Moving is nothing new for Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. “We are used to it now.” Andrea Teigen, a lively model, TV star, and cooking expert, says, “We’re always open to a new house or a change in our current residence.” “When she says ‘we,’ she means’she,'” says Legend, her famous husband who is a singer. Legend has won 12 Grammys, an Oscar for best original song, an Emmy, and a Tony. “However, it’s correct. “We’re not afraid of change,” he says next.
The couple’s tendency to buy more than one house is not just a coincidence. Teigen says, “Like chapters in a book, every house we’ve ever owned shows where we were in life at the time.” “Our old house was darker and farther away, more private, like a sanctuary,” Legend adds. “We were drawn to this spot because it felt light and airy.” We love how open it feels and how close it is to nature. The couple has four children: a seven-year-old daughter named Luna, a five-year-old son named Miles, a one-year-old daughter named Esti, and a new baby boy named Wren, who was born through surrogacy in June and was announced on Teigen’s Instagram to the delight of her many fans.
As a result, the couple worked with AD100 talent Jake Arnold on the design of their new Beverly Hills home. Arnold had previously worked on John Legend’s music studio and Chrissy Teigen’s food and cooking business, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen. Legend says, “We hired Jake because we love his taste, but if it were up to him, there would probably be more earth tones.” This refers to the designer’s choice for warm, neutral colors that are brought to life by strong, sculptural shapes and rich textures. “We like bright pops of color. Teigen says, “We wanted to do something funky to make it a little crazier.”
Arnold has no problem admitting that his clients pushed him to explore new areas of aesthetic language. “They like things that are a little glitzy and fun, and they’re drawn to the work of daring, modern artisans, which isn’t my style,” he says. “However, Chrissy and John are the nicest and most helpful people I know, and they believed in me.” My task was to use my philosophy to make this brand-new, ultra-modern home warm and comfortable, a version of what I do that fits their personalities perfectly.
Arnold changed the old staircase from a sharp, angular structure made of glass and steel to a curvy, floating plaster staircase with a brass rail that was lit up. “I wanted to offset the rectilinear architecture with many rounded silhouettes,” the designer says. There must be a casual and easy feel to the house since the kids can get into any room. A lot of the furniture and built-ins in the open living, eating, and kitchen area have the same curvy shapes as the stairs: a signature light sculpture by Nacho Carbonell that stands alone; a light branch by Jeff Zimmerman that hangs above a dining table with a softly rounded edge by Joseph Dirand; a crescent-shaped sofa made of oak by Pierre Yovanovitch that sits on a soft, bionic mohair rug; and a rounded marble bar and chairs.
In the lounge, which is next to the living room, the lounge’s golden de Gournay wallpaper, Legend’s grand piano, and the serpentine lines of the custom bar made of marble, stucco, and brass are all examples of rounded shapes. A nearby powder room is mostly made of rose-colored marble and is lit by Murano sconces with glass flowers that sparkle and a dome-shaped hanging light. Teigen says that her husband’s taste in lighting fixtures that are blatantly beautiful is “feminine.” “It’s true. I think every chandelier should have soft curves and a feminine look. He or she says, “I’m also open to pink.”
Arnold had one of the first ideas that the master suite should be as light and airy as the rooms on the first floor. When it was over, Teigen and Legend did one of their famous about-faces. Arnold says, “We wanted something much more calm and moody for the second version. It had rich, deep plaster walls, seagrass framed in walnut, and a patinated brass hood over the fireplace.” Teigen and Legend changed the layout of the room so that they could share the bathrooms and bedrooms instead of using the separate ones that were already there. “We’d rather be together, so the ‘his and hers’ arrangement didn’t make sense,” Legend says. It gets better, his wife says, “We are not an old-fashioned Victorian couple that has to dress separately and then present ourselves all dressed up.”
The rooms for children are made up by Arnold. Luna’s hideaway is a lavender dream with a tent ceiling and a ball pit filled with pearlescent orbs. Miles’s boy grotto has a climbing wall, a custom Jeep-like bed parked on fake grass, and camouflage netting curtains. “We know that the accommodations will need to be changed as the kids get older, but for now they’re perfect.” The creator says they look like little dream worlds.
In fact, it looks like life at Teigen/Legend is great for both kids and adults. There are always lots of friends and family at the couple’s very welcoming home, whether it’s a party for the Vanderpump Rules finale, a catered feast of hibachi treats, a bouncy house blowout, or a classic pajama party. But Teigen says, “That’s the way we like it.” “These doors are always open.”