L.A. Digs: Silver Lake Sanctuary
Hollywood often calls upon set decorator Coryander Friend’s exquisite eye, so it stands to reason that Friend’s home is as well put together as her sets.
In fact, in Friend’s case, life imitates art, as pieces in her Silver Lake home often come from the projects that she’s decorating. “At the end of a show, I end up being given or buying certain artifacts," she says. "It’s a constant process of seeking, finding, discovering.”
An avid surfer who grew up in rural Wisconsin, Friend maintains that her childhood — spent in a cold climate — influences her design aesthetic, which she hopes creates “interior warmth. When you stay inside a lot, your interiors have to be beautiful.”
Friend is also a fan of midcentury modernism and primary colors, a style which certainly has a stronghold in SoCal homes. “While Danish modern is a dime a dozen here, it also means that there’s really great pieces you can get for cheap,” she says.
Friend is keen to share a few helpful hints for those of us maintaining amateur decorator status. She emphasizes editing design choices over stressing about selection processes. “I have a bit of an O.C.D. quality," she notes. "I think it’s important not to have too much storage space so you can’t hold onto things. I constantly clean out my closet. I can’t have anything on the floor. If something has to be tossed somewhere haphazardly, it’s got to go.”
The lithe 31-year-old also recommends sourcing visual references when putting together a space and suggests “any [Jean-Luc] Godard film — the French New Wave, they’ve really got design down," she says. And anything from Michelangelo Antonioni: "I think The Passenger is one of the most visually inspiring films."
Friend also cites travel as an important influence. “It’s expensive, but I’ve been to North Africa and Spain and Brazil and the Southeast Asia," she says. "Seeing the way other cultures decorate inspires me. You can get that through books, but first-hand experience is key. Even driving up the California coast and checking our weird towns and thrift shops and gas stations. Sometimes I fantasize that I live in teepee or beyond the plains.”
GREEN SCENE: Set decorator Coryander hangs out on her back patio with her brother, Alex, a Reiki III practioner and fellow tea-fancier.
THINK TANK: Friend's living room is the epitome of surfer-girl-meets-midcentury-country cabin — complete with a Lane coffee table, Danish modern sofa and molded plastic chairs.
HANG UPS: A carefully curated collection of books, pottery, fabric and natural objects, such as pine cones, sticks and rocks, are prominently displayed on hand-hung wooden shelves. Friend values her treasures as much for their function as for their form, though she says, “I just liked how the fabric (bottom right) looks folded up with the string. I might never use it. Sometimes an object is just nice in its own way.”
PLANT LIFE: The studio and back patio are covered in loosely tended greenery.
NATURAL WOMAN: Friend’s bedroom also serves as a temporary greenhouse—perfect for storing plant life from the set of Mike Mills’ upcoming feature film Beginners until they are needed again.
CULTURE CLASH: The mixing of cultures works beautifully in Friend's house — note the Danish Modern sofa under the Asian-themed artwork.
Lizzy Epstein is a veteran freelance writer — and a Senior Writer for Style Section L.A. — based in L.A. who masterfully (and unabashedly) mixes Chanel diamond necklaces with hippie dresses.