Though范妮罪geris usually someone who wants to have room at her table for 15 to 20 people, the writer and cofounder of design brandPermanent Collectionwas on the hunt for a smaller space in Los Angeles. So, she sought out her resource for interesting real estate in the city: her friendAndrew Romano,a journalist and modernist architecture and design geek. “He always has an ear to the ground,” Fanny says.
Not just a great dwelling sleuth, Andrew is a bit of aRudolph Schindleraficionado, currently living in aSchindler househimself, so when he passed over a Zillow listing to Fanny that featured one of the architect’s designs, she immediately went to see it. “I submitted an application as I was walking outside the door,” she says. “It was tiny, idiosyncratic, and completely what I needed.”
“Furniture was a funny thing to figure out for the space—there wasn’t much furniture you could even put in [it],” Fanny says. “Most things are built-in, and there was virtually nowhere to put books. I bought and found places to store books, though I still have hundreds of books in storage. Some of the midcentury pieces I have are a bit at odds with Schindler—uneasy bedfellows, but it just works well enough.”
Jenna Peffley
The building’s owner, Paul Finegold, embarked on the restoration of these Schindler Apartments, known asManola Court, beginning five years ago under the direction of Tash Rahbar and Scott Strumwasser ofEnclosures Architects. The communal landscaping was created byTerremoto.
Jenna Ohnemus Peffley
Not much more than 600 square feet, the apartment is housed in a 16-unit complex from the 1920s that has a semi-commune feeling with its interconnected living spaces and garden walkways. As each apartment was given its own identity, Fanny has loved figuring out how to live in this vision. “There is a vast array of different apartments in the building,” she says. “The one across the way is a double-height apartment with an incredible wall of windows. Mine is oriented toward the Hollywood sign—a perfect painting studio.”
The huge windows and incredible view are a highlight of the apartment. “The light is always doing something different,” Fanny says. “I feel like there is never the same light.”
Photo: Jenna Peffley
Even though Schindler was an iconic L.A. architect, Fanny thinks the space doesn’t have a particularly local feeling. “The shapes are very Russian Constructivism.” This idea rings true in the wood features, the fireplace, and the shape of the ceiling. “Schindler was very specific with his work. He designed with an idea of exactly how people should live,” Fanny says. “I haven’t become one of those people who are totally obsessed with Schindler, but he becomes part of your psyche.”
“I love having Marcel Duchamp like a guardian of sorts, looking down at my pantry,” says Fanny, who wrote her thesis on artist Richard Hamilton, a Duchamp obsessive. “It’s a tether to this academic life. A funny sort of specter in my life.”
Jenna Ohnemus Peffley
The one challenge of the space is the kitchen, which is tucked away and almost comically small. When Fanny was first living in the apartment, she kept setting off the fire alarm. “I finally figured out how to open the little kitchen window and, once it’s open, it is miraculous,” she says. “This completely obliterated the problem. Schindler thought about it and has these sophisticated engineering innovations.”
“I call it the jewel box because of the feel. It’s very lapidary because of the tile,” Fanny says.
Then there is the majestic fireplace, which serves as the real centerpiece of the home—and even comes in handy as a sort of Tuscan grill. “It’s not a bad place to cook, and it has a really great draw,” Fanny says. But beyond the functionality and architectural glory, it’s the color that really sings. “‘What color are the tiles?’ I ask this to artists whenever they come over. Someone said, ‘They look like the chalky green of Eric Ravilious landscapes.’ Another friend said nasturtium. The color of the tile is so beautiful and special.”
The particularities of the space are demanding but worth figuring out. The narrow door on the right leads to the bathroom, where Fanny stores most of her clothing. “It is nice to get dressed in the same room you got out of the shower in,” she adds.
Photo: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley
“About two years ago, [curator]Su Wuintroduced me to her friendMinjae Kim.I remember seeing one of his oyster lamps and said, ‘How do I commission one of these?’ It’s one of my favorite things and one of the few things not vintage or from my collection.
Jenna Ohnemus Peffley
出乎意料,浴室大于kitchen and, with a bit of humor and an homage to a beloved bathroom from Fanny’s childhood, all the artwork in the room features bums. “I had a friend growing up who had a bathroom with a theme of lips. Her mother loved lips. I loved that bathroom and found it incredibly fanciful,” she says. “I’m not going to go to that degree, but it just became a thing.”
Photo: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley
And even though it hasn’t been more than two years since she moved in, she feels right at home. “People think that I’ve lived here forever when they see my exorbitant amount of objects,” Fanny says. The space is her tiny, particular jewel box.
“It’s still kind of an urban legend that you might happen upon and live in a Schindler house,” Fanny says.
