Tour Actor Jillian Rose Reed's Midcentury Fixer-Upper Turned Boho L.A. Retreat

With limited space and a strict budget, Jillian and her husband, musician Marty Shannon, undertook most of the transformation of their 980-square-foot Los Angeles house themselves. Their inherited enthusiasm for design and contracting and commitment to creating a proudly unique indoor-outdoor destination has helped them develop a lush and soulful home that’s the center of their social circle.

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March 20, 2023

By: Lauren Oster

Show: HGTV Handmade

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Photo By: Marcus Meisler

Photo By: Nicole Kirshner Photography

Photo By: Marcus Meisler

Blooming Where They’re Planted

Beloved for her roles in Weeds and MTV’s Awkward, actor Jillian Rose Reed has spent the last seven years pruning and retraining her diminutive, once-dated Los Angeles home into new life as a gloriously boho social hub. She and musician husband Marty Shannon (who has quite literally made their magnificent yard blossom) love welcoming friends to their quirky, well-tended space — and they’re full of inspirational tips for others who want to dig into their own renovations.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Living the Dream

“I feel like my dream for my entire life has been to own a house,” Jillian says. “I was never like, ‘What’s my wedding going to be like?’ I was like, ‘What’s my house gonna look like?!’” That said, she and Marty had an epic wedding that has made key contributions to their decor — more on that later.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Taming the Wilderness

Jillian and Marty’s yard was initially xeriscaped, an eco-friendly move that was rough on visitors. “The entire front yard was just dirt and succulents,” Jillian recalls. “[The previous owners] tried to do a drought-resistant yard, which is obviously great for California but not so great for safety. You couldn’t really walk through without having to worry if you were going to get stuck with something. So we took almost all of the plants that were in the front yard [and] moved them to the backyard.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Home Is Where the Hearth Is

“This is our main living space,” Jillian explains. “I think the thing we love most about this room is probably the fireplace wall — as you can tell it’s pretty magnificent. It was also original to the home. It’s one of the only things that we didn’t want to change about the house because it’s so pretty and spectacular and old.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Good Day Sunshine

This atmospheric nook, in turn, “is probably my favorite corner of the entire house,” Jillian says. “I love the chair; it gets so much natural light, [and] the addition of the cat really makes it extra cozy.” This spot sets the tone for her morning: “I wake up and I walk in the house and I’m like, ahhh. It just looks so pretty and quaint and happy — and, like, you just want to curl up and have a cup of tea and start your day.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Breaking Out of the Galley

This spacious peninsula replaces a wall that smothered the home’s original galley kitchen; demolishing it was one of Jillian and Marty’s first renovation decisions. “We felt like it would be a much better use of the space to take the wall down and have the more open concept,” she recalls. “We do a lot of entertaining and this definitely feels like the central space in the home — so to have it open up to the rest of the house just gives us that bigger feel.”

That was a bold move for first-time renovators, but they had excellent role models. “We had no experience with renovations before we started,” Jillian laughs, “[but] both of our families do. My mom has had several interior design jobs [and] had the whole design knack on lock, and then [with] Marty’s dad being a contractor, both of us grew up watching our parents be really good at what they do. We picked up little tips and tricks, and so when it came to this house we decided, let’s just do it ourselves.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Home Renovation Do's and Don'ts for First-Timers

Kitchen Keeper

Just about everything in this superannuated space had to go, but Jillian and Marty spared one installation. “I think this cabinet is the only original cabinet,” Jillian says. “We just took the door off to make it open, because we felt like it was a nice little piece of the original kitchen that we could keep alive.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Home Renovation Do's and Don'ts for First-Timers

Fresh Start

Like the kitchen, the primary bath was something of a time capsule. “The toilet and the shower were original from 1950. They were cool — blue porcelain, pink porcelain — but they were not functional, so they had to go bye-bye,” Jillian explains. They replaced those blasts from the past and installed a weathered wood vanity with a vessel sink.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Rekindling the Mystery

Before retiling the floor with a graphic Mediterranean pattern, Jillian and Marty also added a wall between the shower and the toilet. “It was just a tub straight into the toilet and we thought that was kind of gross,” Jillian recalls.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Going With the Faux

“One thing we love about this space is all of the plants; you’ll notice [that] every space we can fill has got some green to it,” Marty says.

Take a good look at all those greens: Though many are living, plenty aren’t (and that’s cool, even in California). “I think plants will never go out of style,” Jillian says. “I think that adding the pop of green to a space [is] warm and inviting. If you have a home full of real plants, obviously, there’s so many health benefits to that — but even our fake plants just make the house feel happier!”

