Design Happens

When I initially meet with new clients, I request they bring tear sheets of their favorite shelter magazine rooms with them. Nine times out of ten, either the spaces are celebrities in their own rights, or the interiors belong to actual celebrities. The usual suspects? Jenna Lyons’ black, white and yellow Brooklyn home from Domino, Thom Filicia’s lake house, or Sarah Jessica Parker’s house in The Hamptons. Over the past year, a whole new batch of famous — or famous people’s — homes have made their way into the mix. Albeit uber-feminine, gender-neutral or bachelor-chic, here’s four different celebrity homes certain to always be ready for their closeups.

First up is the meticulously edited, insanely sophisticated New York home of John Mayer as published in Elle Decor. Bachelors — and their ladyfriends — often reference this space as a source of inspiration. The 2500 square foot SoHo spread, which sports furnishings by Armani Casa, is all about classic lines and a calm palette. It’s cool enough for a dude but warm enough for his female counterpart.

House & Garden

House & Garden

Next up is the Hamptons home of Gwyneth Paltrow published in House & Garden. Overall, new clients seem to want wallpaper similar to the style pictured in what appears to be an entryway as well as the serenely modern, feminine palette. In fact, I’ve done three bedrooms sporting the same shade of hot pink seen here in daughter Apple’s room.

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest

And then there’s Diane Keaton, just as brilliant with decoration and architecture as she is at lighting up the screen. This 8,434 square foot Spanish-Colonial Revival style mansion of hers in Beverly Hills (featured in Architectural Digest) was bought by Glee creator Ryan Murphy. This home in particular is all about honoring the period of the home while adding a bit of the unexpected and playing with scale. In my own home, both my contractor and myself have referred to these beams as inspiration for my great room ceiling. The open storage of the kitchen is often a common request for families with lots of kids. The graphic, oversized numbers are a huge hit with those who own industrial-inspired loft spaces.

Veranda

Veranda

Designer Michelle Workman recently raised the bar on understated elegance with her design for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s California home. A day or two after Veranda published a full spread, design blogs went crazy both for the palette and for the amazing black/gold stove in the kitchen. The home is colorful yet calm and soothing − quite similar to the designer herself. Currently, I’m working on a house in Atlanta inspired by the overall tone of this home.

By the way, HGTV.com’s sister site Front Door has tons of pictures of celebrity homes for sale. A safe way to indulge any star stalker tendencies you’ve repressed.