Celebrity Homes

Judy Greer's Los Angeles Home Is Perfectly Playful and Practical

The Halloween star opens the doors to her 1,700-square-foot, not-so-hidden hideaway
Greer seated in her living room.
Greer's goal was a home that feels whimsical yet welcoming. She didn’t want any chairs that looked cool but hurt to sit in or “that fancy living room that no one was allowed to go in,” she says.

In Los Angeles, actors tend to embrace a certain degree of isolation in their home lives; they tuck away behind manicured hedges, wrought-iron gates, or atop hills. So it’s an unexpected delight to meet Judy Greer—currently starring as Jamie Lee Curtis's daughter in Halloween, the sequel to the 1978 horror classic—at her comely 1,700-square-foot house nestled in a row of homes in Larchmont Village, Los Angeles’s smallest (and, arguably, sweetest) neighborhood. As Greer opens the door, she eagerly waves to the family across the street as they strap their kids in a stroller.

Greer has lived here for more than 15 years; indeed, she made the down payment with her check from 13 Going on 30, the romantic comedy in which she costarred with Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. Since moving in, she married television producer Dean Johnsen, in 2011. His two children still live with Greer and Johnsen some of the time, which inspired Greer to renovate earlier this year. Greer worked with fullBRANCH architectural firm and ING Construction to break down interior walls, add another bedroom and bathroom, and open up the view to the backyard with a sliding glass door.

Greer worked with fullBRANCH architectural firm and ING Construction to open up the outdoor view with a sliding glass door.

As for decorating, Greer was guided by a characteristically down-to-earth design approach. “I have to be able to take a nap everywhere in my house,” she says. She didn’t want any chairs that looked cool but hurt to sit in or “that fancy living room that no one was allowed to go in,” she says.

Scott Mangan of Rubbish Interiors worked closely with Greer to incorporate the ephemera that was important to her—her snail collection, concert posters, and offbeat family photos—while introducing dynamic vintage pieces. Mangan and Greer met more than a decade ago, and their working relationship now feels almost familial—they even finish each other’s sentences. “I was walking past the shop one day, went in, and I think my exact words were, ‘I want my house to look like your store,’” Greer says.

But initially, Greer couldn’t afford a decorator—she’d just shelled out on the house after all. “I’m frugal and Midwestern and hiring an interior designer seemed like something I would never do,” she says. “But I’m not good at decorating; I know what I like, but I don’t know how to put it all together.” Mangan, thankfully, offered to give Greer some guidance, and in no time she was visiting fabric stores, gathering swatches, stapling them to pieces of paper, and making presentations to him. Mangan could see Greer was keen to learn. “Some people really don’t care,” he says. “But she cares.” So, steadily, they updated the house one piece at a time, trading things in and out over the course of years.

The result of their enduring collaboration is a space that’s simultaneously whimsical and timeless. The living room, for example, mixes pieces like a J. Robert Scott lacquered grass cloth table with a 1920s rug with a chandelier Greer found while she was shooting in Atlanta. And while they didn't shy away from a few brand-new items, like a couch from L.A.-based furniture store Lawson Fenning, they relied on reupholstering or repurposing to personalize Greer's home through and through.

“I love recycling, and I love the feeling and the vibe of old things and the idea that they’ve been through countless houses and seen so much,” Greer says, smiling. “I get sentimental about it.”