We’ve heard that Courtney Love is being evicted from her $27,000 a month West Village townhouse after failing to pay rent for two months and allegedly wrecking the interior. (You read that right, there’s not an extra zero in there.) The home was restored by an interior designer and was featured in a 2009 issue of Elle Decor. (You can see a slideshow of the original design here. It’s bold contemporary I guess, and it’s not bad but I can see why she would want to soften it up.) Courtney’s landlord told Page Six that Courtney re-wallpapered and painted over several rooms, in violation of her lease which stipulated that the design remain intact. Courtney also set a curtain on fire in her master bedroom, allegedly from a candle. (crack pipe.)

XOJane has a glowing report on how lovely and homey Courtney’s squatter apartment is, after she let their staff use it as an office for a week. They have photos of most of the rooms, and it’s not as bad as I was expecting. The place isn’t trashed, basically. It’s a kind of chintzy eclectic hodgepodge, similar to what you might see at Anthropologie but not as well organized or thematically put together. It’s not my style but it’s not awful either. The best part is the dry erase board of Courtney’s goals, in which she writes that her goals for the next year are earning $25 million, starring in three movies, and earning an Oscar by 2013. She also has several photos of her late husband, Kurt Cobain, with their daughter, Frances Bean. Here’s XOJane’s blurb on Courtney’s townhouse:

You’ve probably been hearing a lot recently about our friend and xoJane Contributing-Editor Courtney Love from several media outlets. A lot of these stories mention Courtney’s West Village Townhouse. Courtney generously opened her home to us this past week to use as an off campus, sort of Pop-Up office. It’s been a cozy, creative laboratory — the vibes here are undeniably GOOD vibes. Courtney said of her home, “listen, there’s no male energy here.” Which, for the record, Bryan and I had zero interest in taking issue with.

We wanted to share with you what’s it been like, so Courtney and I invite you to join us in a photo tour, so you too can experience rooms that immediately put you in a good mood. Courtney’s super-famous-in-his-field realtor, Jared Seligman, declared Courtney’s home as “The epitome of equisite taste” and rattled off with glee “Majorelle, Ruhlman, Chippendale, Willow China, Tiffany China…” Does it look like she “wrecked the decor”? I think not… Hopefully these exclusive photos will help you feel like you’re right here with us.

[From XOJane]

For her part Courtney denies being behind on rent and she also claims that she got permission from the landlord to paint and wallpaper. “My rent is current, but the owner is now asking for the remaining two months upfront. Even though it’s not required, I’d happily pay that and another six months’ rent upfront if she would extend the lease for six months. I have repainted, but I asked permission, and used a painter approved by the owner.” How does this crackhead sound coherent all of a sudden? You know that her spokesperson wrote that and made it all up.

The living room in 2009, Elle Decor.

The living room in 2011, Courtney Love.

Other side of the living room (shows same perspective as Elle Decor) 2011, Courtney Love.

Courtney is shown at Trinity College’s in Dublin, Ireland where she received an Honorary Patronage from their Philosophical Society on 10-18-11. Credit: Fame and WENN.com

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith opened up their insane 25,000 square foot adobe-style home in Calabassas, CA for a cover spread in the upcoming issue of Architectural Digest. The home was of course custom built, and Will explains that it has no dead ends in order “to create an infinite cycle that represented what Jada and I hoped for our love.” Are your eyes rolling out of your head yet? Your mouth will fall open involuntarily when you see the Bing birds’ eye view of this property, which shows that it could easily serve as a full service resort hotel. [virtual globetrotting via ONTD]

The interior photos make the property look like a hotel, too with plenty of seating areas and props spread around. Will explained to AD that everything was built by hand.

Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, grace the cover of AD’s September issue, sharing with us their family’s highly personal retreat near Calabasas, California. The feature—which focuses on the home’s sophisticated common spaces as well as the children’s bright bedrooms—represents the first time the talented clan has been photographed together as a group.

The Smith home, designed by architect Stephen Samuelson, includes innumerable handcrafted elements to ensure a feeling of intimacy and love in the 25,000-square-foot house. And Will reveals that the idea behind the residence’s fascinating circuitous floor plan was “no dead ends…to create an infinite cycle that represented what Jada and I hoped for our love.”

The design of the home is anchored by “various interpretations of adobe in Persian, Moroccan, Spanish, as well as Southwest American cultures,” says Samuelson. The property has an undeniable spiritual quality, exemplified by Jada’s meditation room. “For Will and me this home was always a spiritual endeavor…we’re very earthy, organic people. We wanted to create a family retreat, something made by hand and as natural as possible, something that ties back to the land,” she explains. “Whatever it becomes, the craftsmanship will always represent our union and the love of our family.”

