At the best of times, life with young kids means accepting a life of messes, spills, and never-ending laundry. During quarantine times, it’s that times 100 — but luckily for James Van Der Beek, the Beverly Hills home where he’s on lockdown with his family has been newly designed to be kid-friendlier than you could imagine. Their home is an oasis away from the chaos of the world, featuring wide-open rooms, natural light, and neutral-toned, easily washable fabrics. Every design decision was made with their five kids in mind, and the result is so cozy (and so convenient) I want to cry. Fellow parents in quarantine, beware: the details of this house are going to spark some serious jealousy.
Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly Brook share a whopping five kids together: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn, and son Joshua. Their youngest, Gwendolyn, is not yet 2 years old, while their oldest, Olivia, is 9 years old. So, they have a bright and bubbly group of youngsters in need of entertainment. Architectural Digest took a close look at the family’s recent redesign with Tammy Price, and had the couple walk through how they decided on this look.
The first thing we told her was that we needed furniture that could move from room to room, indoors to out. When you’ve got five kids, and usually a houseful of friends hanging out, flexibility is imperative,” Brook told the outlet. But while it’s key that the house work for their kids, they also wanted it to feel — and look — like an adult home.
Price’s solution? She found easily washable outdoor materials for fabrics, but kept the color palette neutral and played with texture for a simple, sophisticated look.
“Happily, the house has great bones and generous spaces for outdoor living, so there was a lot to work with,” said Price. “We kept the color to a minimum but added a lot of different textures — kilim-covered pillows, sheepskin upholstery, flokati rugs — to make the home a richer experience. We also used a lot of outdoor fabrics to make sure everything is durable. You can clean most of it with soap and water, which is a big plus for a family with little kids.”
Another big plus of the house — like all celebrity homes — is the ample extra space it affords, meaning the kids have playrooms to spare these quarantined weeks. Brook described one room where they “covered the floor in mattresses and pillows” as “the ideal place to read books and watch movies,” while Van Der Beek adds that the children’s tepees are another key refuge.
“That’s where the kids have pillow fights and set up their doll stations. When they have homework, we just say, ‘Go to the tepee!’ It’s perfect,” the dad shared.
After weeks on lockdown, the idea of having this many areas to which to send one’s kids feels too luxurious to be real. But for Van Der Beek and Brooks, this is now what they call home.
“The overall impression is tranquil and welcoming, but there’s still plenty of great energy here,” added Van Der Beek. Tranquil welcoming energy couldn’t sound further from my home right about now — but at least I can blissfully look at these photos and pretend that I’m one of the Van Der Beeks, retiring to my floor of pillows for an afternoon screening. Don’t you feel more relaxed already?
Before you go, click here to see the biggest and most expensive celebrity homes.
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