How Melissa McCarthy Gets Work Done

The actor/writer/producer/all-around delightful human (starring in the new HBO Max film Superintelligence) gave us a tour of the warm, welcoming work space where she gets the job done.

Early in their careers, Melissa McCarthy and her husband and writing partner, comedian Ben Falcone, discovered that working from home was, well, hard.

“When we started, we didn’t have an office and we couldn’t work in the house,” says the actress and producer, who has two daughters with Falcone. “So we basically wrote the movie Tammy in our car on napkins and the kids’ weird unicorn stationery.”

Eventually, the couple bought a one-story Spanish colonial two minutes from their house and turned it into an office. McCarthy, a self-described “interiors nut,” worked with a designer to open up the layout and create a look that was welcoming and, at least for the star, low-key.

“I love a pattern on my pattern on my pattern,” says McCarthy. Her office, however, is restrained—despite plenty of personal touches, like an abundance of pillows from Etsy, a spray-painted chandelier, and a wall McCarthy herself covered in scraps of mud cloth.

“It makes such a big impact,” she says. “I wanted the office to feel casual and warm, like a home away from home.”

How Melissa Makes It Work:

1. “I decided to keep everything open and go with glass-front cabinets. I like things tidy, and with these, you have to put things back where you got them. Keeps you honest.”

2. “I love mud cloth and I love this rusted, cinnamon color. I cut it up and patched it into no particular pattern.”

3. “If I’m at a desk I’m like, What am I doing here? Sitting around a table and talking things out just seems more comfortable. I’ve had this table for years. I had it taken off the base and put on two industrial pedestals.”

Get More At Home!

Check out Linda and Drew’s podcast, Linda At Home with Linda & Drew Scott, as they chat with guests from the entertainment, celebrity and online worlds about all that makes a house a home.

By Laura Morgan | Photograph courtesy of Melissa McCarthy