Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West Explain the Inspiration Behind Their Minimalist Home
Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West have given people a glimpse inside their minimalist home. They’ve also revealed the inspiration behind their design choices — some of which have been the source of public debate. (Remember when Kardashian West’s social media activity ignited a discussion about how her bathroom sinks work?) Ahead, find out what the couple used as their design inspiration.
Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West discovered their dream home on a walk
The couple discussed their home in a cover story for Architectural Digest’s March 2020 issue. They also sat down for a YouTube video with the publication in which they quizzed each other on their family and the design of their home.
Kardashian West explained they found their dream home in the summer of 2013 while on a walk following the birth of their first child. They now have four children together: North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
“We passed by this incredibly extravagant house while strolling through the neighborhood,” Kardashian West recalled. “I’d just had North, and we were doing a lot of walking, so I could work off some of the baby fat.”
Kardashian West said she’d been excited about the home unlike West. “I didn’t really know Kanye’s style at that point, but I thought the house was perfection,” she said. “Kanye was less enthusiastic. He said, ‘It’s workable.’”
“Workable” it was. The couple bought the property and lived with Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family, during renovations. Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt helped the couple bring their vision for the space to life.
The couple agreed on a neutral, calm aesthetic
When thinking about the direction they wanted to take with their family home, the couple looked at the homes they owned separately to see whether they could agree on something.
“The one thing Kanye and I had in common was our preference for a neutral palette,” Kardashian West said. So that’s why they went with shades of white and tan for their home.
While fans have looked at the home’s minimalist design and wondered whether the family has any stuff, Kardashian West promises they do. It’s just hidden. The couple loves entering their zero-clutter household and feeling relaxed.
“I love the simplicity of the design,” Kardashian West told Architectural Digest. “Everything in the outside world is so chaotic. I like to come into a place and immediately feel the calmness.”
When it came to designing storage space and furniture, West came up with the ideas while Kardashian West remained the “voice of functionality.” For instance, she would say, “We need drawers!” when he’d “come up with the most far-out ideas.”
The house was built around family
Ultimately, the couple designed their home with their family in mind. They wanted their house to work for kids. So they incorporated furniture with curved lines, minimized the number of stairs, and more.
“The kids ride their scooters down the hallways and jump around on top of the low Axel tables, which they use as a kind of stage,” West said. “This house may be a case study, but our vision for it was built around our family.”
“In the end, we don’t take it too seriously. We’re not going to be fanatics,” Kardashian West added about the neutral colors of their furniture and the possible stains that might happen courtesy of their kids.