[From Architectural Digest, received via e-mail]

The slideshow on AD’s website has some more photos that make the house look even more like a luxury retreat, but there aren’t any photos of Willow and Jaden’s bedrooms yet. They’re saving that for the print edition, out August 9th. I’ll be sure to thumb through it the first chance I get. I really want to see those kids’ bedrooms. You know they’re better equipped than an average Chuck E. Cheese.

Will Smith’s estimated net worth is $188 million. He was the fourth highest earner on Forbes’ list of the highest earning actors for 2010, pulling in an estimated $36 million dollars last year alone. That’s not including whatever Jada is making and whatever their kids earn from their acting and singing careers.

Gerard Butler is showing off his fancy New York loft in the May issue of Architectural Digest. The girls at Jezebel (jokingly) think that Gerard’s appearance on AD is a subliminal message that he secretly got his finger up Jennifer Aniston’s ass in private, just because Aniston made a big AD splash two issues ago. Which… okay, sure. Whatever. All I know is that when I saw my beloved on this pretty pink chair (so unexpected!), with the outline of balls visible in tight jeans, I let out a little gasp. AD gave us a little taste of what we could expect from Gerard’s New York loft, if and when we get that 2 a.m. Scottish booty call (please Jesus):

Thirteen-foot-tall mahogany doors with a knocker that could summon the dead. A ceiling fresco depicting the rape of Ganymede. Plaster walls chipped and mottled with age, massive columns supporting limestone lions, crystal chandeliers casting spidery shadows…. Medieval castle? Ancestral manor house? Try a two-story loft in the heart of New York’s ultratrendy Chelsea district. The doors alone are remarkable enough to stop the most jaded Manhattanite in his tracks: Who in the world lives here?

Why, King Leonidas of Sparta, who else? The place starts to make a little more sense when one considers that its owner is the actor Gerard Butler, and Gerard Butler is known for channeling such larger-than-life figures as the Spartan king, Attila the Hun, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera and Beowulf.

“I wanted something elegant and gorgeous and at the same time rather masculine and raw,” the actor declares, his Glasgow burr somehow enhancing the description. “I guess I would describe the apartment as bohemian old-world rustic château with a taste of baroque.”

[From Architectural Digest]

I would love to hear Gerard growl the words “baroque” and “chateau”. Quite honestly, though, I’m going to make some changes when I move in with him. Nothing major, but the decorating style does seem very… womblike. Like Gerard wants to live inside a vadge. Which isn’t the worst thing, but I’m a Virgo and I love my blues. And there are no blue vadges (Note: if your vadge is blue, see a doctor). Anyway, let me introduce you to my future New York home. I’ll conduct the tour as if I already live there with Gerard.

Here’s the wood-tastic home theatre. Gerard’s decorator notes, ““This is the most intimate area of the loft.” The chairs are uncomfortable to sit in, but this is where Gerard likes to hump me on the ottoman.

Ah, the kitchen. The heart of every home. Gerard likes to nail me on the island. Architectural Digest notes: “The kitchen’s cabinetry and backsplash were fashioned from leftover flooring materials.” Mm… extra wood.

And that’s all there is! Gerard didn’t let them come in our bedroom. Just as well, honestly. It’s not really done in a traditional baroque style, what with all of the video equipment, handcuffs, whips, nipple clamps and fried chicken (gross? Whatever). Here are a few nice photos of the newer thinned (and moobless) Gerard, out trolling for strange in Madrid. Are those button-fly skinny jeans? God, I love him. If I came across in the street, I would disrobe and beg him to take me roughly against an ottoman.

AD cover courtesy of AD online slideshow.

Yesterday we heard that Jennifer Aniston was gracing the pages of the March issue of Architectural Digest with photos from inside her newly remodeled home in the Hollywood Hills. People Magazine seemed to think it was a big deal that Aniston replaced his and her tubs in the master bathroom with a spa quality tub (for a “single” person), but it sounded like a sensible move to me. Kaiser sent me a link to the scans of the article posted at Jezebel and I was kind of floored by Aniston’s decorating sense and not in a good way. Let me just say that I love modern, somewhat sparse design and Asian-inspired furnishing. (Think Design Within Reach. Brad Pitt’s home is way too empty.)

Aniston’s “Bali inspired” home is filled with dark, heavy furniture and earthtones. Overall I think it looks a little too 1970s. Some of the furniture overpowers the room, like the giant lamps in the bedroom and the purple plush chairs in a living room. The view is beautiful though and it looks comfortable and well laid out for entertaining. It’s just not to my taste, but it probably looks much better, and much more impressive, in person.

