Say you’re a 19-year-old actress. Maybe even a former Disney star. You work and travel constantly. You’ve never lived alone, let alone shopped for a bed or throw pillows. But you’ve decided it’s time—whether you need some space for yourself or you want to make a real estate investment—to take the leap: You buy a house. That is exactly where Peyton List found herself last year.
So she set her sights on a 1,521-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath starter home in the hills of Glendale, California, just a mile and a half from her parents; her twin brother, Spencer; and her younger brother, Phoenix. It’s about as close to her favorite açaí bowl place and hipster Silverlake as she could find—and there’s a good reason for that. “No one in Silverlake watches Disney,” List says.
With the help of their longtime architect, List's parents helped the newbie homeowner handle the seven-month renovation of the 90-year-old house. But their expertise falls more in restoration than redecoration. So when it came time to meet with dozens of interior designers to find out who she was simpatico with, always-on-the-go List decided on a different route. “Instagram,” List says. The actress—who shot to fame at the age of 13 on the Disney Channel’s television series Jessie portraying Emma Ross, the wealthy daughter of absentee parents—has more than 11 million followers. So it’s not surprising that she’d also use the photo-sharing app as a source for all the important things in her life, including the interior design of her very first home.
It was List’s hairstylist who first drew her attention to the Instagram account of designer Kirsten Blazek, the founder and director of Los Angeles–based staging and design firm A1000xBetter. “I really loved the aesthetic,” List says. It was bohemian and youthful. “It felt homey and that was super important.” She gave Blazek and her team carte blanche to outfit her new home, top to bottom. “I told them, ‘Go in. I trust you guys,’” recalls List.
Blazek says that designing the house for a 19-year-old was particularly exciting. “The older we get the more opinionated we get, and a lot of older clients are attached to pieces they already owned or have inherited,” explains Blazek. “With Peyton, we were starting with a fresher, cleaner palate. It could be sophisticated, but playful and not too serious. It was fun to think, What would a 19-year-old want?”
Blazek incorporated lots of warm, bright colors—pinks, blues and oranges—which are enhanced by the natural Glendale light. Preserving some of the history of the house—originally built in 1926—was important to List, however, and she wanted to keep the chandelier that came with the home. Blazek blended the heavier piece with brighter, lighter selections in the dining area.
“I love the view. I love the hillside,” says List, an animal lover who has three dogs and would eventually like to raise chickens here—“but I don’t have the time.” She admits that she hasn't been able to spend much time at the finished house, as she’s been juggling filming a litany of projects. (In 2018, List will appear on-screen in Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet and Departures. And this month, she was added to the cast of MGM's remake of Valley Girl.) Regardless, she’s thrilled with the outcome: her own space; the sweeping vista. It does mean that List has to trek up a long flight of outdoor stairs to disappear into her new hideaway. But she even sees the positive in that. “Coming home from set, if I have my groceries, it’ll force me to work out,” she says. “Even today, I was breaking into a major sweat.” Leave it to a 19-year-old rising film star to be entirely optimistic.
Related: See More Celebrity Homes in AD