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I feel about my home the way I feel about my music: You have to take chances,” says Lionel Richie. “When I wrote All Night Long’ as well as Three Times a Lady,’ it was dangerous, because at the time black guys were singing neither calypso songs nor waltzes. But since you only get one shot at life, let’s make it a challenge. That’s how I feel about this house.”

“If I can’t find a lyric, I walk to the end of the garden and say, ‘OK, God, they’re expecting me to be famous; I have things being delivered for the house tomorrow; I need a second verse,’” Richie says. At the rear of the 17,000-square-foot house are a series of limestone terraces, a swimming pool and a stone poolhouse. The lush grounds feature cypress and magnolia trees and ‘Iceberg’ roses.

And a challenge is exactly what the singer-songwriter got when he snapped up the 28-room mansion, built in 1929 for Carrie Guggenheim by architects Harry Koerner and William J. Gage on a knoll overlooking the Los Angeles Country Club. “It’s a house you don’t find anywhere, much less 10 minutes from the center of Beverly Hills,” he says of the Italian Renaissance Revival structure that hadn’t been updated for almost a decade.

“Everybody looked at it and had the same response: Beautiful, but we don’t want to do the work.’ And in fact I was reluctant,” he admits. It was his then wife, Diane, who said, “This is fabulous.”

And may never be, since Richie admits that creating music and homes are simultaneous pleasures. The first job for the couple, who remain “great friends,” Richie says, was simply uncovering the splendid bones under the kitsch: the gorgeous wood floors, pristine due to years buried under white carpeting; the entrance’s luminescent limestone walls, darkened—and hidden—under varnish. “A house is like a human being,” muses Richie. “There’s something wonderful about an 80-year-old with wisdom, but what did it look like when it was 19? What was the inspiration when the house was first built? That white stone was the house’s youth.

via@rchitecturaldigest

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Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber collaborate with design firm Ashe + Leandro to transform a Manhattan artist’s loft into an inviting family home

Stars, they’re just like us. Even a two-time Oscar nominee, it turns out, can fall prey to new-home anxiety. “I mean, look at this place,” Naomi Watts says. “Is it too big? Are we taking on more than we should? Maybe we should have stayed where we were? I don’t know!” And then the actress throws her arms up and lets out a lovely, nervous laugh.

Watts is standing in the entry hall of the Manhattan apartment she shares with her partner, actor Liev Schreiber, and their two sons, eight-year-old Alexander and seven-year-old Samuel. Oh, and there’s Bob, too. He’s the Yorkie. The journey to this moment has been long, twisting, and fraught with the kind of drama that Watts—who is in three movies coming out this year—usually has to cope with only in make-believe.

But let’s start at the beginning.

via@architecturaldigest

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Her backyard looks like paradise.

Reese Witherspoon has had a big year. With the success of Big Little Lies and her involvement in the Time’s Up movement, it only makes sense that the actress and producer needs a peaceful place to escape to after a long day. Her Pacific Palisades, California home is just that—and more.

From the very front steps of her home, Reese showcases her Southern charm with a “hey y’all” mat and very welcoming pup. Behind her, a glossy navy door is the first sign that Witherspoon’s taste in interior decor is traditional, yet playful.

via@elledecor

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It’s impossible to deny the fact that celebrities like to take things to the next level. From world-class vacations that most of us can only dream of to luxury cars made by Maserati, Rolls Royce, and Bugatti, they definitely seem to have the best of everything. Of course, this extends to where they live. After all why live in a “regular” house when you can live in one that is way over the top? The celebrities on this list have managed to take over the top up another notch. Here are the 20 most expensive celebrity homes in the world.

18. Gwen Stefani – $35 million

Currently for sale with a list price of $35 million, Gwen’s Hollywood Hills 12,000 sq. ft. home was previously owned by Jennifer Lopez. Known as “The Summit,” the gated and guarded home features dramatic architecture and a black-and-white design scheme and includes 6 bedrooms, including a master suite with two separate master bathrooms and dressing areas, 5 fireplaces constructed from patterned marble and granite, and every indoor luxury you would expect. Outside, there is a 1-bedroom guesthouse, as well as a large infinity pool, outdoor kitchen, dining, and living area with fireplace, a playground, a lighted tennis court, and a chicken coop. Best of all, the property offers spectacular views of the San Fernando Valley.

via@nimvo

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Actor Matthew Perry’s lavish Los Angeles penthouse hit the market Friday—as the most expensive condominium for sale in Los Angeles.

The “Friends” star is asking $35 million for his newly renovated “mansion in the sky,” as the listing agents Greg Holcomb and Cassandra Petersen, both of Compass, put it.

The four-bedroom aerie tops a star-studded tower in Century City and certainly spans the size of a Los Angeles mansion, at nearly 9,300 square feet. The apartment includes an in-unit home theater and four expansive terraces.

Mr. Perry, 49, bought the full-floor condo in 2017 for $20 million, according to property records, and has spent the past two years giving the interiors a chic facelift, according to listing agents.

via@mansionglobal

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When Kim Kardashian West was interviewed — by her husband, naturally — for the cover story in this month’s issue of Vogue Arabia, she was asked to describe where she sees herself in ten years. The L.A. native’s answer was somewhat surprising: “living on a ranch in Wyoming,” she said, “and occasionally going to Palm Springs and our home in Los Angeles.”

Location: Cody, Wyo.
Price: $14 million (list)
Size: 3,000+ acres with a private lake and multiple structures

As it turns out, the reality TV superstar-turned-entrepreneur-turned-law student wasn’t just whistlin’ Dixie. According to TMZ, the Wests have finalized the purchase of an astonishingly pristine spread, the so-called Monster Lake Ranch near the picturesque town of Cody, in northwest Wyoming less than 50 miles from the eastern edge of Yellowstone National Park.

via@variety

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The late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s 400-foot mega-yacht is up for sale.

The price: A cool $325.5 million.

Dubbed the “Octopus,” it’s one of the world’s largest boats, and costs a whopping four times more than what Allen paid for his NBA franchise, the Portland Trailblazers.

So what do you get for a third of a billion dollars? Two elevators. Two helipads. A pool.

Plus, you’ll get a private deck (which comes with a bar), a hot tub (in case you get tire of the pool) and an al fresco dining area for hosting dinner parties on the sea. But that’s not all.

via@foxbusiness

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Fresh off back-to-back NBA championships, professional basketball’s Golden State Warriors of San Francisco have been described by reputable news outlets as the “greatest dynasty in the modern era” and as “absurd collection of talent.” Perhaps to celebrate those supreme accolades, majority owner Joe Lacob and his wife Nicole Curran have girded their loins and charged away from their longtime Silicon Valley, Calif. residence to the seaside city of Malibu, where they’ve laid out $29.1 million for a decidedly decadent oceanfront mansion on desirable Carbon Beach.

Before becoming Warriors majority owner in 2010, Lacob was (and still is) an exceptionally successful Silicon Valley venture capitalist. For over 30 years, he has held the rank of partner at vaunted firm Kleiner Perkins, where his investments have centered primarily around firms involved in medical tech, life sciences and energy.

Seller: Joseph EnglanoffLocation: Malibu, Calif.Price: $29.1 millionSize: 5,512 square feet, 5 beds, 6 baths

via@variety.com

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