This 700-square-foot DTLA loft is a stunning example of ‘Neo Afro Eclecticism”

Drapes can be used to enclose the studio’s bedroom.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The kitchen features a custom butcher block counter that can collapse or extend to a larger table for dining.  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The bathroom features a sleek black sink by Scarabeo from Nameeks, murals by Sachiko Bradley and a custom cabinet for towels and laundry.
  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Beard wanted the studio to be “pretty, loungy and malleable, so we can turn it into what we want it to be. I want people to feel like they can slide into the space and talk.”   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Designers Faith Blakeney, left, and Sachiko Bradley, right, along with owner Adrien Beard, center, in the kitchen of his loft.  (Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

When Beard wants more division, drapes can be drawn to enclose the bedroom.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The drapes that separate the bedroom and living area can be drawn for privacy.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Designers Faith Blakeney and Sachiko Bradley added wood paneling to the loft’s concrete column, left, for a more masculine feel.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The kitchen features off-black thin brick Cle tiles and a custom butcher block drop leaf countertop that can be folded to save space or extended for dining.  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The designers painted the kitchen’s existing upper oak cabinets black and the lower cabinets yellow.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

“I didn’t want to make it the Black Panther headquarters,” says Beard who plans to work in the loft. “But I definitely wanted it to feel like if I got hit by a car tomorrow, people would know an African American lived in this space.”

  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Because of the pandemic, the designers sourced many vintage furnishings from Facebook Marketplace, Etsy and the Hangar in Santa Monica.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

A tall desk, at left, is incorporated into the loft’s column, which the designers covered in wood paneling.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Artwork by Sachiko Bradley hangs above a custom wood desk.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

A turntable is both functional and stylish.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

In the kitchen, the designers added new lighting and African-inspired accessories.   (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Interior designers Faith Blakeney, left, and Sachiko Bradley gave the loft a welcoming African aesthetic.
  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

“They did a magnificent job of creating a unique space,” Beard says of the designers. “They found so many gems and worked so hard to make it special. “  (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)