It’s Friday, friends, and that means it’s time for some more gorgeous home design and decor inspiration. If you are new around here, I love to feature celebrity homes on Fridays and try to find ways to copy the decor without breaking the bank. I guess you could call it ‘save vs. splurge.’ Today I’m doing it a little differently and sharing some backyard pool ideas since it’s summertime!
I’ve put together an eclectic mix of backyard pool ideas for you, but I’d love to know which is your favorite. After you look through the photos, leave me a comment letting me know which one you love best.
Orlando Bloom’s Beverly Hills Home
Photo Credit: Daniel Dahler
Located on “Billionaires’ Row” with stunning views over the city and ocean, Orlando Bloom’s 4,011-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath contemporary exemplifies the indoor-outdoor living that characterizes the celebrity lifestyle up and down the California coast. The wide sweep of the open floor plan, sliding walls of glass and lightly defined living areas supply Hollywood drama from its sunken living room conversation pit with views of the zero-edge pool and spa, outdoor dining and conversation areas. All in sparkling white from walls to furniture, the house is a perfect foil for art collections and of a size to entertain on an intimate or large scale.
Donald Wexler’s Steel & Glass House
Photo Credit: The Agency
While most architects spend their working hours designing houses within the established norm, there are those who stand out because they had a vision and weren’t afraid to put their ideas into practice. Many of those risk takers turned the tide of architecture. Some were inspired by forms found in nature like Frank Lloyd Wright or geometry like Mies Van der Rohe. But Palm Springs architect Donald Wexler started his career working for Modernest Richard Neutra, whose approach to design revolved wholly around his client’s lifestyle needs rather than his own desire for popularity. By the time Wexler ventured out on his own, he was well known for his clean modern designs and listening to his client’s needs. But he was also an innovator known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design.
Wexler designed homes from his Palm Springs office for over 60 years and died in 2015 at the age of 89. His projects included houses, schools, hotels, banks, the Palm Springs International Airport, Dinah Shore’s home (most recently purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio), and the Royal Hawaiian Estates development. His very last project was this steel-and-glass, mid-century modern home that captured the spirit of its desert location. He completed the plans two months before he died. The home was featured in Palm Springs Modernism Week 2016 and is now for sale at $2.435 million.
Anne Heche’s Charming Los Angeles Home!
Photo Credit: The Agency
Born near Cleveland, Ohio to a struggling family with five children and moving often, including some time in an Amish community, Anne Heche got her start in acting right out of high school in the television soap opera Another World. Cast in a dual role as evil twins, from 1987 through 1991 Anne was one of daytime tv’s most popular stars winning an Emmy and a Soap Opera Digest Award. Since that time, she has appeared in film, on television sitcoms and written her autobiography, Call Me Crazy, which was released in 2001. Heche has been living in an Old World-style home that was built in 2009 in the Hancock Park-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, which she has recently put on the market, priced at $3.95 million.
Loaded with character from its barrel-tiled roof to its wood-and-dark-beamed ceilings, the 4,652-square-foot house contains five bedrooms and five baths with a dramatic open-plan family room with kitchen and two-story ceiling, fireplace and French doors that open to the entertainment terrace. There is a formal living room with wood-burning fireplace, formal dining room, a den-media room, combination guest-suite office, and a butler’s pantry with wine cooler and ice maker. Family bedrooms are located on the second floor with high-beamed ceilings, large closets and balconies. The master includes three closets, a steam shower and freestanding tub. In addition, the house has a laundry room and two-car garage. Outside is a pool, cabana, an entertaining loggia with wood-burning fireplace, outdoor dining and lawn.
Mel Gibson’s Malibu Mansion
Photo Credit: The Agency
One of the most beautiful estates in central Malibu, Gibson’s estate is accessed through a long-gated drive ending at a large motor court. The 6,578-square-foot house is entered via the two-story foyer that opens into an expansive great room with high vaulted-beamed ceilings, stone-arched doorways, large chandeliers, dark-wood floors, walls of transomed French doors exposing canyon and ocean views and a grand stone Inglenook-style fireplace. With five bedrooms and five baths, there is a large French Country kitchen with bespoke cabinetry, marble countertops, island for workspace and casual dining, a den, gym and family room. Outside are terraces overlooking ocean views, one with a romantic, vine-covered pergola for alfresco dining, and a three-car garage with a two-bedroom guest house above. Preferring a lush landscape, Gibson added additional plant materials native to Southern California. There are two swimming pools and the 5.5-acre property includes membership in the La Costa Beach Club.
