THEIR APARTMENT IS AN EXPLOSION OF COLOR

THIS EAGLE ROCK COUPLE GAVE LIFE TO THEIR 412-SQUARE-FOOT SPACE WITH BOLD PATTERNS AND BRIGHT ARTWORK

- LINA ABASCAL

IS A BENISTON AND SCOTTY ZALETEL are romantics. Not just in their love for each other, 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-squarefoot 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 lighted 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.