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Isa Beniston and Scotty Zaletel are romantics. Not just in their love for one another, which they are as vocal about three years in as budding high school crushes, but also in the way they describe the contents of their 412-square-foot one-bedroom apartment. They can recall the season they discovered each treasure — from fruit-shaped throw pillows to more than 30 animal portraits — and the cross streets of the flea markets from which they bought them. They gush about the time they’ve spent together in fabric stores and flooring supply shops as if they were dimly lit restaurants primed for date night.
Beniston, 32, moved into the apartment in 2014 following a stint in West Hollywood after graduating from UCLA. When she saw a wall of large vintage windows during her first visit to the stucco building in Eagle Rock, she knew she had to take the Craigslist find, for which she now pays $1,461 monthly. It wasn’t until she signed the lease that she discovered it was rent-controlled, increasing annually by 3%, a perk that has kept her there for more than a decade. When the landlord approached her to have a contractor assess the work needed to replace the windows with smaller, modern ones that wouldn’t leak, she declined. To her, the natural light is worth the occasional indoor rainfall.
Beniston, who works as an artist running Gentle Thrills, her brand of paper goods and quirky gifts, met her match in Zaletel, a prop fabricator. For the crafty couple, home renovations are their love language. So much so that covering the kitchen tile with blue and red checkerboard linoleum was one of their first dates in 2022, two years before Zaletel, 32, moved in. “She was cooking dinner, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands,” said Zaletel. The flooring came from Linoleum City in East Hollywood, which Beniston called “the most fun historic shop in L.A.”
Before meeting Zaletel, Beniston discovered that her style wasn’t for everyone.
“It’s such an important litmus test for me. People would come over and be like, ‘uhh,’” she said of previous dates. For Zaletel, her style was inviting rather than intimidating.
“We both just love stuff,” the two said in near-unison.
They merged their art collections, focused on “not too good, not too bad” animal paintings, mostly found secondhand, with a few pieces by Zaletel of a crocodile and of their actual dogs, mutt Pippen and chihuahua mix Goose. Beniston doesn’t like to display her own illustrations at home.
When asked about a time when they didn’t agree on a thrift find or potential home project, after a few minutes of consideration, Zaletel suggested an Anna Nicole Smith bobblehead, which is out of sight on a high shelf.
“No, I love her,” Beniston retorted. Their eyes lit up as they gave a final — nearly unbelievable, if you haven’t witnessed their dynamic — answer: never.
“I trust Isa’s taste implicitly,” Zaletel said.
“I feel like it’s an indicator of the happiness and health of our relationship, how nice we are to each other about our stuff,” Beniston replied.
Optimizing storage while maintaining character has been their priority. The result? A breakfast nook in a previously unused kitchen corner, a hanging pot holder on the kitchen ceiling, a retro pullout ironing board converted into a spice rack, and a handmade purse rack and sweater shelf in the bedroom. They still make time for novelty projects like the scale model of the grandfather clock that Zaletel inherited from his family that sits atop the actual grandfather clock in the living room.
Strategic or silly, the projects bring the two closer.
Zaletel handles works that require cutting, drilling and installing, while Beniston focuses on painting and sewing. Amid the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, she painted a mural on a hallway wall that extends into a fabric panel full of flowers and kooky animal motifs reminiscent of her work for Gentle Thrills. The kitchen windows are adorned with curtains made from quilts found at the Pasadena City College flea market and fabric from Remainders, a Pasadena craft store.
While the couple continually emphasized their gratitude for the closet space they do have (one in the hallway and one in the bedroom), they admitted they keep from stepping on each other’s toes in such a small space by renting a studio work space a few blocks away. They store additional clothing and art pieces there and have a washing machine and dryer set up. The couple has a shared goal of home ownership but want to avoid leaving their rent-controlled apartment until it’s time to buy, even if it means tolerating an aging stairway to enter the apartment.
“When we moved in together we were like, OK, we’ll just put aside what we would have been paying for our separate spaces, and we kind of did the spreadsheet and made a plan. Still gonna be five-plus years, but we have a plan,” Zaletel said.
“More like five to 10 years,” Beniston corrected.
Their optimism and enthusiasm wane only slightly when they address the possibility that by then, they may be entirely priced out. Eagle Rock homes, after all, have a median list price of $1.3 million, according to Zillow.
“No matter what, we’ll have that money saved, whether we’re gonna rent a house or buy,” Zalatel said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
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