Kirsty McLuckie: riot of colour exposes celebrity world

When a leaping stag fights for attention among the other outlandishly camp features in your living room... your name is probably Rufus Wainwright. Picture: Dag Eliason and Alexandre Anu of The Agency

It is the reason why TV’s Through the Keyhole was such a success, as Lloyd Grossman, and later Keith Lemon, intoned: “Who lives in a house like this?” And the audience guessed whose leather banquette seating it was – and hoped that it was actually someone they had heard of.

Lower-rank celebs can be relied upon to be photographed relaxing at home for glossy magazines, but often the “home” is actually borrowed, in order to give the impression of more success than is actually the case.

But most really famous faces tend to keep their private residences out of the public eye.

Rufus Wainright's majestic home. Image: Contributed

In fact, superstars go to great lengths to hide their property purchases from official registers, where they would usually be recorded for any civilian to see.

Buying in the name of a company or trust is the established way – and the noms de maison that have subsequently come to light show the same kind of humour that movie stars and their ilk use to check into hotels incognito.

A previous home of Jennifer Aniston was recorded as belonging to her dog, while a newly married Britney Spears purchased in the name of The Love Shack Trust.

You can understand a celebrity’s motivation – could there be anything worse than your driveway being a stop on a Homes of the Stars bus tour around Los Angeles?

Such is the secrecy that these days you’re more likely to be shown the former pads of dead silver-screen stars, such as Marilyn or Judy Garland, rather than spy the living Tom Hanks in his dressing gown.

It is one thing to disguise where you are currently living, but a dilemma occurs when it is time to sell – should you utilise your fame to attract interest in the property? Certainly any celebrity-related kudos can add value, although you can get too specific.

Amir Khan’s Bolton mansion, on the market last year, had an indoor swimming pool with a giant tile mosaic of a boxing glove emblazoned with his initials. Which makes it ideal for a pugilist buyer with names beginning with A and K, but presents a problem for anyone else.

This week, Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright put his Laurel Canyon house on the market, at $2.2 million, and in a remarkably candid move, posted it on social media channels for the world to see.

The pictures on the listing certainly didn’t disappoint fans, and the internet exploded with love for his eccentric style.

Originally built in 1926, the whimsical spread is decked out with dramatic cathedral ceilings, charming stained-glass windows, and vintage tiles, giving it the feel of a fairy tale cottage. As colourful as our Rufus’s character, it has a bright-yellow formal dining room with diamond-paned picture windows, and a sky-blue family kitchen with breakfast nook.

The grounds include an al fresco dining area, a pretty patio, a pond with waterfall, and what the listing refers to as a “lovers bridge”.

The style is certainly eclectic – and for me inspirational. While having a leaping stag in the dining room might not fit with my current aesthetic, who wouldn’t want a hat stand in the shape of a tree?

We should all take a vow to be more Rufus.

- Kirsty McLuckie is property editor at The Scotsman