While many celebrity homes seem less lived-in, from pristine minimalist to ostentatiously palatial, actress Emma Roberts’ Hollywood Hills home is made for curling up with a good book — or several — with warm tones, comfy sofas and vintage curios in each room (plus, a lagoon-style pool in the backyard for summer reading).
Roberts, an actor who has become a mainstay in romantic comedies and campy horror (the latter, most recently with recurring roles on the anthology series “American Horror Story”), bought the house, which he shares with his three-year-old son. years. Rhodes, in 2022 and hired the design firm Pierce & Ward to renovate its interiors. In it Architectural Digest May Issueshe reveals the results of that makeover.
For Roberts, having a space that feels like home is a particular priority, she explained, since she moved frequently as a child. So when she saw the property listed as a rental on Instagram (she has been reported as Minnie Driver’s former residence), asked if he could buy it instead.
“I think I lived in 10 houses when I was 15, so now that I have a son, I wanted a place that really felt like ours.” she told AD. “I have a photo of the day we moved… I just remember feeling like we were exactly where we needed to be.”
The designers, Louisa Pierce and Emily Ward, with whom Roberts has previously worked, are known for their simple spaces that combine bohemian, mid-century modern and rustic styles. Her clients include Roberts’ “Madame Web” co-star Dakota Johnson, as well as Kate Hudson and Leonardo DiCaprio.
“We want a house to look like it’s been there for 50 years,” Pierce told AD in the cover story. “We never want a house to look new.”
In that spirit, much of Roberts’ furniture, art and decor is repurposed or upholstered. In the living room, under a globe light that looks like a disco ball, paperbacks are stored in living room cabinets, while rarer books are openly displayed. Framed photographs of Debbie Harry and Joni Mitchell rest on wooden cabinets; Elsewhere, one of Roberts’ most prized works of art—a Julian Wasser portrait of Joan Didion in front of a Corvette—hangs on the wall.
The designers told AD that they want the homes they design to look as if they have been lived in for decades. (Michael PH Clifford/AD via CNN Newsource)
Although many pieces come courtesy of design studios or antique finds, Pierce and Ward don’t disdain more affordable high-street brands. Roberts recalled that when he asked if his new kitchen island was custom made, they laughed and said it was from Urban Outfitters.
As for a room for Rhodes, who is starting her own book collection, Roberts opted for a relaxing wallpaper scene of flying ducks on the ceiling, above a bed upholstered in a lush forest.
“I remember when I was a kid, everything on the wall and ceiling was etched in your brain for the rest of your life,” Roberts explained. “So I wanted to make it more welcoming and fun, but not too overwhelming.”
While most of the pieces in Roberts’ home are vintage or designer, her open kitchen includes an affordable surprise. (Michael PH Clifford/AD via CNN Newsource)