After selling her homes in Pacific Palisades and San Fernando Valley, Grammy-nominated singer Jhené Aiko finds herself in Encino, neighbourhood to Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Selena Gomez and Gwen Stefani. In line with the high-key surroundings, low-key living that celebrities so often adopt, the main feature of her new residence is privacy—well, “ulta-privacy”, as the listing states.
The form of Aiko’s latest Californian dream home? A $4.6 million gated property, sequestered behind the foothills of the Encino Reservoir. Single-storey it may be, but plain it is not. Originally built in 1966, the mansion was given a complete renovation this year, transformed into a contemporary, midcentury home. Four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms comprise a fraction of the 3,500 square-feet of living space, while another is taken up by the mansion’s impressive driveway (which really is an unofficial six-car motor court).
The home’s clean exterior speaks to its interior design. The modern minimalism of oak panelling, whitewash and black metal accents is sustained throughout the abode, peppered with furniture and decor in an array of earthy neutrals. High ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows let in natural light and plenty of peaceful canyon views, while additional amenities further encourage that zen, indoor/outdoor way of life—a kitchen with a curved breakfast bar, a plunge pool and Baja sunbathing shelf, a waterfall and sunken firepit, and a glass wine showroom.
Below, look inside Jhené Aiko’s $4.6 million midcentury Encino mansion.
You can group Mulholland Estates in with Los Feliz and Pacific Palisades as one of those gated communities celebrities can’t seem to get enough of. The neighbourhood, tucked away in the Santa Monica Mountains, is exactly the place that Grammy-nominated rapper Big Sean called home – until, at least, he sold his Mediterranean-style mansion for a staggering $14.9 million.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Big Sean, who’s recently accepted a position as the NBA’s head of merchandise design – under the rather mysterious title “creative director of innovation” – styled his home to the nines. His former abode has undergone quite the transformation since his residency, with Sean collaborating with Los Angeles-based interior design firm JSN Studio to create a contemporary Mediterranean aesthetic. While the exterior of the home, fashioned from white stucco and terracotta roofing, is the very picture of Spanish-influenced luxury, the interior of the home is utterly modern – simple, clean, and plenty of pale oak flooring.
It’s surprisingly elegant for a home that apparently used to feature chandeliers shaped like pirate ships, and wallpaper patterned like alligator skin. (Can we get a ‘Yikes’?) Now, the six-car motor court and double-height foyer opens up into an ivory-coloured utopia, a wrought-iron staircase and arched windows fostering depth in an already expansive mansion (seven bedrooms, seven and a half bathrooms, peppered amongst 11,000 square-feet of living space).
On the main floor, open-plan living is king, with natural light and high ceilings accented by grey marble and a Taj Mahal slab fireplace.
“The idea was to modernise the entire property, [and] to accentuate more of its natural beauty,” said Britney Wior […]
