An organized spot for a ‘crowded’ mind
Comic Iliza Shlesinger’s thought process demands an orderly workspace.
Although the rest of Iliza Shlesinger’s Hollywood Hills home is inconspicuous and modestly decorated, her office is an unabashed time capsule of her life.
A colorful conglomeration of awards and joke-inspired fan art embellishes the walls and desk, including votive candles bedazzled with the comedian’s popular characters, anti-mermaid memorabilia, portraits of her dog and sidekick, Blanche, and an oil painting of Shlesinger as her iconic alter-ego, “Party Goblin.”
“My mother always told me that you should have one room in your house where you celebrate all of your achievements,” said Shlesinger, 35. “You shouldn’t have them spread throughout.”
So the office in her three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is “where everything converges — the artwork, past accolades and future ideas — to form my present mind-set.”
Shlesinger’s newest comedy special, “Elder Millennial,” is available on Netflix.
Why is this your favorite room?
This is the one serene space to decompress where nobody can get to me — I have a yoga mat permanently unrolled, and I do brainwave meditation in here. It’s also a professional corner I’ve carved out for myself. That’s why I built a desk. I don’t need a desk, but I wanted to act like an adult person and feel like I’m getting real work done.
The fans seem to inform this space’s decor.
At a certain point I had so much artwork that I decided to respect the art and present them in a nice way, not just on a dusty shelf. And I rotate it out.
How would you describe your aesthetic style?
Homemade creativity. I believe in having a neat workspace because everything else in my life is so unpredictable and my mind is so crowded — I wake up with commercials from the ’90s blaring in my head. I try to give myself a fighting chance by having an organized workspace.
Tell me about the paint choice.
Everything is a calm gray. The original color of the entire house was a burnt ugly manilla.
When I came in I redid everything. It’s calming, modern and clean.
Nice map. What do the pins represent?
I specifically ordered a gray map and blue pins that show everywhere I’ve ever been in the world. Some are because of comedy, like Guam or anything in the Middle East for a military tour. Some are from a semester at sea in college, and some are just vacation.
Is that a Norman Rockwell?
My mom painted that; it’s a Norman Rockwell copy. She changed the faces to look like her parents, and the date on the painting was changed to their anniversary.
She’s an extremely creative person and a big part of the reason I am where I am.
Favorite memory in this room?
My buddy stayed in my guest room for a little while, and I was almost at the end of creating my office and had all this stuff in here. I came home, and he had organized all of these personal belongings for me and also the desk in a very neat, curated way. It was a very bold, loving thing.