Gushing over big Hollywood mansions, especially those own by celebrities, has been a guilty pleasure of mine since I can remember. So a book that gives an exclusive look into the world of the rich and famous and their glorious properties is quite frankly a must-have. From old Hollywood starlets to modern-day directors, Hollywood at Home, gives you a fantastic insight into the houses of your idols. It’s the perfect coffee table book to flick through as you daydream about what your own Beverly Hills mansion would look like. I’ve picked out a few of my favourite homes from the book to share with you.
This Italian Renaissance-style mansion located in Malibu belongs to none other than the iconic Cher, and though the property might be considered a little flamboyant for the average Joe, the home is a little more understated than one might expect from the original goddess of pop herself. However, one thing that isn’t understated is that ocean view (which each room has not one but two views of)!
The interiors of the mansion are classic Hollywood style, with just the right amount of leopard print. The combination of the leafy greens, animal prints and renaissance-style paintings create the perfect glamorous setting without being overzealous.
The elements of a dramatic Gothic Revival theme in the design are rather fitting for this home and location, in any other place they might have drowned a house or interior, but in Hollywood there’s a certain amount of gumption in each and every home that gives them the attitude to pull off such outlandish design schemes.
Popping over to the neighbourhood of Venice and to the home of actress Anjelica Huston and the late sculptor Robert Graham. The house is a subtle, sleek and artist marvel and captures the laid-back, modern, sophisticated side of Los Angeles and its surrounding boroughs wholeheartedly.
The house embarks on a mission of originality and flair, even in its foundations. The walls are not just there for shelter, and the windows not just to let the light in, you can tell that each architectural decision has been made with the utmost consideration, creating the perfect artisan bunker, a sculptural masterpiece.
Sunset Boulevard in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles was once the home to Jayne Mansfield’s Pink Palace, until its demolition in 2002. Rarely does a home embody the character and nature of its owner quite as well as the Pink Palace personified Jayne. Known as one of the original ‘blonde bombshells’ of Hollywood it seems only fitting that Jayne Mansfield’s home be as much of a bombshell as she, although swapping the blonde for her signature pink, the Pink Palace was Jayne’s real estate doppelganger.
From the baby pink shag pile that covers every surface, to the heart shaped, gold leaf bathtub, everything about this room is so wrong its right. It’s the same excessiveness and over the top glamorous nature that had everyone hooked on its occupant, and although you’d probably never dream of installing a similar design in your own bathroom you can’t help but wish you could visit the house and possibly take a quick dip in that tub.
While each of the previous homes above capture the essence of a particular style of Hollywood, the outlandish, the sleek and modern, Mansfield’s home represents the overtly decadent and unreasonably luxurious that is only acceptable in Hollywood. It puts style over functionality and glamour over practicality and I’m not sure we’d have it any other way.
Architectural Digest Hollywood at Home is available from Abrams Books
All photograph credits to Architectural Digest
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