Renowned for throwing their lavish parties, soirees, and opulent dinner events, these celebrities make entertaining at home an occasion for every guest to remember.
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz’s “The Razor House”
The “Songs In A Minor” star with her husband, photographed in her “The Razor House”. Image: Times of San Diego
The house was constructed to provide seaside views from every angle. It is delicately situated on top of a rock, giving this luxurious house a colossal appearance. The house is 11,545 square feet of white concrete, stainless steel, stone, walnut, and glass. It is an essence of Brutalist yet airy minimalism, with rooftop terraces that take in everything the ocean offers and an underground garage. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys and her husband, rapper and music producer Swizz Beatz reportedly paid over US$20 million for this mansion.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Keys and Swizz Beatz, actual name Kasseem Dean, purchased the home after it had been on the market for about a year. The US$20.8 million sale price is about US$10 million less than its original listed price of US$30 million when it went on the market last summer.
Brutalist lines and striking architecture make up The Razor House. Image: LA Times.
According to Architectural Digest, the home features four bedrooms, a library, a cinema, two steam rooms, a living room with a fireplace, and a custom Ralph Lauren pool table. The house is perched on a cliff with a view of the ocean.
The couple regale their guests with wine and nibbles in this jaw-dropping living room overlooking the coastline. Image: Sam Chen for WSJ.
The entire house is also made of glass, providing beautiful coastline views. The most recent of Keys’ six studio albums is “Here,” released in 2016. In the last few years, she has judged NBC’s “The Voice” and sold over 60 million CDs. The couple has hosted many memorable parties and dinner events where the panoramic coastline views blow guests.
Naomi Campbell’s Kenyan Villa
Noami Campbell in her sprawling Kenyan villa. Image: Khadija Farah
Naomi Campbell desired to live in a calm and peaceful environment away from the hectic lives of supermodels in London and New York. The expansive space is a modest luxury, filled with natural light and a neutral, earthy colour scheme. It may be the abundance of natural light and earthy materials but the huge stretches don’t feel intimidating. The house is made from many materials, such as woven elements and locally-sourced natural fabric.
Bright airy views in this living area greet the swimming pool. Image: Khadija Farah
With a saltwater pool extension directly into the living area, the house blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor space. Campbell picks up bits of furniture from Marrakesh and Senegal, but the majority is locally acquired from Malindi. The home is rife with remarkable woodwork from Malindi’s artisans. She has beautiful hand-carved wooden doors by award-winning artist Armando Tanzini.
Makuti-thatched roofs are a striking feature of Kenyan architectural heritage. Image: Khadija Farah
Many oversized Latika lanterns hang from rafters hailing from Morocco and Egypt. The villa has a saltwater pool that extends outdoors from the centre of her living room, ideal for a quick dip. When the model is entertaining, she has twin voile-curtained pergolas that serve as the perfect space for large family-style dinners. The space for entertaining has the fashion model’s favourite Makuti-thatched roof, formed from the coconut palm’s sun-dried leaves, and the soaring cathedral ceilings. She has thrown lavish parties for many of her friends and fashion and entertainment industry partners.
Boy George’s Hampstead Mansion
Celebrity interior designer Kelly Hoppen with Boy George. Image: Kelly Hoppen.
Kelly Hoppen, CBE (Commander of the British Empire), is undoubtedly one of the few designers with the foresight to tackle the magnificent three-story Gothic mansion that belongs to Culture Club vocalist Boy George. Speaking to Introspective magazine, Hoppen claims that after seeing her spacious London home and falling in love with it, the pop star — who brought us classics like “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” — asked for her interior design skills.
George’s TV room allows guests to cosy up with a good flick. Image: Kelly Hoppen.
Although it differs in architecture, George’s home was constructed in the 1860s and features stunning period features, including restored stained-glass windows, wrought iron balustrades, and vaulted ceilings. George has owned the house for almost 40 years; he bought the Hampstead mansion in 1984 when he started gaining notoriety. Not long ago, he put the mansion for sale, reportedly seeking GBP 17 million (US$29.6 million).
Highlighting George’s remarkable collection of artwork was essential to the endeavour. Using George’s artwork, many of which the singer and DJ made, Hoppen added: “pops of colour and playfulness throughout the home, adding new depth and dimension to the neutral scheme.” He described his collection as “vibrant” and “expansive.” The house’s interiors feel modern gloss thanks to the solid ceramics and soft grey Italian marble accents that blend with the artwork.
