Making It Work: Interview with Interior Designer Marcia Prentice

By Bethany Nauert —

Meet Marcia Prentice. If you watched HGTV’s docu-reality series “Design School” which aired in 2010, you may have seen her in action. The show follows a group of elite interior design students from FIDM who are given challenges to test out their design skills in the real world.

One of her very first home renovations was house flipping (buying a house with intent to sell)—tearing it down and re-designing it in a matter of just one week—an impressive feat. She hosted her own short sale on The Foundary and guest contributes on various reality TV design shows. Marcia also currently writes for a handful of Apartment Therapy Media sites and maintains an ongoing writing position with other venues, such as Lamps Plus.

A graduate of FIDM and still under 30, Marcia is one the most hard-working and ambitious women around—and she does this all in four-inch heels! Read on for her thoughts about life in LA.

20 Questions with Marcia Prentice About Life in LA

1.) How long have you been an Angeleno?

9 years

2.) What part of Los Angeles do you live in?

Miracle Mile

3.) What turns you on the most about this city?

The weather and lack of bugs!

4.) What turns you off the most about this city?

Hmm…traffic or the abundance of actors/waiters.

5.) Favorite place to eat Sunday brunch?

Sante La Brea (even though I think they are now closed). I miss the best oatmeal pancakes I have ever had.

6.) Most overrated venue?

The tourist stretch of Hollywood Blvd.

7.) Who is your favorite local artist?

Furniture designer Brandon Morrison, who owns the local store WhyrHymer.

8.) If you were going to move, what would be your next destination?

That’s a tough one, probably Italy.

9.) Name something you wish would change here?

The real estate prices. You know how hard it is to save up for a down payment on a house, when the average house price is above $500,000.

10.) Favorite time of year in LA?

Summer, for sure.

11.) Where to go for the best happy hour?

Don’t drink, so you should probably ask another Angeleno.

12.) Best flea market?

Rose Bowl

13.) What is the best exhibition you’ve seen here?

The gallery exhibitions at Obsolete.

14.) Where is the best place to go on a first date?

Dinner on the beach.

15.) Favorite of all the “tourist” spots?

The beach never gets old.

16.) Best venue to see a live show?

Hollywood Bowl or the Staples Center.

17.) Name a hidden LA gem that has not been taken over yet.

Outdoor movies at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

18.) If LA had a subway system like NY or bus system like San Francisco, would you use it? Or would you stick with your car?

In LA we love our cars. I would stick to driving my own car (sorry green enthusiasts).

19.) Biggest (but most true) cliché about LA?

There is skinny and then there is LA skinny.

20.) What mark do you want to leave here?

The most creative (and in high demand) interior designer in the city.