SHOP: 12 Faux Plants That Actually Look Real

Settling In and Mixing It Up

Ever-changing, layered touches like the passementerie on their console table keep Jillian and Marty’s home feeling fresh. “This house looks nothing like it did when we bought it and renovated it seven years ago,” Jillian says. “Yeah — it doesn’t look anything like it did two years ago,” Mary agrees. “It’s constantly changing with us,” Jillian continues, “and I think that’s really what makes people go, ‘Wow, you really utilize the space!’ It’s very well lived in, and it feels very much like us at any given time.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Personal History

”This coffee table is also really special to us,” Jillian says. “This coffee table — and the outside dining table — were built by Ziggy the Hipster, our furniture friend, and they tell a lot of stories. We had a party once [and] a girl thought it’d be a good idea to dance on the table. It was a great idea! The table cracked, but now it has more character, and it’s a fun story to tell.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

In It for the Long Haul

When Jillian and Marty fall for a vintage find, they don’t let practicalities like geography stand in their way. Case in point: the gorgeously weathered arrow atop their buffet. “We actually found this in Detroit and had my mom pack it up and ship it to us because we loved it so much,” she says.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Finders Keepers

A growing cast of thrifted treasures layers Jillian and Marty’s home. “This giant pouf I found at the Pasadena flea market," Jillian says. “I actually got it as a present for Marty, but it was also kind of a present for myself because I loved it so much.

“And it mostly ended up being a present for our dog,” Marty laughs.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Auditions for Additions

“This is my little safe space where I spend a lot of my time,” Jillian says. It initially served as a guest bedroom, “but during COVID I needed a place to work from home, so this ended up becoming my office,” she explains. “I think it’s one of the rooms that I love the most in the house because of all of the color: This is the first place that we experimented with wallpaper and a funky-colored couch, and I think that this office gives really good vibes.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Something Borrowed, Something Blew

Jillian teaches acting classes and coaches students individually, and her office serves as a meeting space for one-on-one sessions. Its armchair is also a memorable scene partner in its own right: “It’s actually missing one of [its] little knobs because we took this chair to the high desert where we got married last October,” she recalls. “Our wedding got blown away in a 70-mile-per hour-windstorm, so some of the things that went to the desert came back a little different than when they were taken there!”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Paper Like No One Is Watching

Jillian and Marty also added wallpaper to their powder room. “We did flamingo wallpaper because we thought 'it’s such a tiny space, why not do something super fun with it?'” Jillian says.

“Yeah,” Marty interjects, “nobody sees it so we can get weird with it!”

“It’s actually so cute — I think it’s one of my favorite wallpapers,” Jillian adds.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Creative Process

This is “the groovy room,” Marty explains. He’s a producer and songwriter who also scores short films. His studio is where the sonic magic happens, “so we wanted to make sure it felt really cozy, like you were stepping into somebody’s music studio in New York City,” he says. The wall above his desk also features a bit of his artwork: that’s his portrait of his and Jillian’s home mounted above the golden bighorn sheep’s head.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

The Lounge That Wasn't

The DIY that glows on Marty’s studio wall is another relic of their high-desert nuptials: “We had a weed lounge at our wedding that none of our guests got to enjoy — because, again, it blew away. But we managed to save the sign!” Jillian says.

The dailies framed below it are midcentury, mid-renovation discoveries. “These newspapers here were found as insulation in the walls that we’ve taken out of the house — we have bags and bags of newspapers from the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Marty explains.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Displaying 'Em All

Marty’s studio “doubles as a nerd room for cards, because I have an obsession about collecting things,” Marty says. “There’s original Pokémon cards — that’s cool, people like those!”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Okay, About That Epic Wedding

Before we move into Jillian and Marty’s courtyard, let’s dwell for a moment on the nuptials that make cameos all over their home. “So, we had a typical COVID wedding story,” Jillian explains. “We were supposed to get married in October of 2020, but we ended up having to postpone the wedding twice. So as you can imagine, when October 2021 came around, we were SO excited to finally bring our vision that we had been planning for two years at that point to life. Our vibe was definitely desert chic, and we wanted to incorporate as much of ‘us’ as we could. We brought a lot of our furniture from home out to the desert to create relaxing spaces for our guests to hang, built our own weed lounge and even married ourselves without an officiant.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Mother Nature, Wedding Crasher

That’s not a moody filter you’re seeing as the happy couple twirls across the high desert. “It was perfect until literally right after we said, ‘I do,’” Jillian says. “After that, the storm hit. In a matter of minutes, everything was gone. A lot of things blew away into the desert — never to be seen again.” As in her now-renovated home, though, Jillian takes a lighthearted approach to the unexpected: “Maybe someday a hiker will find my vow book,” she jokes.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

A Master Class in Improv

Jillian and Marty are rightfully proud of their hosting chops, and their backgrounds as an actor and a musician equipped them to pivot to the impromptu jam of a lifetime. “We had to move the entire wedding indoors, so we didn’t get to experience anything we had planned. BUT, we did shove 50 people into a cabin in the desert and had a raging dance party,” Jillian recalls. “All in all, it was amazing. Our friends said it felt like us, it felt like home. It was a compliment to us, because in our 20s — we totally threw the best ragers!”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

This Is the Life

Though Jillian and Marty adore their home’s interior, their hearts belong to their courtyard. “My favorite part of the house is definitely outside of the house — no offense to the house,” Marty says.

