughts on DTLA living.

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: How to Find the Perfect Apartment in LA

I moved to LA in the spring of 2021, and with COVID restrictions, I honestly wasn’t comfortable flying out to apartment hunt before my move. I booked an Airbnb for a month instead of moving straight into an apartment to see places in person and get a feel for the neighborhood I moved into.

I did some research before the move and fell in love with the apartment complex I ultimately moved into before ever seeing it in person. It was pretty new, and after touring, my partner and I learned that we would be the first people to move into our unit. We looked at a few more apartment buildings downtown, but it was tough to get a hold of leasing agents (something I also experienced during this moving process). While I reached out to several complexes, I only managed to secure a tour of a handful of them. You have to be persistent when apartment hunting in LA!

For this recent move, I ended up contacting a broker in addition to doing my own tours at bigger complexes, and I’d highly recommend my broker — Thania. She was attentive, got us in to tour some incredible spots, and was very responsive!

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: My Honest Thoughts on Living in DTLA

When I told people I lived in Downtown Los Angeles, I got some pretty extreme reactions: some people thought I lived on Skid Row, and some people were curious, as they knew it was an up-and-coming neighborhood.

Let’s talk about safety in DTLA. The high-rises in DTLA are secure — my building had a doorman, and residents had limited key-fob acesss (you could only access your floor, amenities floors, and the parking garage level), so I wasn’t even able to buzz myself up to my friend’s floors.

I felt safe in my apartment complex, but you must also have some common sense living in an inner city. Walking to the stadium for a game at night with friends was okay because there were thousands of people out. Walking alone at night? I wouldn’t recommend doing that anywhere, even if you live in a small town. Uber/Lyft/other rideshare options can get you around safely.

Some pros of living in DTLA: I had easy access to several freeways, so I could quickly get around town. Visiting my friends in the valley? No problem. Getting to the airport? A breeze. Yes, I was sitting in traffic quite a bit, but having a direct route to pretty much anywhere in the area was great. I also lived within walking distance of three different grocery stores, Sephora, Target, Sweetgreen, and Mendocino Farms…it was super easy to run errands here!

Let’s talk about some of the cons of living in DTLA (specifically, near the convention center and stadiums): A few events were happening near us at times, and street closures would prevent us from driving outside of our neighborhood (the president, VP, and other world leaders were hosted at events near our old apartment, and we pretty much had to cancel all of our plans when that happened!)

After chatting with some people who had lived in DTLA for a while, it seems that DTLA never really recovered fully from the pandemic and lockdown. It used to be a lot more bustling, but now, there are a bunch of empty high-rise office buildings, and it just feels quieter. Restaurants near me closed for lockdown, and some never opened back up. I found myself hanging out in the Arts District of DTLA more, which was only 10 minutes away from my old apartment. It felt more local, had some of the best restaurants in the city, and had more mom-and-pop businesses than big chain stores and eateries. 

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: The Design Process

Even though I’ve moved quite a bit, I still wanted this apartment to feel like home. I hired Shannon Claire to design my living room since we had a few challenges with organizing the space. I also hired Alia from The Styled Stories for professional organizing. These two ladies were lifesavers in getting this apartment together, and I hope to work with them soon! Shannon offers virtual design packages, while Alia services clients in the LA area.

When I moved cross-country, I sold almost all of my furniture and only brought my bed, desk, and other small pieces. It was nice to have a fresh start in the new space! I downsized from a 2500-sq ft townhome in Virginia to a 950 sq ft one-bedroom apartment in LA, so getting rid of things before moving was essential. I’m so glad I didn’t try to bring too many furniture pieces from my old space!

I wanted to add color to my living room, but I didn’t want to paint or add wallpaper this time since I knew we’d outgrow our plane quickly, so Shannon found some fun, colorful options for me! We had two rounds of the design process, and I combined pieces from both designs to create something fun and my own. 

Alright, alright: I think it’s time to get into the actual apartment tour now!

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: Living Room

This is the money shot and what convinced me to rent this apartment. This corner unit got incredible light, and we had a pretty ample, open space. This space also doubled as an office, and I placed my desk here and some shelves for additional storage.

We wanted the couch to face out to the windows and not mount the TV to the wall, so we found this Samsung Serif TV with a sleek design to easily move around the space. I will candidly say that Samsung does not have the best customer service, and the TV arrived with a broken remote that they never replaced (despite multiple calls, emails, and chats), so even though the product is beautiful, I probably won’t buy another Samsung TV again.

Details: TV: Samsung | Couch: Article | Coffee Table: West Elm | Yellow Rug: Anthropologie (Sold Out) | Chairs: Four Hands (Sold Out) | Throw Pillow #1: Etsy | Throw Pillow #2: The Citizenry |  Light Fixture: Hudson Valley Lighting | Art Print #1: Minted | Floor Lamp: Safavieh | Disco Balls: Living Colorfully Shop | Side Table: West Elm | Bar Cart: Pottery Barn (Sold Out)
 

Office Area: Art Print #2: Block Shop Textiles  | Desk: West Elm | Chair: World Market (Sold Out) | Blue Rug: Anthropologie  | Floating Shelves: Pottery Barn

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: Kitchen

This kitchen drove me crazy, but we made it work to the best of our ability. For some reason, there was only one drawer in the entire kitchen. ONE!! Most of my kitchen appliances were left in storage.

I bought this island from IKEA for some extra storage, and it doubled nicely as a kitchen table. I always desperately need extra wine storage, so I moved the wine fridge I had in Virginia over to the new space.

Details: Kitchen Island: IKEA | Counter Stools: West Elm | Wine Fridge: Lowes 

Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour: Bedroom

Okay, this bedroom was never finished and is bland. I was advised not to hang art above the bed just in case of earthquakes, so I was thinking of using a peel-and-stick wallpaper behind the bed to give this space some extra oomph, but I never got around to it.

I will say: this closet was AMAZING, and I miss it so, so much. It holds so much. You can view a closet tour over on my TikTok.

Details: Bed Frame: Burke Decor | Light Fixture: Anthropologie | Duvet Cover: West Elm | Jewelry Box: The Container Store | Wall Baskets: Etsy | Bench: One Kings Lane

 
Did you enjoy this Downtown Los Angeles Apartment Tour? Check out more of my home decor posts here!

Photos by Tom McGovern