Douglas Little

Photo by Julie Pavlowski My whole reality has been about creating my own reality. I want to make sure that whatever I'm doing is about me manipulating my surroundings to fit whatever I'm involved with at that time. This particular room is about my fascination with birds -- I have a deep love and fascination for birds, especially crows and ravens and blackbirds. I'm sure it would seem to be a direct inspiration from the movie The Birds, but it really is more about my fascination with Victoriana and the whole world of surrealism. I think the idea of the place where you're sleeping is very symbolic. I wanted the room to be kind of surreal and almost fantasylike, and kind of childlike. One of my favorite things to do is to antique, or go to the Rose Bowl. I stumbled across some taxidermy along the way -- these two birds are pheasants, and there are crows in here as well. Taxidermy is so interesting, because some people are really drawn to it and some people are really repulsed by it. I love the reaction that I get from it. I think every room in this house is a work in progress. This room has changed concepts four times since I've owned the house -- complete concepts. At one point, I painted the room a very, very dark brown and did an art nouveau '70s feeling, and I loved that, and from there I changed it to a very, very light room -- went the opposite, really flipped it. For the longest time I struggled with whether I wanted to do something this over-the-top, with the birds and the stenciling -- there are 103 birds -- but there's a point when you realize you just have to satisfy yourself. The bedroom is a really important area for me. I spend most of my time in this house in the kitchen and in the bedroom, and so I wanted a room that would really inspire me. Every morning when I wake up, it gives me this inspiration to look around and see something that's unusual and fun and start my day that way.