I could go on about this apartment forever. The owner is an architect at Commune. So that explains some of the design genius—like the cinder block bed he constructed to save money but looks better and far sturdier than most beds sold at actual stores. But it’s not just all know-how and no soul. Architect and designer Chau Truong’s Hollywood apartment is filled amazing DIY art installations, handmade furniture and a really expressive and personal point of view. “I wanted to fill the apartment with all the things that I love, which includes a combination of mid-century furniture pieces I’ve rescued over the years and odd objects I’ve made with my own two hands,” says Chau. Cue a hand-crafted rope chair, a wall sconce made out of brass, a floor lamp made from a found sewing machine leg, a fragile tree branch collected from a camping trip at Joshua Tree, a vintage equipment trunk used for a Hollywood movie production as a coffee table.

So the guy has some serious design chops, right? Now, take a closer look at those art installations. In the living room wall, 330 individual black and white prints in the shape of roof shingles overlap each other to form a gigantic billboard-sized Ansel Adams photograph. In the bedroom, a black accent wall is lined with colorful spools of threads with their ends loosened at various lengths. I love how quietly powerful it all comes across. “Every time the door opens or closes, the motion causes these thread ends to swing uniformly like leaves in the wind,” he says. Brilliant, yes?

“Without much care for a consistency in theme or style, the eclecticism of all these pieces would probably give the visitor some ideas about the things that interest me throughout the years,” says Chau. “I wanted the apartment to embody my sensibility through all these objects so that the visitors would really get a sense of excitement from stepping into the world of a complete stranger.” Mission accomplished. And then some.

The Details
One bedroom in West Hollywood. $125 a night. Rent it at airbnb.com.