Welcome to Demi Lovato’s Trippy Modern Farmhouse

From the glam room to a pup play area, the star’s indoor-outdoor space is all about good vibes

Demi Lovato may be as famous as they come, but stars, they say, are just like us. After spending one too many months cooped up during the early days of quarantine, the award-winning singer-songwriter and actor felt ready for a new home in Los Angeles that checked all the boxes. So, as a real estate frenzy was taking over the country, Lovato was also in the midst of a pandemic house hunt.

With six bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread across 8,500 square feet, this Studio City modern farmhouse provided the blank canvas that Lovato had always dreamed about. Another bonus was the theater and, of course, the backyard swimming pool. “I love the outdoor space,” she explains over Zoom. “I also loved that it had everything that I needed—there were a lot of houses that were beautiful, but there wasn’t [another] house that could have a room for glam, a room for my fittings, a room for my studio… Also, the vibe was really beautiful, and I just fell in love with it when I saw it.”

It was here that Lovato conceptualized Holy Fvck, her eighth full-length album with Island Records. It’s a culmination of the 30-year-old’s rebirth and also marks a return to her rock and pop-punk roots. Designing this house was a process that paralleled that personal journey. This time around, Lovato wanted every inch of the space to fully embody her personality—and the sense of fluidity that continues to shape her identity.

Incidentally, Lovato’s head of security connected her with Argyle Design founders Kat Bell and James Drew. As soon as the trio met, it felt like a perfect fit. “It’s totally different because the last house that I owned for myself—I didn’t have a vision for it,” she explains. “It was just this blank, white, minimalistic yet cozy home… I really loved living there, but at the same time, it felt empty.”

Bell emphasizes how establishing a level of trust with Lovato was a particularly unique, and special, experience. “Demi is a dream client for anyone to have,” she says. Overall, it was a super collaborative process, as the pair translated Lovato’s mood board into each room. This meant leaning into maximalism and pairing unexpected pieces together to create a spectrum of distinct vibes. “The house has great energy,” Drew says. “I’m not usually one that believes in that kind of stuff, but one thing I will say is doing this house was so much fun.”

Of course, this was all part of Lovato’s grand plan—she wanted her home to have good hosting energy filtered through an immersive experience. She gets excited when disclosing some of the provocative Easter eggs hidden around the house, such as mushroom-shaped stools, butt vases, and salt and pepper shakers shaped like boobs. Bell refers to these items as “LOL moments” that are a reflection of Lovato’s playful personality, noting, “We wanted to make sure that anywhere you look there’s this piece that you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, what is that?’”

Eva Seta, director of communications at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, was hired to curate the artwork, which includes pieces by emerging artists from underrepresented communities such as Monica Kim Garza, Lilian Martinez, Hannah Epstein, Yasmine Nasser Diaz, and Lola Rose Thompson. “I wanted it to be a very queer environment,” Lovato explains. “There’s a lot of female empowerment as well, so keeping pieces that are representative of the female figure was very important to me. We live in a world that shuts you out of honoring female bodies, so I want it to be in your face in my house.”

To that point, Lovato insisted on having her very own glam room. Beyond the eye-catching embellishments, like pieces of Pierre Paulin and Michael Ducaroy furniture, a Murano chandelier, a custom Gustaf Westman mirror, and a neon sign that reads “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” the interior also features a fully functioning shampoo bowl from a hair salon. “I used to have a wine cellar, but I don’t drink wine, so now it holds a lot of wigs,” Lovato adds. (While she has been open about the ups and downs of her recovery journey, Lovato announced her commitment to full sobriety in December 2021 following the release of the docuseries Dancing with the Devil.)

There are some other unconventional spaces, like the “Shroom Room,” where Lovato’s guests can spread out on a custom-made modular sectional set by Hans Hopfer for Roche Bobois, which was inspired by the Mah Jong sofa. There’s also a pair of Tongue chairs by Pierre Paulin with shimmering silver walls and curtains. An interactive cloud lamp by Rania Peet hangs from a mural ceiling by Jen Stark, which brings the whole room to life; Lovato enjoys listening to music there while watching the cloud change colors.

The lavender-hued dining room adopts a more aquatic tone, with fixtures like Uchiwa wall sconces and a chandelier from Entler Studio reminiscent of tentacles. To make the kitchen feel more grounded, Bell and Drew paired Gucci’s Lilies wallpaper with wood finishes and brass details, as well as other earth-toned elements. The living room is arguably bolder, with a Desede DS-600 Nonstop sofa wrapped around a bonsai tree coffee table and zebra onyx crystal lamps.

While the house already had solid interior architecture, the real heavy lifting went into transforming the pool house into a recording studio that doubles as a sacred space. The result is a creative environment with soft textures embodied by objects like an Upholstered Stitch Stool by Eny Lee Parker and a Cold Picnic rug. Since Lovato was inspired by crystals, Bell and Drew sourced a vintage 1960s Italy Vistosi chandelier with iridescent Murano glass discs for the ceiling. That same spiritual energy can be felt in Lovato’s primary bedroom, which is whimsical with a touch of rock and roll.

The backyard is another universe of its own thanks to its pool, hot tub, fire pit, outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill, and a secluded patio. There’s also a special area designated for Lovato’s dogs, Batman and Cinderella, secured with netting, so the pups can safely play outside without the threat of local hawks and coyotes. (Elsewhere, she installed miniature tables with a feeding station for the neighborhood squirrels.)

After achieving everything that she set out to do in designing this space, Lovato couldn’t be more satisfied with the results. “Home to me is where I can rest easy and where I can stay—even if there’s a quarantine or lockdown—and feel completely fulfilled,” she concludes. “I have no reason to leave, this is exactly everything that I’ve wanted in a house.”