Next time you're organizing a vacation to California while vigorously surfing the Airbnb website, you might just stumble upon the listing for a Fairfax apartment, once occupied by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain and his then-pregnant wife, Courtney Love.
Current resident and interior designer Brian Kleinman allows visitors to stay in the 1500 square-foot apartment for just $290 a night—chump change for any genuine Nirvana devotee. The couple occupied the apartment from 1991 to 1992 around the time Nevermind debuted—a crucial peak for the Aberdeen, WA band. Shockingly, it only gets rented about four of five times each year.
"The day I signed the lease, I was sitting with the landlord, and as soon as I signed on the dotted line, he said, 'Okay, now I can tell you the real story behind this apartment,'" explained Kleinman, notes NME. "He kept it a secret because he wasn't getting great tenants when he advertised the apartment's backstory. He went on to tell me about what it was like having Kurt Cobain live here, and what to watch for. It's been funny. Once every 60 days or so, I'll get a weird, older gentleman, a rocker-type dude, sort of a burnout, knocking on the door, saying, 'Do you know what used to happen here?'"
Kurt Cobain's Private 1b + 1bth in Los Angeles
Apartment in Los Angeles, United States. Stay in the bedroom where Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love lived. You'll be soaked in rock history AND in a great location. The Fairfax District is walking distance from LA's best restaurants, shopping, and more. Private entrance/exit. Welcome to my... View all listings in Los Angeles
Cobain would transfer his emotions onto pages of his notebook and the walls of the apartment, crafting the songs we've come to know and love while regularly painting endless murals. Kleinman told Vulture of his plans to strip down each layer of paint to potentially stumble upon hidden artwork, specifically over the mantel. Cobain and Love decided to part ways with the apartment due to faulty plumbing and damaging leaks when she was eight months pregnant with their daughter, Frances Bean.
"I think Airbnb buried the listing for some reason. I don't get a lot of interest in it. I had one person from Germany who was visiting every place Kurt stayed in L.A. I've had a couple young college students from Europe. I've had a couple of American people who want to post up and experience the place. It's always two- to three-night stays."
Next time you stumble onto Airbnb, search "Kurt Cobain's Private 1b + 1bh" if you're interested in staring at the same ceilings Cobain once stared at while taking a bubble-bath in the bathroom he once wrote "Heart-Shaped Box."
