In Comedian Anthony Jeselnik’s Moody Home (Almost) Every Room Has Space for His Dog

The Hollywood Hills house which has room to roam channels James Dean with a dash of Tim BurtonAnthony Jeselnick in the den of his Los Angeles home. The room is now one of his favorite spaces and where he films his monthly book club. “I don't even spend that much time in there, but whenever I'm in there, I just love it and enjoy it,” he says. The room was partly inspired by a Josef Albers artwork which hangs on textured wallpaper panels by Cannon Bullock, and the room is anchored by a bespoke stainless steel Riccio Vidaurre Design-designed daybed that was angled to resonate with the room’s unusual geometry. The interior design is by Riccio Vidaurre Design, the landscaping by Viola Gardens and project construction is by Streamline Construction Group.“The idea of having a normal person’s house is grotesque to me,” says Anthony Jeselnik. He’s sitting in his Hollywood Hills home office, an interior space that’s truthfully the heart of the architecture, with large windows that overlook a mostly open layout. “I’m in LA to work, not to lounge by the pool,” he says.“It's like they never finished it or something,” says Vidaurre of the living room’s fireplace, which was an all-white drywall box. They designed the surround themselves, running glazed Eco Outdoor Lava tiles around the opening, and adding cast bronze domes on either side to make it sculptural. A Known Work Studio armchair sits next to a vintage mid-century floor lamp, while a painting by Rory Scovel, a comedian and also Jeselnik's friend, hangs above the mantel. A photograph by Nadia Lee Cohen hangs on the adjacent wall. ‘Elo’ Ceramic Mirror by Pani JurekKnown Work Burl Wood–Framed Perception Lounge ChairThe living room revolves around a Butter sofa designed by Faye Toogood for Tacchini, which the designer quite literally modeled with Cornish butter. It was brand-new at the time and could only be experienced in Italy, but Riccio and Vidaurre took the risk—it paid off, as it was as comfortable as its name promised. A wall of bookshelves has layers and various finishes: fronts are painted in Benjamin Moore’s North Creek Brown, the insides in Thyme, and the backs wallpapered in Cannon Bullock textured Italian Landscapes. Arcus Solid American Walnut Coffee Table by Tim VrankenTacchini Dialogo Armchair by Tobia ScarpaBefore heading to the hills, Jeselnik lived in a condo on the too-hectic corner of Hollywood and Vine. He’d purchased the apartment just before the pandemic, but after rescuing an Akita mix named Rummy, his priorities shifted toward finding a home that prioritized work and where Rummy, and Rummy alone, could laze about.Carlo Scarpa’s Villa Ottolenghi–inspired color-blocked elements appear throughout the home’s rather geometric kitchen. The room’s palette pops in a David Weeks Studio chandelier with shades in cream, green, and blue that match green leather Dialogo armchairs by Tobia Scarpa. Jeselnik starts his mornings at a stainless steel and glass dining table by EJR Barnes, sourced from Emma Scully Gallery, which he thinks of as a conference table. A work by José Clemente Orozco, a gift from Jeselnik’s friend, depicting deities indulging in the excesses of drink, was a fitting piece for a scullery kitchen, and one of the last elements Riccio and Vidaurre placed in the home. The painting hangs amidst earthy tones, from a Fireclay Tile backsplash to cabinetry painted in Benjamin Moore Fresh Brew; an &tradition Setago portable lamp with a maroon and grape base completes the vignette. Reposer Design Kusi Pillow CoverSetago Rechargeable Table Lamp by Jaime Hayon for &Tradition“I found this oddball house, there’s no better way to put it, that was built in the ’70s and almost didn’t make sense,” he says of the 2,6000-square-foot single family home. “I just loved that it was like no other house I’d ever really seen.”“The dog’s not allowed in the office,” says Jeselnik of an upper-floor workspace overlooking the open kitchen and stairwell through internal windows. Walls are wrapped in Shimmer Suede wallpaper by Kathryn Scott, and the space centers on a bespoke burlwood desk by Riccio Vidaurre Design, paired with an Eames Executive Chair from Herman Miller. A custom Divisions rug by Erik Lindstrom perfectly fits the angular layout, and a vintage Olivier Mourgue chaise was upholstered in a Rubix print by United Fabrics. “It’s a place to work as well as relax,” he adds. Riccio and Vidaurre left room on the walls for Jeselnik to add more art in the future, but the office features a number of works including a custom Bradley Duncan above the chaise, and behind the desk, a Jim Marshall photograph of Johnny Cash, and a signed photograph of Jack Lambert, a former linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Jeselnik grew up outside of Pittsburgh). Jeselnick picked LA’s Riccio Vidaurre Design, barely a month old at the time, to work