It hasn’t even been a year since superstar Miley Cyrus purchased this six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 6,800-square-foot Southern California retreat, and yet it’s already completely decorated. More than that, it has been completely Mileyfied. And that’s thanks to the musician’s ace interior design team: Tish Cyrus (also, Miley’s mom and manager of 16 years) and Tish’s design partner Mat Sanders.
“My biggest thing is that when you walk into someone’s house,” says Tish, “I want you to know who lives there, what their personality is, what they love, and what they’re like. I know Miley so well, and we’re so close, so I was really able to do that.” The result? Much like Miley herself, the home is beautiful and boisterous, all the while steady and disciplined in its exuberance.
“I spend a lot of my time in that chair with my dogs—some people call it the peacock chair, some people call it the clam chair,” says Miley of her beloved perch (actually an Anemone chair by Giancarlo Zema for Giovanetti). “I love the openness of the space. I love that when friends are cooking in the kitchen, when we’re watching TV or movies and someone’s at the bar, when someone goes to play the piano, we can all be together even if we’re not all sitting directly in the same space.” It doesn’t hurt, too, that the room is full of some of the entertainer’s most favorite things, including a bunch of Dan Lam’s drippy sculptures, a still life painting by Takashi Murakami, and a Gulla Jonsdottir Puzzle table.
Admits Tish, “My wheelhouse is very much boho chic. In my own house, I like everything neutral. But with Miley, it’s got to feel rock and roll. There’s a lot of color. Technicolor.” An Ettore Sottsass bookcase, a mouth-shaped chair that literally wiggles its tongue, and a psychedelic ceiling treatment by artist Brian Robles are just a few examples of that kaleidoscopic cool. Zoom out a bit and it’s clear that after painting the exterior of the 1950s clapboard house a scene-setting black—“the house was very East Coast vibes,” says Tish—they were truly able to have some their fun. “Miley, Mat, and myself are a great little team because they’re always, More is more is more,” Tish explains. “And I’m like, Well, not. . . always. Let’s pull one thing back.”
Nonetheless, Tish enjoyed embracing Miley’s merry maximalism. “My mom believes that nothing is permanent, that there’s nothing that can’t be undone,” Miley says. “People make bold choices in their lives, and sometimes those gambles work and bring you good fortune, and sometimes they don’t. But it’s a risk she’s willing—and I’m willing—to take in our lifestyle, and that is reflected in the design.”
A wall hanging of Henri Matisse’s Blue Nude III brings an elegant serenity to Miley’s primary bathroom. Miley’s home also features a large and decidedly calm, neutral-toned wellness and gym studio. “I was inspired by Amangiri,” Miley says. “It was a really spiritual experience. I was there when I was going through a very public breakup, and I went and found a kind of a sanctuary there with my older sister and my mom.”
The tiger face Gucci wallpaper was the inspiration for a powder room’s design. “Miley had told me that when you’re in this bathroom, it should be an experience,” says Tish. “I was a little scared, but we went all in. When we put the finishing touches of the horsehair sconces in, it was like, Wow, it works and it’s awesome.” A 1970s brass and Murano glass mirror hangs over a custom marble vanity complete with an Isla faucet from Waterworks.
Indeed. Without a doubt, where this home is concerned, those risks were well worth it. Throughout it all, though, serene notes persist. The pool is a veritable meditative oasis, while the gym and wellness spaces were inspired by a trip to the sublime Amangiri resort in Utah. “Miley could have hired any designer that she wanted to,” Tish adds. “But for her to be like, ‘Mom, I love what you do, and I really want you to do this house’ was awesome. Not only as her mom, but more [than] that, I didn’t ever go to school for design—and also I’m from Eastern Kentucky, so I think it’s really something. It made me feel so good.”
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the special sentiment behind this project feels particularly poignant. “My mom’s best quality as a mom and as an interior designer is her understanding and non-judgment,” explains Miley. “Anything I dream she will create into a reality, even if it isn’t her style. She designs for her kids—I am not the only one that uses my mom as an interior designer, all five of us do—the same way she nurtures us. She just wants what’s best for us, creating spaces that reflect us is what’s best for our mental health, our creativity, our songwriting.”
And that is true, even down to a singular work of art in the bright, airy, and pristine white open-plan kitchen: a black-on-black square panel with the F-word spelled out in capital letters. “I hate the F-word more than anything in the world, but I actually found that,” says Tish. “I was like, If I know Miley, she’ll just love this so much. And I know the perfect place for it!”
A purple wig, one of two displayed on Miley’s 1981 Carlton bookcase by Ettore Sottsass, was worn by Miley when she played the role of pop star Ashley O in Black Mirror. “When we did these pictures, I’d try to scale things back a little, and Miley was like, ‘Mother, don’t you dare touch my Ashley O. Ashley O needs to be front and center.’” A pair of heels, a gift from Gucci with her name painted on the shoes’ insoles, also gets a prime spot for display. Oh, and if you were wondering, yes, the big red mouth chair does move its tongue in and out when plugged in.
