From “Inside Lenny Kravitz’s Regal Paris Home | Open Door | Architectural Digest” by Architectural Digest
Inside Lenny Kravitz's Paris Home, Hotel D. Roxy
Come in, the door is always open, as he says.
Key points
- Kravitz argues that soul is the most essential element of design, and that design without emotional feeling is reduced to designer names and stuff. 4:14
- His home pays continuous tribute to his ancestors, with family photographs such as the grandfather's portrait by Ruven Afanador hung throughout the rooms. 2:25
- Comfort comes first in his design: he says a room that is not comfortable is not working, whatever else it contains. 7:06
- In the bedroom he uses only a few pieces, a bed, two chairs, two tables, two lamps and a console, and he chooses them to be substantial and bold so they carry energy. 11:56
- Kravitz found many pieces at Paris flea markets: the Leontyne Price charcoal drawing was his first purchase there in the early 1990s, and he visits the Leus market every week. 8:55
The argument, point by point
Rooms, one after another
- 1. Entrance hall with the piano — The grand piano and black-and-white checkered floor sit beside the curved staircase where he greets the viewer. 0:05
- 2. Petite salon (Roxy Rune) — A dark panelled room with a crystal chandelier, dedicated to his mother with framed photographs of her. 3:23
- 3. Grass salon — The room where he receives guests, built around Muhammad Ali's legacy and an Andy Warhol print. 5:32
- 4. Dining room — A dark panelled dining room with a long black table and a portrait of his grandfather over the sideboard. 7:36
- 5. Library — Shelves of books, many of them his mother's, with a fireplace and an orange sofa. 9:24
- 6. Downstairs work floor — The studio, filled with objects that inspired him, including a red leather jacket in an acrylic case. 10:11
- 7. Bedroom — An oval bedroom with a bed, two chairs, a crystal chandelier and rugs, described as a space to recreate. 11:39
Look closer at these
- Hand-patterned piano body — Close view of the grand piano's wood case with zigzag and diamond inlaid patterns, the design he created with Steinway.
- Beaded spherical chandelier — A large round chandelier of many small crystal beads with a fringe of strands hangs from the ceiling of the room.
- Warhol portrait of Ali — A framed colourful pop-art print with a red raised fist against blue, hung on a cream panelled wall.
- Red fringed leather jacket — A red leather jacket with fringe is displayed on a hanger inside a clear acrylic case.
- Zebra-print ottoman — A zebra-hide ottoman sits in the foreground of the dark panelled salon beside a curved tan sofa.