on the project. At first, he flirted with designs that were avant garde, but after reviewing the initial scheme, created by founders Samantha Riccio and Arianne Viduarre, he quickly decided to tone it all down. “He was like, ‘Um, can we have a little less Tim Burton and a little more James Dean?’” says Vidaurre.The den easily turns into a guest room thanks to an en suite bathroom; plaster walls in Meoded Paint’s Olive tone complement the textured wallpapers used throughout the rest of the space. Riccio and Vidaurre recalibrated, leaning into Jeselnik’s bold humor but with understated, masculine palettes that felt rock-and-roll and still livable, the type of atmosphere parents could still visit without too much explaining. Even still, one of the main goals of the project was the placement of Jeselnik’s art, a collection that tends to raise questions.“I live in a lot of hotels, so I wanted something that felt like mine, and so that impressed me,” recalls Jeselnik of his first impression of the primary bedroom. Riccio and Vidaurre devised a deeply cozy environment partly inspired by a photograph of frothy ocean waters by Corey Arnold, which saw walls drenched in Portola’s Roman Clay. The studio created a bespoke platform bed, fabricated by Gina Berschneider, upholstered in Pierre Frey’s Teddy Mohair in Cyclone. Intentionally, there are no nightstands, as the bespoke design incorporates a stainless inset in the headboard with integrated outlets and lamps where Jeselnik, an avid reader, can stash books and other objects. Pieces include a photograph by Rachel Hulin, part of a series in which she depicts her infant son in midflight; a magenta screen print by Andy Warhol of an electric chair (death, he says, often shows up in his collection); and a Nadia Lee Cohen photograph of a woman breastfeeding a child while smoking a cigarette. “A lot of his art just kind of makes you think,” says Riccio. “You get up close and see details that are a little twisted and throw you a curveball.”The primary bathroom started as an all-white space, but a few simple changes—green plaster walls, fluted Stone Forest sinks in Verde Indio marble, and vintage Peill & Putzler smoked glass wall sconces—deepened the material palette. Those artworks offered Riccio and Vidaurre material to work with, especially for an interior that was mostly a blank canvas of white walls. Certain rooms pulled inspiration directly from the canvas to build color palettes, like a green-drenched den, borrowing colors and geometry from a Josef Albers piece, or his moody bedroom with chocolate brown Roman clay walls, a high-texture finish that nods to ocean waters in a photograph by Corey Arnold.Jeselnik asked for a guest bedroom with a cool hotel room vibe that respected the home’s darker aesthetic but wouldn’t “offend his parents,” jokes Riccio. They designed the room around a Pierre Frey Limpopo fabric, which covers a bespoke bed fabricated by Gina Berschneider; walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Foot Hills and a wine-colored Nordic Knots rug complement the textile. An artwork by Victor Vasarely, sourced from Jeremie Adkins, hangs above the headboard. Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand WashVintage Murano Glass Cube LampsOther spaces channeled the effortlessly cool, brooding character of a 1950s movie star. Riccio and Vidaurre replaced a blank plaster fireplace with a bespoke design of their own, a simple geometric arrangement of glazed tiles capped with bronze domes that reads sculptural and vintage, over which a painting now hangs by Jeselnik’s friend, the comedian and artist Rory Scovel.A pink palette was left over from former owners. “We wanted it to be more masculine, so we added deep burgundy plaster to the bathroom,” says Vidaurre of the Concretta plaster by Meoded Paint. Riccio and Vidaurre studied and mapped out each room to ensure there was space for a dog bed—except the office, naturally, the only space Jeselnik reserved completely for himself. Jeselnik didn’t want to see the home until it was completely finished. While most clients ask for progress updates, scheduling regular site visits to inspect the interiors, Jeselnik gave Riccio and Vidaurre free rein. “I felt like I hired the right people, and was just happy to see it once it was all done. It felt like a treat that you only get to do once.” He even waited a few weeks to move in simply because a couch hadn’t yet been delivered. He wanted the full experience, a built-in surprise finish.For visitors, especially those familiar with his brand of comedy, he says it may not come as much of a surprise. “I want people to walk in this house and be like, Of course this motherfucker lives in a place like this.”A brown ceramic Elo Mirror by Pani Jurek hangs above the vanity, paired with a VL45 Radiohus Pendant by Vilhelm Lauritzen for Louis Poulsen. Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the best of design in your inbox.