Rental Revamp: Kim Swift’s Surreal Silver Lake Home Will Tempt You to Paint Everything

You can’t tell the full story of artist Kim Swift’s apartment in L.A.’s Casa Larissa—a 1920s Spanish-revival building which has become a legendary enclave for creatives—without mentioning her friend (and now neighbor) Jared Frank. 

After all, it was Jared, an interior and furniture designer, who first caught wind of the enchanting site. An estate sale called his name from a sign dotting the surrounding hills. And upon walking into the place, Jared was gobsmacked by the trompe l’oeil murals plastered on all sides, along with the decadent chinoiserie and decor—all the work of the current tenant, fresco artist Lance Gaylord Klemm, who had fallen ill and was preparing to move out.

The landlord, a longtime resident who’s become keeper of the lore behind Casa Larissa—from wild parties over the decades to the covert love affairs James Dean and the Rolling Stones kept hidden within its walls—recognized a kindred spirit when he met Jared, and he eventually offered him Lance’s former apartment.

The transition was almost too easy. Jared was enamored enough with the place to take it as is, so all of Lance’s paintings remained intact, with only the necessary adjustments made.