Photo by TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.

Celeb style: Max Azria’s whimsical Sunset Boulevard estate

The Maison Du Soleil, a Holmby Hills mansion once owned by fashion designer Max Azria—whose influence still reigns in Hollywood in spite of his passing in 2019—is back on the market for a whopping $88 million. The architect Paul Revere Williams–lionized for projects like the Beverly Hills Hotel and residential designs for Golden Age luminaries like Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra–designed the grandiose estate in the 1930s. With 30,000 square feet, this Sunset Boulevard home is never short of space, featuring 60 rooms plus a tennis court, a pool and pool house, a 6,000-square-foot movie theater, a fitness center and a bountiful supply of patio space in which to admire the gardens surrounding the estate.

The whimsical home is certainly not without its own set of quirks and charms; one of its specialty details is the gold-leafed, sculptural ceiling sparkling above the sitting room, where guests can unwind in opulence.

“This room is daring, vibrant and definitely party ready,” says Colleen Waguespack of Colleen Waguespack Interiors. “The high-gloss lacquer elements like the piano and coffee table really glam it up, and of course the ceiling is a showstopper in itself.”


See Waguespack’s tips alongside more rooms from the Azria residence below:


• You don’t always have to do both, but always first consider the floor and the ceiling, and let one be the showstopper. People notice a great floor just as much as a fabulous ceiling. One easy way to achieve this is by lacquering or wallpapering the ceiling, as both are very popular right now.

• This room leans towards maximalism, but it’s actually quite sparsely furnished. Every piece is sculptural on its own and holds its weight. Also note that the main seating area floats in the middle of the room. You do not need to push all of your furniture up against the walls. In this case, none of it is!

• To achieve this style, try picking a dominant accent color and really sticking to it. Just because you commit to one hue doesn’t mean you can’t combine warm and cool tones. Notice that the rug here is in the tomato red family, which leans toward a warmer orange hue, and the sculptural cherries on the piano are much cooler and lean towards the bluish-red family.

• Pillows can be art, and throw pillows are a great way to add an additional layer of art to the room.