Tour the Imagine Dragons Guitarist’s California Ranch Home
Wayne Sermon and his family find comfort and adventure in their house full of worldly collections
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When the lead guitarist for Imagine Dragons, Wayne Sermon, and his wife, Alexandra, were looking for their forever family home, they had just one search criterion on Zillow: acreage. After being “vagabonds” for 15 years due to Wayne’s touring schedule with his band, the couple craved space and roots. What they discovered was an unexpected oasis: a six-acre property in a horse-filled community south of Los Angeles, complete with a barn, guesthouse, and sweeping views.
“We went and just drove up to this hill up here, and thought, ‘What is this magical place?’” recalls Wayne, who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I felt like in some way I was able to get the best parts of what I loved growing up in Utah, here in California.” For Wayne, the expansive property offered a familiar connection to his childhood, where his sister had horses.
While Wayne admits to initial hesitation about the extensive renovations needed, Alexandra, who grew up in Huntington Beach, immediately saw the potential of the home, which exists in a single story. “The layout just felt very conducive to keeping our family kind of close-knit and together,” she explains. “A lot of things that you look at on big properties are just these McMansions, and I’m just not drawn to that. It doesn’t feel warm, it doesn’t feel cozy.”
For the renovation, the couple enlisted AD PRO Directory firm FORMM, founded by industry leaders Keith Muller and Michael Maciocia. The project was headed by husband and wife team Michael Maciocia and Heather Docherty, creative director and design director, respectively. (Alexandra knew Docherty back when they were studying ballet.) One of their primary objectives was flooding the space with natural light. “Some of these vaulted ceilings were covered up,” Maciocia notes. “The addition of the skylights and their views over South Bay and LA and beyond was important.”
The home’s interior design reflects the couple’s worldly collections. Rather than working with a large design firm that was “very much like, ‘We come in and we do it all,’” they opted for a more collaborative approach. “We’ve collected lots of ceramics and artwork,” Alexandra shares. “Everywhere we go, we try to find a local antique or shop. We found a mandolin at a little place by the sea in Croatia that’s over 100 years old.”
The custom banquette in the dining area features hand-drawn artwork representing family milestones. “All of the artwork on there is personal to us,” Alexandra explains. “It’s got birthdays and anniversaries…. It’s probably the most personal item in our house.” The dining room has three sets of pocket doors, “and the first one is the coffee bar,” Alexandra notes, followed by a bar for drinks, and a third set that houses the family computer for homework.
The renovation thoughtfully unified disparate styles. Alexandra describes how the original home felt cohesive on one side but had a too modern aesthetic on the other. The kitchen renovation was particularly crucial in creating flow between spaces. “I’ll take all the credit for the butcher block that’s connected to the stone in the kitchen. That was my idea,” Wayne notes proudly, while crediting Maciocia’s work in opening up the space. “Before, it was just some giant fireplace and chimney that separated the two rooms.”
“No matter the size of the house, whether it’s 10,000 square feet or 1,000, you just hang out in the kitchen,” Wayne shares. A well-considered family nook right off the island allows everyone to spill into that area from the kitchen.
The primary bedroom suite was reimagined with large windows offering views of the Hollywood sign—a meaningful connection to the couple’s first apartment off Franklin Boulevard. They added big doors that open up to the backyard, and Alexandra notes that “the colors there are definitely more subdued than the rest of the house.”
The property’s extensive grounds serve as an adventure playground for their children, who are encouraged to explore the hiking trails with AirTags in their pockets. “There’s a trail that starts at the bottom of our property and you can kind of go up to this view of the ocean to the left, or you can go right down and there’s a little stream.” The land hosts a guest house where close friends live, creating what Alexandra describes as a “commune-type experience.” A gym occupies one outbuilding, while the barn is being converted into Wayne’s music studio. Recent additions include pickleball courts, garden boxes for herbs, and a small vineyard growing Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc grapes.
For Wayne, the home is incomparable. “We can stay in really nice hotels all over the world. But honestly, all of them pale in comparison to just coming home and having the amenities I have here and the views and just the feeling of the house,” he reflects, comparing the design process to creating music. “It felt like four of us just kind of worked like a good band works together. Everyone had their specialties and their roles and what they could bring to the table.”
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