LIFE

The Best Houses Photographed in W Go Beyond Big Little Lies Levels of Real Estate Porn


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Matthieu Salvaing

Among the many things about Big Little Lies that are meme-able and adored, the incredible Southern California houses—variously described as “real estate porn” or or “architectural porn” or “beachfront property porn”—rank high up there. The luxe bungalows, seaside mansions, and general indoor-outdoor high-net-worth vibes are as integral to the appeal of HBO’s sensational drama as the Monterey Five. In the pages of W, too, there has been much house porn to be had over the years, from a hidden artist’s utopia in Mexico City to an Italian aristocrat’s family compound on Lake Como to a modernist fantasy in the Hollywood Hills. And these houses, owned and decorated and lavished upon by insiders in the worlds of art, fashion, society, and celebrity, do—dare we say it—achieve even greater levels of architectural envy. Before the highly anticipated season 2 of Big Little Lies premieres this Sunday night, bringing with it even more high-end interior GIFS, here’s an appetizer of the best house photography in W.

1

The sitting room opens onto a courtyard through a wall of windows, inside the home of Danh Vo. Photograph by Martyn Thompson for W Magazine.

2

Inside Alejandro Jodorowsky and Pascale Montandon-Jodorowsky’s home. Photograph by Aya Yamamoto for W Magazine.

3

The living room of Alberto Pintos’s Paris apartment on Quai d’Orsay, 1990. Photograph by Giorgio Baroni for W Magazine.

4

Inside Edward Mitterrand and Iana Moreno’s home, Liam Gillick’s Rescinded Platform, 2015, hangs above Cap Martin armchairs by India Mahdav. Photograph by Matthieu Salvaing for W Magazine.

5

Inside Fernanda Feitosa’s home. Photograph by Fran Parente for W Magazine.

6

In the living room, a painting by Xue Song hangs above the Paul Evans sofa. The Embryo chair is by Marc Newson, the silver seating sculpture by Ron Arad, and the Monogold coffee table by Yves Klein. The 18th-century Jean-Baptiste Boulard armchair was a gift from Fares’s mother. Inside of Tania Fares’s home. Photographs by Ambroise Tézenas for W Magazine.

7

A javelin in the entryway is, in fact, a sculpture by the artist Leonor Antunes. Inside the home of Danh Vo. Photograph by Martyn Thompson for W Magazine.

8

Es Devlin’s living room, with a view of the garden through a glass wall at the back of the house. Photograph by Catherine Hyland for W Magazine.

9

The “link” between Marilyn Minter’s studio and residence is furnished with pieces by Anton Alvarez, Kueng Caputo, and Patricia Urquiola. On the wall are, from left, Kara Walker’s Untitled, 2009, and Kenny Scharf’s Madoil, 2010. The jumble of boxes, designed by the architect Giancarlo Valle, conceals a coat closet. Photographs by Jason Schmidt for W Magazine.

10

The rooftop bedroom is more hideout than penthouse inside the home of Danh Vo. Photograph by Martyn Thompson for W Magazine.

11

Inside Alejandro Jodorowsky and Pascale Montandon-Jodorowsky’s home. Photograph by Aya Yamamoto for W Magazine.

12

Marlene Dumas’s The End of Christianity, 2000, and Pawel Althamer’s Chiara and Daniele, 2013 (from left), in the entry hall inside Craig Robins and Jackie Soffer’s apartment. Photograph by Martien Mulder for W Magazine.

13

Eli comes face to face with Damien Hirst’s Black Sheep, 2007. Alex Israel brings Eli into Art House, designed by Tadao Ando. Photograph by Adrian Gaut for W Magazine.

14

Inside Sarah Morris’s home, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves visually connect the apartment’s two levels. Photograph by Jason Schmidt for W Magazine.

15

Mel Bochner’s To Count: Intransitive, 1972–2009, at the Hudson Valley Art Farm. Photograph by Jason Schmidt for W Magazine.

16

Inside Fernanda Feitosa’s home. Photograph by Fran Parente for W Magazine.

17

An ornate chandelier is offset by a photograph of a Christmas ornament by the artist Maria Cristina Finucci, inside Sofia and Lucia Odescalchi’s home. Photograph by Laura Sciacovelli for W Magazine.

18

A trio of Tokujin Yoshioka’s paper loungers in the living room surround Eric Serritella’s Cherish Teapot, 2014, atop a Wendell Castle table inside Craig Robins and Jackie Soffer’s apartment. Photograph by Martien Mulder for W Magazine.

19

Inside Paris Hilton’s home. Photograph by Mayan Toledano for W Magazine.

20

A view of the dining room inside the Lake Como Estate of film legend Luchino Visconti. Photograph by Guido Taroni for W Magazine.

21

Es Devlin’s kitchen and its wall of enhanced bricks. Photograph by Catherine Hyland for W Magazine.

22

Alex Israel’s Self Portrait, 2013, in Anita and Poju Zabludowiczes’ London home. Photograph by Jason Schmidt for W Magazine.

23

A Frank Gehry chair on the stairway landing in Kulapat Yantrasast’s home. Photograph by Todd Eberle for W Magazine.

24

A Franz West sculpture next to the indoor pool inside Thierry Gillier and Cécilia Bönström’s home. Photograph by Wikkie Hermkens for W Magazine.

25

In Es Devlin’s studio, one of two replicas of the giant hands made for a 2017 production of Carmen. Photograph by Catherine Hyland for W Magazine.

26

A view of the living room and kitchen in Sophie Hicks’s home. Photograph by Adrian Gaut for W Magazine.