CLOSE COMFORT
With her life played out on camera, Kourtney Kardashian relishes the refuge of the home she’s created, one that so clearly reflects her distinctive style – modern sophisticated and family-focused. By Mayer Rus. Photographed by Roger Davies.
The concept of house as sanctuary is one of the great cliches of lifestyle writing – and for good reason, as anyone who finds comfort in their home can attest. But for sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, the idea registers on a whole different level. After all, when you’re members of what is arguably America’s most famous family, with so much of your life playing out on reality TV and in the tabloids, you need some place where the eyes of millions are not watching.
The enterprising duo have found such an escape in homes around the corner from each other in a private Calabasas, California, enclave where the real estate game is something of a celebrity swap meet. A couple of years ago Kourtney, the elder of the two, bought a 1,068-square-metre Tuscan-style dwelling from former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. A month or so later Khloé snapped up a nearly 930-square-metre Mediterranean Revival house from Justin Bieber. Their half-sister Kylie Jenner also purchased a place here, and materfamilias Kris Jenner lives minutes away. Meanwhile, their sister Kim, her husband Kanye West and their children, Saint and North, recently moved into a new Axel Vervoordt-designed residence in Bel-Air.
Even in such a close-knit family, it’s surprising that Kourtney and Khloé – who have well-defined personalities and aesthetic sensibilities – would engage the same decorator, but they decided to entrust show business favourite Martyn Lawrence Bullard with the task of tailoring the two houses to their respective tastes.
“I’m amazed how many styles he can interpret,” raves Kourtney. “Khloé’s place is glamorous. Mine is much more restrained and modern, which is perfect for where I am in my life.”
Bullard has known the family for years, having long orbited in the same constellation of Hollywood glitterati. “Both of the girls were ready for something fresh,” Bullard says. For Kourtney, he says: “The focus was her three children: sons Mason and Reign, ages six and one, and three-year-old daughter Penelope.” “We wanted to make it sophisticated but family-friendly,” notes the decorator. “She’s all about her kids.”
So there it is – Kourtney’s a little bit cosy, Khloé’s a little bit rock’n’roll. Khloé, in characteristic fashion, puts a finer point on the distinction. “Our tastes are very specific and completely different,” she says, laughing. “When we go furniture shopping, I stand there tapping my foot while Kourtney shows me modern pieces. Then we head somewhere full of exotic, beautiful things and all she can say is: ‘I like nothing here.’”
Khloé was very hands-on in the design process. “I’m obsessed with details, so I can be a bit controlling, but it’s only because I’m genuinely curious.” That love of discovery is shared by Kourtney, who immersed herself in the history of 20th-century design to build the foundation of a serious collection. From the Pierre Jeanneret chairs that surround the dining table to the living room’s Oscar Niemeyer chair and ottoman to the Jules Leleu desk that anchors her art-filled office, the home brims with modernist gems.
A felicitous collision of pieces even extends into the children’s rooms. Penelope, for one, sleeps beneath a classic three-arm Serge Mouille ceiling lamp, with a neon-light artwork installed above her pink headboard. “I’m very afraid of colour,” Kourtney confesses. “But when you have kids, you can’t be so stringent. Martyn was able to introduce bright pops in a way I can handle.”
Both sisters say that taking pride in their homes was learnt from their father, the lawyer and businessman Robert Kardashian, who died in 2003, as well as from their mother. “My mom has always had a vision for our houses – she taught us the joy of interior design,” Kourtney says. “And I have vivid memories of my dad’s closet, which was always immaculate. My sisters and I are perfectionists because we were brought up that way.”