RuPaul is larger than life, and so is their home. The legendary drag performer left no stone unturned when designing the stately property. RuPaul recently opened the fabulous doors to his Beverly Hills mansion and welcomed Architectural Digest to highlight the work of renowned interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. The two teamed up to bring timeless glamour, drama, and color to the grand residence built in the 1980s. The result? Bullard transformed RuPaul’s home into a glitterati haven, a fever dream of Hollywood Regency style that interconnects old-school Beverly Hills glamour, paired with his client’s energetic and infectious spirit. When Drag Race creator and his husband, Georges LeBar, decided on their home in Los Angeles, they reached out to their longtime friend of three decades to transform the property that encapsulated the essence of the couple and RuPaul’s persona. “We’ve always loved Martyn’s aesthetic, so we trusted him,” RuPaul said. “I said, ‘Go for it. I can go as far as your imagination will take us,” he told Architectural Digest, reflecting on his initial design process.
Bullard continued to work his magic, considering his client’s expectations of fabulosity and comfort. “This is the house of Ru, a mansion of style designed as the center stage for the world’s most famous and celebrated drag queen. It’s the ultimate runway for the supermodel of the world,” the designer raves, adding, “I could not imagine a more appropriate place for the universe’s drag mother to hold court,” Bullard said to the magazine.
The “House of Ru” is correct. The mother of glamour, style, and decadence deserved a home that matched their fly. The home is outfitted with jewel-toned fabrics, pagoda-form étagères, a jaw-dropping ballroom crowned with shiny disco balls and covered in photographs of Black diva icons including Billie Holiday, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, and Dorothy Dandridge, and orange-toned accent walls and elements (Ru’s favorite color), the mansion is bursting to the seams with creativity, color, and panache.
Aside from the gorgeous bedrooms, intimate kitchen and nook, and ballroom, Bullard had some additional tricks up his sleeve – Ru’s ultraluxe sprawling walk-in closets. “The bedroom is very glam, very romantic, but in a weird way; it still has some masculinity to it,” Bullard states. Yes, you read that right, there are two enormous closets—one for RuPaul’s everyday attire and the other for drag. How else would the performer accommodate a vast collection of suits and gowns, shoes, jewelry, purses, and makeup? “It feels like you’re skipping into Bergdorf’s, the chicest boutique you could dream of,” RuPaul says of the vibrant closets.
However, our favorite element of the home is the sense of inspiration and fantasy throughout. “The house is a touchstone to remind me to inspire people to feel the magic that’s seemingly elusive these days,” RuPaul states. “It’s meant to be whimsical and fun. None of it is to be taken too seriously—except for love and kindness.”
To help you achieve RuPaul’s glamourous home design, we compiled several decor must-haves inspired by the look of their home. We’ve got you covered, from black and white Diana Ross portraits to glammed-out bar stools.