To create a fascinating contrast between the old and the modern, Hoppen took care to maintain the house’s Gothic vaulted ceilings and elaborate balustrades on the staircase as the main features. The pillared archways that flank the sitting and eating area of the house, where George enjoys reading and writing, make just as much of a statement as the fantastic spiral staircase at the centre of the building.
A big, open kitchen space in a lick of yellow allows George to meal prep while talking to guests. Image: Kelly Hoppen.
Bright, neon-coloured art is everywhere in the estate, including the cosy living room with its black Tamo wood coffee table and fish-eye mirror on the wall. Hoppen used bold, clean, curving forms and neutral-coloured furniture throughout the house to balance the Gothic architecture.
The kitchen’s grey marble countertop contrasted with the island cabinets’ whimsical use of a bright, cheery shade of yellow. The finishing touch of modernism is an exposed brick wall and soft ivory cabinets. Utilising natural light, a lovely garden can be seen through floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Martha Stewart’s Maine Home
Period furniture with modern decor work synergistically to create this beautiful living area to entertain guests. Image: Architectural Digest.
Martha Stewart gave the second home to end all first homes a royal name. Stewart’s amazing holiday home, “Skylands,” was first constructed in 1925 as a summer residence for the family of Edsel Ford, an automobile tycoon. Architectural Digest’s July edition, which goes on sale in New York and Los Angeles on Tuesday, includes it.
Architect Duncan Candler created the three-storey, twelve-bedroom home on 63 acres with a view of Seal Harbour on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The hilltop where it was built is reached by a steep, winding road that traces the shoreline and terminates with a pink-granite gravel drive on the edge of Acadia National Park. When Stewart purchased the property in 1997, almost everything was original, including the kitchen’s antique Frigidaire refrigerators and the Fords’ silver, glassware, China, and linens. The house became her “favourite place,” she noted.
Patio-themed parties are a signature style for Stewart’s lavish meal settings. Image: Architectural Digest.
Given her well-known green thumb and earthy taste, it is unsurprising that Stewart has surrounded the house with thick vegetation, including fir trees, spruces, maples, ferns, and kiwi vines that embrace the main building. Instead of just standing on the property’s lush lawn, the house has practically blended in.
In addition to spending long weekends there throughout the year, Stewart also spends a portion of time in July and August at the property, where she has hosted gatherings of up to 100 guests. She clarified, “I see myself as the custodian of an American treasure.”
Oprah Winfrey’s Spectacular Waterfront Estate
Winfrey’s sprawling home is ensconced in nature. Image: Courtesy of Windermere.
We cannot blame Oprah Winfrey for her appreciation of an excellent vacation property. In 2018, she spent over US$8.3 million on a 43-acre house on Orcas Island, one of the San Juan Islands in Washington state, adding to her collection of idyllic retreats. The beachfront property, called Madroneagle, included a main house that was 7,303 square feet and had four bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Winfrey adores cooking and entertaining in her grand kitchen. Image: Courtesy of Windermere.
Reclaimed woodwork, radiant heat floors, a stone fireplace, and a kitchen with an integrated pizza oven were all features of the rustic haven. A wine cellar, Asian garden, and sauna were among the other great features. Additionally, there is a guesthouse on the property that is almost 3,000 square feet. Because she was too busy to spend time at the mansion, Winfrey eventually sold it for US$14 million in 2021. She has hosted many dinner gatherings where guests leave with good memories.
Cardi B & Offset’s Grand Atlanta Home
Cardi B’s enormous estate features manicured gardens and rolling lawns. Image: Homes of the Rich.
Even though Cardi B has risen to the ranks of music and life, she continues to show off her money, making her success story nothing short of a novella in and of itself. Cardi B and Offset most likely gave themselves and their daughter Kulture one of the costliest Christmas presents: a mansion that cost only around US$5.75 million.
According to reports, the 22,000-square-foot estate in Atlanta was constructed in 2006. It is an absolute fantasy home, spanning 5.7 acres of stunning terrain.
A spacious, light-filled living room to entertain guests. Image: Homes of the Rich.
This five-bedroom, seven-bathroom estate features European interior design, including a gleaming white living area for entertaining guests and a well-stocked wine cellar for those wine-tasting gatherings. This cosy-looking study would make you want to curl up with a book even if you haven’t read a word in years, and the kitchen has a vintage allure that tempts you to cook even if you can’t.
Cardi B and her husband are wine enthusiasts. Image: Homes of the Rich.
Offset will have a studio, Cardi B will have her own walk-in closet and makeup room, and Kulture will undoubtedly get a larger play area than our office. The room makes you want to take a nap that has been put off for more than 10 years, while the bathroom makes you want to plunge into your existential crisis.
