Jane Wiedlin's Los Angeles Loft

Go Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin attended a vintage wallpaper show at our Hollywood store, Retropia. Jane informed us that she had just purchased a loft in the Little Tokyo area downtown. We discussed her needs, personal tastes, and grandiose visions for her new home. An appointment was made to see the loft and  give  Jane our initial consultation. The loft was basically a 1200 sq. ft. open, industrial space that had white plaster walls, a high ceiling, and 2 walls of windows with a grand view of downtown LA. This same downtown was where one of Jane’s favorite films was shot, Bladerunner. This film’s aesthetics, along with Barbarella and Star Wars were the jumping off point for her sexy, fantastical space loft. On the practical side, Jane wanted a much larger “spa like” bathroom, a sleeping loft, a huge walk in closet/ dog area , and an office/rehearsal space. This place had to function as well as provide Jane an envelope as exciting, quirky, and interesting as she is.

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Entry/ Dining Room

Jane’s entryway opens directly into the kitchen and faces the area that we made into her dining room. The area is devoid of windows and also character. Our goal was to liven up the space by playing wth reflected light and create the illusion of space in the cramped entry and dining area. When you think of the space age, the color that comes to mind is silver. To reflect the light in the entry/dining room, we used  highly reflective silver mylar wallpaper to bounce the light and ad an “infinite” element to the room. The seams were studded with silver upholstery tacks to resemble a spaceship hull.We have used upholstery tacks in many different applications and find them to be an inexpensive, yet effective design tool. When you first enter the loft, the wild orange and silver wallpapered wall is the first thing you see. This wallpaper was purchased in remnants off of ebay and originally graced the set of one of our inspiration films, Barbarella. There was not enough of the vintage paper to cover the wall lengthwise, so our  wallpaper and paint genius, Steve Lanasa, scalloped the top of each panel and created a paint mix to match the orange. The result is more stunning and interesting than if we had papered the wall all the way up to the ceiling. Sometimes the biggest design obstacles create some of the best design solutions.

Kitchen

Jane did not want to renovate her kitchen, but she did hate the look of the existing cabinetry and hardware . We sprayed the cabinets with a high-gloss red paint and found those fabulous chrome pulls at Lowe’s. We positioned the pulls upside down to create a vulcan inspired V-shape. Semi-Gloss black was chosen for the back splash and adjacent wall to create continuity with the black counter-top. The black, white, and red scheme grounded the silver and also paid homage to the asian elements Jane wanted to include in the overall design. Many people are afraid of black walls, but they make a dramatic background for art and also make a room seem larger. It is a myth that dark colors make rooms seem smaller.

Living Room/Office

The live/work area of the loft is a grand space with lots of natural light coming through the expansive windows. We chose to keep most of this part of the space light and airy and also to utilize the view as part of the design. The gigantic pillars which punctuate the loft inspired many design choices such as the wonderful tiered, stainless steel bar. The rings at the top house Jane’s large collection of  pin-up collectables. The black, white, silver, and red color scheme was continued from the Kitchen area. In the “great room”, we implemented one of Jane’s favorite colors, turquoise. We used this color on one of the walls and in various rugs and accessories throughout the apartment. We decided to make the plain fireplace wall a focal point for the living area. We all agreed that rocks or pebbles should be used to add warmth and texture to the room. Rock and stone fireplaces have been successfully used in modern design since the 1950′s. We decided to name this design combination, “Futurustic”. We ended up using polished, black river rock and extended it five feet up the wall. We chose this height for the new mantle because of the high ceilings. This height also allows for most adults to be able to clean it and move the objects around. The fabulous black and silver paint treatment above the fireplace was created by Steve Lanasa. Jane loved the fun black,white, and silver wallpaper because it resembled TV screens. The fabulous white leather and chrome sofa was custom made and created an “implied” room divider between the live and work spaces. The staircase was molded out of a large sheet of steel and took 6 strong guys to install.

Dressing Room

Description of design approach here

Sleeping Loft

Bathroom