Jezebel posted these photos with big yellow arrows to add some snarky comments that make fun of Aniston’s tabloid persona. It’s not a critique on Aniston so much as on the way she’s been characterized as a sad sap by the media. Some commenters found it tasteless and offensive, but I think Jezebel was just poking fun at the way a very rich, contented woman is being characterized. My favorite comment is this one. “Here is where Jen sits and waits for her phone to ring. Even though this exquisite room has a beautiful view of the lanai, she always turns her back on the foliage, because it reminds her of how much Brad liked to smoke weed.”

Jennifer Aniston appears on the cover of the March issue of Architectural Digest. She shows off her undoubtedly enviable newly remodeled Beverly Hills home inside. I love looking at interior design photos and videos, particularly bathrooms and kitchens, and will be sure to pick up this issue once it hits stands. People Magazine has this news, and is making a big deal out of the fact that Ansiton redesigned the bathroom to replace a his and her rub set with a large spa-quality tub. It sounds pretty awesome and I would probably replace two smaller tubs with a big jet tub even with a partner living with me. There’s nothing “single” about a nice tub that probably fits two. Here’s People’s description:

In the March issue of Architectural Digest – which features photos of the house by Scott Frances, following its 2½-year overhaul – the magazine notes that the master suite is no longer guy-friendly.

“[The house] originally had his-and-hers baths, but Aniston has turned the ‘his’ into a spa bath with a soaking tub,” the magazine reports. Her master bedroom features a wool-and-silk shag carpet, and a platform bed with a TV at the foot.

And Aniston, 40, even describes the Zen-influenced home – whose palette was drawn from Brazilian cumaru (teak) – in an affectionate way. “It’s like a big hug,” she says in the issue, on sale Feb. 9.

Built on a hillside in 1970 with sweeping views of the city, Aniston calls the house “Ohana,” a reference to the Hawaiian idea of extended family. She says the single-level home “vibrates with the love that created it.” Among those who worked with Aniston was designer Stephen Shadley, who also has collaborated with Diane Keaton and Woody Allen.

The house features Aniston’s fruitwood Sauter piano from the 1960s, a dining room that seats 24, and a 1920s Thai gong to summon diners to the long walnut table.

“I entertain for a living, and I entertain,” she says. “The house has a rather glamorous, old-fashioned Hollywood quality. I can just imagine the Rat Pack stopping by; someone is playing the piano, and people are laughing in the next room.”

[From People]

If there’s anything to read into in this brief recap of the interview, it’s the fact that Aniston name-dropped the Rat Pack. Her ex, Brad Pitt, is considered part of the modern Rat Pack along with George Clooney and I guess anyone else that starred in those hard to follow Oceans movies. She probably didn’t mean anything deeper than a reference to old Hollywood, and I personally wouldn’t jump to conclusions. The tabloids are analyzing Angelina’s handwriting and Brad’s beard so you know that they’re going to say Aniston is pining for her ex and is showing off her home in an attempt to invite him in. Pitt has also appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest several times and has shown off his home. Of course there will be the inevitable comparisons.

In related news, Aniston is hosting a Haiti benefit for the organization Americares. The charity event will feature a screening for the film The Last Station and is scheduled for later this month. She also volunteered for George Clooney’s telethon and personally donated $500,000 to various causes benefiting Haiti.

I’m usually pretty envious of celebrity homes, as they have top of the line furniture that retails for thousands, original art pieces and gorgeous homes to display it all. They hire interior decorators to plan it all out with small details that make a difference, and the result is often perfect-looking. I love modern furniture and art, and am envious of Kanye West’s art and Paris Hilton’s Eames La Chaise chair, which retails for nearly $10,000 and sits, mostly unused, by her pool and jacuzzi.

John Mayer shows his New York city loft in the upcoming edition of Elle Decor, and I’m kind of relieved that it’s nice but not my style. It’s like he went into the furniture showroom and just picked up a few sets and put them together with some prints for the wall and generic accents. It’s attractive enough, but feels sort of hotel-like. Armani is said to have designed it. Mayer is doing a great job for a 31 year-old bachelor, I have to give him that. He’s not a candidate for Queer Eye or anything, but his place could use some extra touches. Who am I kidding, I wish my place looked half as put together:

What should you expect to find at Mr. Mayer’s New York City apartment?
Mexican food!

The 31-year-old Grammy winner admits he’s not a great cook, except for one thing. “I make fantastic fajitas after a late night out,” he says in the new issue of Elle Decor, which features a six-page spread on his new SoHo pad. “I can rock a skillet.”

Wanna see what Mr. Mayer’s 2,500-square-foot spread, including his master bedroom, looks like?

The place was actually designed with the help of Italian fashion powerhouse Giorgio Armani because Mayer loves the way he feels in his clothing.
The master bedroom is simple and sleek with an Andy Warhol print above the bed. The adjoining bathroom features a marble tub.
Scattered throughout Mayer’s home are photos of music legends like Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. “It’s intentional that there’s not a lot of music gear here,” Mayer said. “I can be a person, not a musician, in this apartment.