As the open and truthful superstar that she is, Cardi B provided a brief home tour with Offset and some incredible commentary that makes us feel both delighted for her and incredibly poor as we scroll down.
RuPaul’s Beverly Hills Mansion
RuPaul prefers to host intimate parties in this ballroom. Image: Doug Friedman for Architectural Digest.
RuPaul Andre Charles and Martyn Lawrence Bullard are the most blissfully matched clients and decorators since Carlos de Beistegui, Emilio Terry, Auntie Mame, and Yul Uhlu. RuPaul is the queen of drag, a world-renowned performer and glamorous figure. Bullard, a staple of the AD100, has a reputation for unrepentant, frequently outré beauty and is no stranger to enchantment himself.
Naturally, the Drag Race mogul and his husband, rancher Georges LeBar, relied on Bullard, a friend of almost thirty years, to make it pop when they bought a mansion in Beverly Hills as their new home base in Los Angeles. RuPaul explains, “We trusted Martyn because we’ve always loved his aesthetic.” “I told you to go for it. I can go as far as you can imagine us going.
And he went for it. Bullard draped his magician’s shroud over an opulent but uninspired 1980s home, transforming it into a Hollywood Regency fever dream that combines classic Beverly Hills grandeur with his client’s vibrant, larger-than-life personality. This is the home of Ru, a stylish mansion built as the focal point for the most well-known and renowned international drag queen star. “I couldn’t think of a more fitting location for the universe’s drag mother to hold court,” the designer exclaims, calling it the ideal runway for the world’s supermodel.
The accent green on furniture and decor pair perfectly well with the monochrome theme. Image: Doug Friedman for Architectural Digest.
By altering the mansard roof, rearranging the colonnades and railings, and incorporating other neoclassical elements, Bullard, in collaboration with architect Christopher Hatch McLean, transformed the house’s appearance. As for the decorative drama, the kill bells ring when one enters the grand, powdery-rose entry hall with a sweeping stairway and severe Mommie Dearest undertones.
With jewel-toned textiles and pagoda-shaped accents that pay homage to the legendary decorator Tony Duquett, the formal living room is situated to the right. To the left is the stunning ballroom, a coup de théâtre adorned with various enormous disco balls and pictures of celebrities like Dorothy Dandri, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, and Billie Holiday. A tondo with a 1975 photograph of Diana Ross by Harry Langdon on top of a specially designed fireplace that references the work of Dorothy Draper, one of the inspirations for Bullard’s decor.
One may anticipate that the ballroom would host wild parties with hordes of glitterati due to its enormous size and spectacle. As it happens, no. “I don’t entertain in my house; I do it on TV. RuPaul emphasises his fondness for small dance parties and intimate get-togethers with close pals, saying, “When you live such a public life, you need boundaries.” However, there are many areas for elegant gatherings, most notably an outdoor dining room with black-and-white stripes, fruit trees, topiaries, and chairs designed by Elsie de Wolfe, another significant influence on Bullard. “The stripe treatment is meant to feel like a tent. The room has orangery vibes, but technically, it’s more of a kumquatery,” the designer muses.
The dining room features RuPaul’s favourite colour orange embellished on the dining chairs. Image: Doug Friedman for Architectural Digest.
RuPaul’s favourite colour, orange, is also used in the kitchen and breakfast area next to it, the performer’s lacquered office, and the opulent main bedroom, where a claw-foot daybed worthy of Joan Crawford, covered in orange velvet, sits beneath a chandelier that mimics Dorothy Draper’s draped plaster confections. “The bedroom is very glam, very romantic, but weirdly, it still has some masculinity to it,” Bullard avers. The entertainer’s inevitably extensive collection of suits and gowns and a queen’s ransom in glittering bijoux are housed in two gigantic closets, one designated for male attire and the other for drag. “It feels like you’re skipping into Bergdorf’s, the chicest boutique you could dream of,” RuPaul says of the kaleidoscopic closets.
By adding a graphic zellige-tiled spa to the pool and covering the hillside with a variety of drought-tolerant plants, landscape architect James Hyatt redesigned the garden to highlight the atmosphere of classic Beverly Hills opulence and the neoclassical influences that adorn the interiors. The performers’ Tinseltown Shangri-la is perfect, and the golden cameos perfectly capture the remarkable convergence of their brains. “The house is a touchstone that reminds me to inspire people to feel the seemingly elusive magic these days,” RuPaul asserts. “It’s meant to be whimsical and fun. None of it is to be taken too seriously—except for love and kindness.
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