My Favorite Room: Courteney Cox’s Malibu retreat is an oasis for friends
Actress, producer and director Courteney Cox, 54, grew up surrounded by family and friends during weekly gatherings. She keeps this tradition alive at her 8,000-square-foot Malibu property, high above the beach.
Meant to evoke the comfort and ease of a modern barn, Cox’s light-filled home makes use of grays and whites beneath a pitched metal roof, all anchored by a flagstone patio.
She calls her home’s outdoor area the focal point of her life. The breezy space invites relaxation with teak Sutherland furnishings, plush seating in neutral tones, aged ipe decking and a galley kitchen with awning windows that pass through to bar seating by the pool.
Cox, who makes a one-time appearance on Showtime’s “Shameless” Oct. 14, says this space enables her to create a sense of community in Los Angeles.
Why is this your favorite room?
The house I have is indoor-outdoor, but this particular area has everything you need — an indoor-outdoor kitchen, dining table, lounge chairs, a pool, a great view. Living in California, this is the perfect place to spend time because it’s always so beautiful here. It is the one area that I don’t feel like I need to change. Sometimes I think I’d get a different colored pillow or something, but it stayed consistent for the last 10 years.
Celebrity interior designer Trip Haenisch helped you redesign your home, which is featured in his book, “Personal Space,” out this month. How much did you change from when you first purchased the property?
The whole house is completely different. Before, it was more of a rustic house with wood shingle siding and paned windows. It had lots of greenery. I re-did the entire thing with the help of Michael Kovac, my architect, Trip Haenisch and my contractor, Michael Grosswendt of All Coast Construction.
How did Haenisch help you design your home?
Trip was there from the beginning. He is good at keeping things simple and authentic. He also taught me to get the “box” right before worrying about furniture. We didn’t ship barnwood over from Europe. We kept it really true to what the plan was. It’s very simple materials, slatted wood, white with black metal trims around the doors. The “box” is very simple and you can kind of add your own taste to each room and it works.
You called this area the focal point of your life. Could you explain why?
I have people over to my house every Sunday. I’ve done that for the last 20 years. As a kid, I would go to my grandparents’ house with aunts, uncles and 21 first cousins. I don’t have family like that in L.A., but I do like to get together on Sunday afternoons and play tennis, eat and watch the kids swim in the pool. It just brings a sense of community to my life. That’s why [this outdoor space is] the most important room.
