Lifestyle
She gave her rent-controlled apartment a cottagecore update worthy of 'Little Women'
As an avid collector of vintage decor, Catie Brown feels lucky she doesn’t have to cope with one of Los Angeles’ most common rental dilemmas: limited space.
“I wanted a two-bedroom apartment but didn’t think it was financially feasible,” Brown says of moving out on her own for the first time after graduating from Stanford.
In this series, we spotlight L.A. rentals with style. From perfect gallery walls to temporary decor hacks, these renters get creative, even in small spaces. And Angelenos need the inspiration: Most are renters.
Out of all the apartments she looked at while searching for a place to live in 2022, Brown, now 27, fell in love with the one she initially dismissed — a nondescript ground-floor apartment in a two-story, 15-unit complex built around a swimming pool.
“It was much more appealing in person than in the Zillow photos,” Brown says. Other pluses: It was rent-controlled ($1,700 a month at that time and now $1,762) and had been vacant for months. “The property manager docked the rent a bit because it had been sitting for a while,” she says.
Brown in her dining room, where she installed peel-and-stick wallpaper to make a statement. When she moves, she can remove it.
Located in Mid-City, bordering Culver City, Brown was impressed with its multiple bedrooms and hardwood floors, unlike the gray vinyl floors popular with L.A. landlords and scorned by renters. It was also a relatively easy commute to her job in downtown Los Angeles as a marketing coordinator and within walking distance of her gym, making it a practical and convenient choice.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown had to leave campus and move back in with her parents in Thousand Oaks, where she was once again living in her teenage bedroom. Like many people during the pandemic, she became obsessed with cottagecore design — a romantic trend that celebrates an idealized version of country living and evokes a simpler time. “I was very crafty as a kid, and the pandemic just emphasized that,” she says.
Brown’s apartment, which she likes to call her “Culver City cottage,” is filled with vintage finds and cherished treasures that are inspired, in part, by her love of historical novels and classic literature like “The Secret Garden,” “Anne of Green Gables” and “Little Women.”
Cottagecore appeals to her, she says, because it reminds her of her childhood dreams. “I’m an aspiring novelist, and it made me feel like a book character,” Brown says while offering a scone in her cozy living room. “I was ready to embrace this side of myself I’d always been a bit embarrassed of in the past.”
An Egyptian-themed souvenir Brown’s grandmother purchased at the King Tut exhibit serves as a side table in the living room.
As a “history nerd,” Brown likes to showcase things that illustrate the human experience, such as a thrifted recreation of a clock from the Titanic. Her personal connection? “The movie was released the year I was born,” she says.
Brown has found that adhering to her vintage and cottagecore aesthetic allows her flexibility “as long as the treasures and art I choose to display stay within that,” she says. “The content itself can change, such as a movie poster being swapped out, so long as I choose a vintage style movie poster.”
It’s an aesthetic she has worked to bring into every room.
Stacks of books, movies, dolls and whimsical knicknacks are displayed on the bookshelves in Brown’s office.
“I’ve found a way to strike a balance so it feels cozy and welcoming but not overwhelmingly full,” she says. Brown also utilizes temporary ways of adding personality to her rental, such as the peel-and-stick floral wallpaper in the kitchen and dining room and installing shelves to display her vintage treasures.
In the living room, a gold Egyptian side table her grandmother purchased in the gift shop of the King Tut exhibit rests next to a cozy tufted couch. “My grandmother was passionate about history and museums, so my family passed down a few things of hers that were in storage,” she says. The walls display personal touches like an artwork she purchased in Provence, France, at her cousin’s wedding, hand-embroidered necklaces by Brown, botanical prints bought from vintage stores and a Venetian mask brought home from a trip to Italy.
Traditional elements, like a faux fireplace and a tiny trove of potted plants outside her front door, add to her cottagecore aesthetic. “It’s not a cottage without a garden,” Brown says, smiling.
Assorted artworks in the entrance to the apartment hide a heating vent on the wall.
The second bedroom serves as an office where Brown is finishing her novel, which she describes as a “retelling of an Irish myth.” When asked if the story influenced her decor, she mentioned some subtle touches, such as artwork from Ireland, a sign she made in the Irish language and Belleek pottery.
