Actress Janina Gavankar’s Los Angeles Home Is Bold, Artful—and Has Swings!

Janina Gavankar has been a working actress for over 15 years, appearing in television shows like “The L Word,” “True Blood,” “The League,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and “The Morning Show,” and movies like “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “The Way Back,” which recently opened and stars Ben Affleck. But she’s also a talented musician, artist (she created some of the art in her home and DIYed a few furniture pieces), and even an early tech adopter (she’s been on Twitter since 2006 and her Twitter and Instagram handles are just “@Janina”).

When it came to redesigning this Los Angeles house, she knew she would need professional help but also a designer willing to let her be hands on and creative. “I met Mandy and got to watch her work as I was house sitting for my friends. They’re very vocal artists, and I knew that if she could handle working with them, she could handle my tendency to insert myself into every detail (laughs). I made some big life changes, and knew I needed to make my environment fit where I was, in my life,” describes Janina of her designer, Mandy Cheng of Mandy Cheng Design.

The house looked pretty different before their redesign project. (You can see the design in progress in Janina’s Instagram story highlights.) “Originally, there were white walls everywhere, chrome accents, and darkly painted ceilings. It was so far from the Janina that was standing in front of me, which was a juxtaposition of all the things: beautifully bold, show-stoppingly down to earth, and casually cool while staring into your soul,” explains Mandy.

“She had grown a lot as a creative professional between the time she purchased it and when we first met, so there were a lot of aesthetic differences between who she was then and who she is today. I wanted the house to feel unique to her, and as cool, artistic, cheeky, (insert all other fabulous adjectives here) as she is. I also wanted it to be a celebration of her amazing accomplishments, and a sanctuary to explore her interests further.” 

Mandy explains that before, there was an element of sophistication and polish missing from the house. Out went a Star Wars-themed Murphy bed, for instance (though Janina kept her Star Wars character’s helmet), and in came color, pattern, texture. “Everything is bold and in full force,” Mandy says. “Every color, piece, and wonky paint stroke is intentional to the point of exhaustion—I was exhausted—and it finally feels like Janina Gavankar 2020.”

My Style: Mandy — LOL we spent so much time pinpointing her style. She needed to know the words before she could move forward mentally. And it needed to be three words for some reason. 

Janina — I was treating it like I was writing a movie. I need tonal adjectives to make sure I stayed in the lines. What were our final three words?

Mandy — Bold. Artful. Intentional.

Inspiration: Mandy — Bauhaus. 100%.
Janina — Yes ma’am. 

Favorite Element: Janina — The main room and all its details. My favorite color is army green and having the kitchen color blocked like this scratches an itch for me, in my brain. 

Mandy — The tile wall and the swings. It took me a while to convince her that it was necessary for the tiles to span from floor to ceiling, but can you imagine them any other way? 

Janina — Oh it wasn’t the height! It was that they were shiny. I wasn’t sure if it’d feel like a bathroom. Yah. I was wrong. 

Mandy — And the swings! I knew she would be up for them the second I sent her the renderings. I’m really happy with the way they turned out. We spaced them far enough away from the island so that no one smacks into the countertop. I walked into her house in the middle of a party and witnessed people swinging casually, and each time the swing approached the countertop they would either drop off or pick up their glass of wine without missing a beat of the conversation. I could have died happy right then and there.

Biggest Challenge: Janina — Probably the wealth of ideas. I would send Mandy 57 options for pendants at 3 a.m., because that’s when I could think about them. But I love how she’s quickly able to assess and approve options. 

Mandy — Navigating all of Janina’s ideas and slowly learning which ones were “in the moment” versus “this has to happen or she will be depressed.” And I don’t even think she knew the difference; this was her first artful house transformation.

Janina — Standard issue ADD brain. It thinks every new idea and task is as important as the last.

Mandy — (Laughing) I mean, it was good! It forced me to evaluate every single idea you had as though it was the most important decision ever for your home, and that was how I was able to determine “yes, this will work” or “no, that’s a terrible idea” so quickly. I design for a lot of people in the film industry and I’ve noticed that for creatives in film, it’s especially difficult for them to differentiate between what they want at that exact moment versus me having the experience to know what is a fleeting trend and what has longevity. And then I had to tell Janina “no,” which was never easy. She’s not as successful as she is because she easily accepts no for an answer.