However, Mayer’s office does include his many Grammy statuettes, at least two guitars and a wall full of framed awards and magazine covers.
The living room includes a sofa that Mayer insisted had to fit at least three friends with their feet up as well as be deep enough to double as a twin bed.
“After I finally figured out how to behave, and how to dress, I wanted to get the next best thing—my apartment—right,” he said. “It’s the last piece of the style puzzle.”
If only is his love life could come together just as nicely.

[From E! Online]

2,500 square feet is huge! Earlier this year there were stories that Mayer had purchased a new home in LA, but according to The Real Estalker he’s leasing a home “behind the guarded gates of the high priced horsey community of Hidden Hills, CA.” He also owns a home in Pacific Palisades, CA where he was living with two roommates, a married couple. John Mayer has it pretty well, and now we can see how he lives when he’s on the east coast at least. The bastard. What’s his pick up line, “want to come back to my place for fajitas and see my Armani furniture?”

Interior photos by Simon Upton for Elle Décor and found on Elle Decor’s website, where there are more.

I was going to focus this article on the ridiculous mural Kanye West has to himself over his dining room table. It features Kanye as a huge God figure surrounded by swirling clouds full of worshiping angels pointing in his direction and reaching out for him, looking like they’re sucked into his orbit and grateful for his divine guidance. (Update: That’s not supposed to be Kanye, see below.)

Then I saw the inside of his house and I just can’t fault the guy. For someone who talks smack constantly about how superior he is you would expect his house to reflect his extreme wealth, but it doesn’t, it’s a showpiece of minimalist modern furniture accented by pop art originals. Kanye West has, dare I say it, excellent taste. The mural of the Kanye God is the only thing that reveals his enormous ego, and it was the first piece of art he commissioned back in 2004.

His house is a 4,200-square-foot three level. It was full of details found in high end homes like a big black granite fireplace and granite throughout. Kanye had all that gutted and redone and had walls blown out to achieve a big serene space without unnecessary details.

Given his celeb stature, West’s home is surprisingly restrained—the furthest thing imaginable from MTV Cribs. Built on spec, the 4,200-square-foot, three-level house started out as a beige stucco monolith. Inside were blond maple floors, an immense black granite fireplace taking up a wall in the living room, more granite in the kitchen, and random soffits all over. “Kanye loved the newness and the city views,” Stewart recalls.

When West purchased the property, he was initially looking only for furnishings. That phase was short-lived. “Kanye started to realize how into design he is,” Stewart continues. “Staying at the Bulgari in Milan and the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo on tour, he’d come back full of ideas, in touch with his inner minimalist.” What West envisioned was a cross between a museum and a Louis Vuitton boutique. The project eventually morphed into a full-fledged renovation, lasting almost three years.

Out went every vestige of spec. In came enrichment and consistency. Stewart got rid of all those soffits, raised ceilings, finished walls with raw plaster, and swapped out insignificant windows for frameless glass. He gave the top-floor public spaces a loftlike feel, opening up passages between living room, dining room, and kitchen. Designer and client hit upon French walnut for flooring, Stewart says, after “looking at almost every sample in town.”

[From InteriorDesign.net via Kanye West's blog]

Of course Kanye hired an interior designer, but he picked someone who would execute his vision, and the results are incredible. It turns out he studied fine art in his hometown of Chicago at the American Academy of Art. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to like the guy, but his house is impressive.

West has art by Andy Warhol, Burton Morris, and Takishi Murakami, who has collaborated with West on his videos and designed some of his cover art. The chair that looks like a bunch of stuffed animals is by Fernando and Humberto Campana, and I’ve seen their furniture in a few modern art galleries.

Yes I’m fawning over his house a little, I’m a modern art lover and wish I could afford furniture from Design Within Reach, not to mention original art and custom pieces.

Here is a drunk Kanye saying he’s the number one human and number one artist in the world, just so I don’t forget who this house belongs to:

And here are pictures of the interior of the house found at InteriorDesign.net, the website of Interior Design Magazine, where the home is featured in the September, 2007 issue. Thanks to TMZ for the heads up about his blog.

Update: Thanks to Commentors Cass and Kolby for pointing out that the article, which I didn’t read carefully enough, says that the mural shows Kanye being saved by an angel after he nearly died in an accident. The big figure in the middle looks an awful lot like Kanye to me, but the article says he’s the one kneeling underneath, not the giant angel in the middle “Barnes’s resulting celebration, A Life Restored, is replete with a kneeling West and an angel swooping down.” That’s a lot less egotistical than I assumed. Why can’t Kanye West have a house I don’t love? I just wanted him to have something in his house that shows what an ass he is, but now even the mural is ruined for me.