Monday, November 15, 2010

Audrey Hepburn at Home


One of the best cover shots for Architectural Digest was for the March 2006 issue. The shot was of Audrey Hepburn in her home in California, for the “Hollywood at Home” issue, where an article highlighted the domestic life of a beloved actress who was the epitome of elegance and style. The images shared were from the period when Audrey was married to the actor and director Mel Ferrer.

While preparing for this post and reading about their lives, I thought I’d follow their journey from the beginning and visit their homes too. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

In 1954, Hepburn and Ferrer were married in a little Swiss town of Buochs.

Between projects, the married couple loved visiting Europe, Switzerland, and France in particular.

By the year 1958, the couple began to look for a home, and they found Villa Bethiana in the Swiss town of Bürgenstock, which was close to the village where they were married. They stayed there until after their son Sean was born. Hepburn enjoyed motherhood at the house she loved.

While working in Hollywood, the couple needed a home-in the AD article written by Mel Ferrer, he mentioned the need to have a “home away from home.” The couple rented houses in Malibu and Beverly Hills.

Malibu circa 1956, courtesy of Architectural Digest

Beverly Hills circa 1958, courtesy of Architectural Digest

Hepburn and Ferrer’s last home was at La Paisible, an eighteen-century country house in Switzerland surrounded by rose gardens. Hepburn decorated the house, preferring the subtle colors of whites with accents of blue and green. To Audrey, it was the simple, peaceful, and perfect house where she resided for the rest of her life.

Photo 1 taken in Beverly Hills 1978, courtesy of AD, photography by Bob Willoughby
Photos 2 photography by Ernst Hass
Photos 3,4 courtesy of Getty Images
Photo 5 photography by Pierleone
Photo 9, Audrey Style

4 comments:

Splendid Sass said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with photographs. She wss some lady!
Have a nice evening.
Teresa

Renée Finberg said...

i thoroughly enjoyed this post.
i haven't seen these shots of
miss audrey.

Anonymous said...

Dear Pof E, I did not know any of this about AH's houses. It has been a fascinating read and absolutely intriguing to see how her houses were decorated in the 1950s...that brings back many memories of other houses I have known during that period.

Interesting, too to know of her preferred colour schemes - very much pared down to the basics. A simple elegance which, to me, reflects her character perfectly.

Judy Wood said...

Thank you! Lovely article!

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