“This is actually where we spend the majority of our time,” Jillian says. “Our friends have named this outdoor space ‘The Oasis’ — you know, we live in Southern California, so we spend a lot of time outside. We eat most of our dinners outside, so we have to have a big dining room table outdoors." An indoor-outdoor life was central to this home’s appeal: “That’s the main way that we keep this space from feeling small, is that the doors are usually open and we usually live half outside,” she explains.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Savage Beauties

Other gothic gardeners, please try harder. “For the last seven years Marty has made [the backyard] the wonderland that it is. He tends to all the plants, he tends to all the animals, the little woodland creatures,” Jillian says.

“Here’s the thing: These are my babies,” Marty explains. “This is the blue agave, aka Agave americana, aka the century plant, aka H.P.-Lovecraft-demon-from-the-darkness.”

“We named him Bowser,” Jillian says, gesturing to the monstrous agave on the right. “And that’s Medusa,” she adds, gesturing to the left.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Party Prep

Like the once-spiky front yard, this space was not exactly a host’s dream when Marty and Jillian took it over. “This area was also extremely underdeveloped; there was no tile [and] it was just kind of messy, so we turned it into another seating area,” Jillian says. “We really, really love entertaining, so any time we can come out and just pile people in we love to do that. It was important for us, and Marty loves a courtyard, so he wanted to create this little courtyard feel in between the homes.” But wait — two homes?

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Yep, Jillian and Marty Sort of Have Two Homes

A sliding glass door at the edge of what’s now the courtyard opens into an outbuilding with Jillian and Marty’s bedroom and a closet. “Our primary bedroom is actually detached from the rest of the house,” Jillian explains. “The previous owners had transitioned the space into something livable, so we felt like because the actual house is so tiny it might be easier for us to have our primary living space in the biggest part of the house — which just so happens to be in the backyard.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Well Worth the 'Commute'

“Really this became the primary bedroom because of its size, but we’re also just suckers for old cool things and this ceiling is just so cool with these wooden beams,” Jillian says. “We could not imagine making this space storage when it looks so cool, so we sleep here instead.”

“With the bedroom not connected to the house, at first we thought, 'Well, what if we have to pee in the middle of the night? or what if it’s raining?' or, you know, all the million reasons you don’t want to walk from inside to outside to inside again. [But] we’ve learned to love it,” Marty says.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Feisty Feature

The playful installation on the wall opposite the bed is another Marty original. “I wrapped this big frame in wallpaper that we had, I got some cool old metal signs and I drilled the holes myself, and you can see it’s very DIY,” he says. “Every day I’m waiting for [the bulbs] to explode, but it’s holding strong!”

“It’s perfect,” Jillian says. “Everyone always [asks] why did we choose the word 'DAMN' and we have no idea, it just worked.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Pooch in Paradise

The courtyard has a four-legged superfan as well. “This is Birdie; she loves to just bask all day in the sun,” Jillian says. “She’s fun — you can roll her over like a roly-poly.”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Creature Comforts

Though Birdie the dog has claimed the flea-market pouf in the living room as her own, her true love is open-air wicker. “She’s out here all day long; she loves napping on the big blue chair,” Jillian says.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Thinking Outside

“For us it was no big deal that we actually made our primary bedroom a separate part of the house so [that] we live in two separate spaces with a courtyard between,” Marty says. In fact, that curveball has worked out to their advantage. “Using all of [the] elements of nature and bringing in the weather aspect of Southern California actually helped us, I think, [to] be open-minded [and] be creative — and at the end of the day it’s a space that’s yours, so if it works for you, it works,” he says.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

Make Yourself at Home

“When people walk through the door I want them to feel happy and warm; I think the biggest compliment that we’ve gotten is that our house does feel so cozy and so inviting,” Jillian says. “We always want it to feel just like it’s everybody’s home, not just a stark place.”

“And I would be lying if I didn’t want people to go, ‘Whoa this is cool!’ every time they walk in,” Marty adds.

“Yeah, we think it’s cool,” Jillian laughs. “We want other people to think it’s cool!”

WATCH THE VIDEO: Tour Jillian Rose Reed's Boho Southern California Abode

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