Above her desk, she has installed film on the window to block the view of another apartment a few feet away. In addition to a reading corner and a craft table, she hopes to add a sewing area. “I love painting and crafting knickknacks,” she says, “it reminds me of my childhood, of the carefree joy of making things.”
Floral peel and stick floral wallpaper in the kitchen and dining room can be removed when Brown moves out.
There is also a puzzle board, which Brown notes can help reduce stress and calm an anxious mind. “Sometimes I put it away, but I’m happier having it accessible,” she says.
Brown has several whimsical items in the primary bedroom, including crystals and treasures from her thrifting, like the Ladurée macaroon box she purchased in France for $15 and a tea tin that holds her curlers. She enjoys swapping out the botanical prints based on the season and uses a personal checklist when looking for antiques. “EBay, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, Poshmark and Instagram,” she says. “I go down the list. The hunt is so much fun.”
Brown tries not to purchase new things, except for some knickknacks from Joann’s and Michaels (always on sale) and an Ikea pendant and shelving. She inherited many of her larger furnishings from her aunt, including her farmhouse-style dining room set, and enjoys looking for treasures at the Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax High School. Once, she drove an hour to Claremont to pick up a marble sculpture and has met people in parking lots to pick up her purchases. Some pieces have moved on: “I used to have a smaller cabinet for my record collection,” Brown says of the piece she purchased and later resold on Facebook Marketplace.
While Brown admits that living in a 1963 apartment contributes to its affordability — “No one can believe how much my rent is,” she says — it also adds charm. Yet even with the luxury of two bedrooms, space can become limited for such a passionate collector.
“I can’t have any more cabinets,” she says firmly. “If I get more things, I’ll have to start releasing some books.”
Rooted in the present, Brown has made her apartment a home inspired by the past.
“I don’t want it to feel like I’m totally stepping back in time,” Brown says, “but it still has the coziness of a home from another era. When a friend of mine slept on the couch recently after the Palisades fire, he said this was the homiest apartment he could have evacuated to.”
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield.
Netflix
hide caption
toggle caption
Netflix
Yes, there are spoilers ahead for the final episode of Stranger Things.
On New Year’s Eve, the very popular Netflix show Stranger Things came to an end after five seasons and almost 10 years. With actors who started as tweens now in their 20s, it was probably inevitable that the tale of a bunch of kids who fought monsters would wind down. In the two-plus-hour finale, there was a lot of preparation, then there was a final battle, and then there was a roughly 40-minute epilogue catching up with our heroes 18 months later. And how well did it all work? Let’s talk about it.
Worked: The final battle
The strongest part of the finale was the battle itself, set in the Abyss, in which the crew battled Vecna, who was inside the Mind Flayer, which is, roughly speaking, a giant spider. This meant that inside, Eleven could go one-on-one with Vecna (also known as Henry, or One, or Mr. Whatsit) while outside, her friends used their flamethrowers and guns and flares and slingshots and whatnot to take down the Mind Flayer. (You could tell that Nancy was going to be the badass of the fight as soon as you saw not only her big gun, but also her hair, which strongly evoked Ripley in the Alien movies.) And of course, Joyce took off Vecna’s head with an axe while everybody remembered all the people Vecna has killed who they cared about. Pretty good fight!
Did not work: Too much talking before the fight
As the group prepared to fight Vecna, we watched one scene where the music swelled as Hopper poured out his feelings to Eleven about how she deserved to live and shouldn’t sacrifice herself. Roughly 15 minutes later, the music swelled for a very similarly blocked and shot scene in which Eleven poured out her feelings to Hopper about why she wanted to sacrifice herself. Generally, two monologues are less interesting than a conversation would be. Elsewhere, Jonathan and Steve had a talk that didn’t add much, and Will and Mike had a talk that didn’t add much (after Will’s coming-out scene in the previous episode), both while preparing to fight a giant monster. It’s not that there’s a right or wrong length for a finale like this, but telling us things we already know tends to slow down the action for no reason. Not every dynamic needed a button on it.
Worked: Dungeons & Dragons bringing the group together
It was perhaps inevitable that we would end with a game of D&D, just as we began. But now, these kids are feeling the distance between who they are now and who they were when they used to play together. The fact that they still enjoy each other’s company so much, even when there are no world-shattering stakes, is what makes them seem the most at peace, more than a celebratory graduation. And passing the game off to Holly and her friends, including the now-included Derek, was a very nice touch.
Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington.
Netflix
hide caption
toggle caption
Netflix
Did not work: Dr. Kay, played by Linda Hamilton
It seemed very exciting that Stranger Things was going to have Linda Hamilton, actual ’80s action icon, on hand this season playing Dr. Kay, the evil military scientist who wanted to capture and kill Eleven at any cost. But she got very little to do, and the resolution to her story was baffling. After the final battle, after the Upside Down is destroyed, she believes Eleven to be dead. But … then what happened? She let them all call taxis home, including Hopper, who killed a whole bunch of soldiers? Including all the kids who now know all about her and everything she did? All the kids who ventured into the Abyss are going to be left alone? Perfect logic is certainly not anybody’s expectation, but when you end a sequence with your entire group of heroes at the mercy of a band of violent goons, it would be nice to say something about how they ended up not at the mercy of said goons.
Worked: Needle drops
Listen, it’s not easy to get one Prince song for your show, let alone two: “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry.” When the Duffer Brothers say they needed something epic, and these songs feel epic, they are not wrong. There continues to be a heft to the Purple Rain album that helps to lend some heft to a story like this, particularly given the period setting. “Landslide” was a little cheesy as the lead-in to the epilogue, but … the epilogue was honestly pretty cheesy, so perhaps that’s appropriate.
Did not work: The non-ending
As to whether Eleven really died or is really just backpacking in a foreign country where no one can find her, the Duffer Brothers, who created the show, have been very clear that the ending is left up to you. You can think she’s dead, or you can think she’s alive; they have intentionally not given the answer. It’s possible to write ambiguous endings that work really well, but this one felt like a cop-out, an attempt to have it both ways. There’s also a real danger in expanding characters’ supernatural powers to the point where they can make anything seem like anything, so maybe much of what you saw never happened. After all, if you don’t know that did happen, how much else might not have happened?
This piece also appears in NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what’s making us happy.
Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
On-air challenge
Today I’ve brought a game of ‘Categories’ based on the word “party.” For each category I give, you tell me something in it starting with each of the letters, P-A-R-T-Y. For example, if the category were “Four-Letter Boys’ Names” you might say Paul, Adam, Ross, Tony, and Yuri. Any answer that works is OK, and you can give answers in any order.
1. Colors
2. Major League Baseball Teams
3. Foreign Rivers
4. Foods for a Thanksgiving Meal
Last week’s challenge
I was at a library. On the shelf was a volume whose spine said “OUT TO SEA.” When I opened the volume, I found the contents has nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense. It wasn’t a book of fiction either. What was in the volume?
Challenge answer
It was a volume of an encyclopedia with entries from OUT- to SEA-.
Winner
Mark Karp of Marlboro Township, N.J.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Joseph Young, of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a two-syllable word in four letters. Add two letters in front and one letter behind to make a one-syllable word in seven letters. What words are these?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Wednesday, December 31 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
Hundreds march in silence to honour Crans-Montana fire victims
Here’s a partial list of U.S. elected officials opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
Runner fought off mountain lion with stick just weeks before fatal attack on same Colorado trail
Minnesota faces funding deadline after Trump administration freezes childcare payments
San Antonio teen who vanished Christmas Eve found dead by suicide in nearby field after days-long search
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Hundreds march in silence to honour Crans-Montana fire victims
Here’s a partial list of U.S. elected officials opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
Crans Montana organises solemn march for the victims • FRANCE 24 English
Kamala Harris blasts Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s Maduro as ‘unlawful and unwise’
US Republicans back Trump on Venezuela amid faint MAGA dissent
-
Entertainment1 week agoHow the Grinch went from a Yuletide bit player to a Christmas A-lister
-
Connecticut1 week agoSnow Accumulation Estimates Increase For CT: Here Are The County-By-County Projections
-
World7 days agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
Business1 week agoGoogle is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
-
World1 week agoSnoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, Huntr/x and Andrea Bocelli Deliver Christmas-Themed Halftime Show for Netflix’s NFL Lions-Vikings Telecast
-
World1 week agoBest of 2025: Top five defining moments in the European Parliament