Where they go to read, listen, think
The world slows down in this family retreat. A game of chess, anyone?
The constant presence of vivid sunflowers is one reason actor Jason George loves the living room in his Studio City home.
Every weekend George, who plays Dr. Ben Warren on “Grey’s Anatomy,” and his family buy a bouquet of the cheery florals — his wife’s favorite — during their outing to the local farmers market.
George and his wife, poet and author Vandana Khanna, moved into the 3,400-square-foot home nine years ago. The living room is where George listens to music while Khanna reads, and where their three children like to play the piano or a game of chess.
Why is this your favorite room?
The living room is where we come to think, to slow down the world for a second.
What’s the artwork on the wall?
I wanted to do a canvas of our wedding photos. I sent the files to my brother, who is an arts and computer jock and a mad genius. He created a Bollywood poster out of our wedding photos.
That’s a nice old-school record player.
It replaces the one I used to have, which had no headphone jack. It took me a long time to find it. I come in here, throw in an album, and that’s my meditation, to listen to music the way God intended.
Different music for different moods?
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” slows the world down. Bootsy Collins is for when you want people to get a little freaky, and Public Enemy is to make a statement. And if you play Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You” and don’t think about weeping, you’re dead inside.
What else is special in the room?
The bookshelves were left by the previous owners. We have a truckload of plays, books about the African diaspora and actual literature that makes my IQ look higher than it is.
Are you a collector of stuff ?
The first time I got paid as an actor was for “Man of La Mancha.” So Don Quixote has always been a thing for me. I found a statue of him at a yard sale for $2. Twenty years later, it still has a place of honor in our house.
And there’s an old typewriter, because if you’re married to a writer, you need one. And the elephant bookends. We got those because there are only two kinds of elephants: Indian and African.
Did you have a specific idea for how you wanted to decorate?
We landed on earth tones. They’re easy to work with. This rust color keeps having its way in here.
Do you like furniture shopping?
Not especially — but I am good at randomly walking through antique stores. I tend to not buy a lot. How often are you in here? I wish it was every day. The week is nuts. On weekends, we slow it down. Friday nights we bust out a movie, and there is popcorn all over the place.
And Sunday afternoons, I get a chance to sneak in here and mellow out.