Proudest DIY: Janina — I had been getting red carpet ready with a tiny mirror suction cupped to a window. I needed a proper vanity. After scouring the internet for options I bought a watchmaker’s bench here, sanded and painted it, and had a vanity mirror made to fit on top. 

Mandy — We had some back and forth on this watchmaker’s bench. We initially ordered a different one, and the quality was subpar at best. We needed something that was sturdy and DIY-able. I showed up one morning and the subpar one was gone and Janina somehow had this bench built, painted, and in place. It was painted with the same green paint that I used in her kitchen, and she had commissioned a local artist to build the vanity lights. I swear this all happened in one night. I’m convinced that she time travels between 1-4:30 a.m., and comes back with furniture pieces. All while listening to drag queen podcasts at blaring levels.

Janina — I will not confirm nor deny the above.

Biggest Indulgence: The kitchen island counter stools. 

What’s your best home secret? Mandy — Haha, I’m going to answer this one! I think with a renovation of this scale, the purging of old items is necessary. 

Janina — I started giving giant items away to anyone who would take them. My friends up the block took an entire four-post bed. The LetGo app made most of my things disappear immediately. But even then, there were so many little things I didn’t need, that took a while to go. Mandy definitely helped push me.

Mandy — Older items would disappear while the house was transforming into what you now see. I think Janina could feel the transformation happening and it was like a weight that she didn’t know was there was slowly being lifted. It got her excited and motivated her to truly clean house. 

Janina — At some point I was like “Let’s Marie Kondo this bitch!”

Mandy — It’s very therapeutic, once you’re in the right headspace, to look at an item and appreciate what you’ve gone through with it, and then recognize that by getting rid of it you are making space for an item that functions the way you actually need it to. For organization, everyone is different as far as what works for them, but Janina seems to thrive when items are hidden in plain sight. . . . You don’t understand how many musical instruments Janina has! She needs things to be readily available, but obviously wants them hidden when not in use. By decorating with beautiful storage items, it allows her to have the best of both worlds.

My shopping suggestion for Janina was to mentally check the box and never look back once we landed on an item she liked. Because if she didn’t check that box, she would continue to search, wondering if there was something better out there even though she liked the item we found. I have several clients like this, and it usually ends with me receiving middle of the night emails that contain long lists of “alt options” for the item we already confirmed earlier that day. The truth is, there are always going to be multiple options of the same item that you’ll like. You have to think a little more broadly and consider how that item works with the rest of the items in the space, which option is within your budget, and which option fits (dimension-wise) the best.

(Main house) Benjamin Moore – 

• 2015-70 Apricot Ice
• 709 Heavenly Blue
• 1665 Mozart Blue
• 2001-20 Bonfire
• 040 Peaches’N Cream
• OC-152 Super White

(Guest house) Benjamin Moore – 

• 2112-50 Stormy Monday
• 1459 Metro Gray
• 2011-30 Hot Spice
• 2005-70 Wispy Pink
• 624 Bath Salts
• OC-152 Super White

• All furniture courtesy of Rove Concepts
• Artwork — Largely painted by Janina herself!
• Armoire — Family heirloom
• Plants and Pots — Potted Los Feliz

• Swings — Custom
• Counter stools — HD Buttercup (discontinued but here is one that’s similar

• InMod Signature Collection — Jax Nightstand
• InMod Signature Collection — Prescott Bed
• Bedside lamps — Rejuvenation Pepin Table Lamp
• Suitcases — Vintage LV
• Ceiling hung closet rods — Custom powder-coated steel pipes

• InMod Wesley Bed — InMod
• Bedside lamps — Nino Shea Design
• Bedding — West Elm
• Watchmaker’s Desk — Custom
• Vanity Mirror — Custom
• Ottoman — Bodrum Upholstered Ottoman
• Mirror — Article https://www.article.com/product/3213/beau-walnut-mirror
• Pendant light — Nino Shea Design custom pendant
• Plants and Pots — Potted Los Feliz

• Kitchen Cabinetry — Reform Basis
• Sofa — CB2 (discontinued)

• Outdoor furniture courtesy of Article

Thanks Janina and Mandy!