Being invited into the Rio de Janeiro home of the Brazilian singer and songwriter Anitta was a dream come true. It was at once everything I imagined and nothing like what I expected.
The house was completed with the Brazilian firm Studio Ro+Ca in record time—only six months—and without a single in-person meeting. Instead, everything was done remotely. “I give them even more credit because I’m a client with a lot of opinions. I had very clear ideas about what I wanted. I even made them look at my drawings of how I imagined each space,” Anitta jokes.
The house also tells the story of Anitta’s life. Upon entering, you find yourself in a spacious room where the first thing that catches your eye is a mosaic mural in blue and orange. It portrays children from the favelas with angels behind them, a nod to her own childhood in the favelas of Rio.
“It has an art gallery vibe,” Anitta says of the space, which also contains a number of spiritual touches. On the floor, a box with stones and crystals has been placed to improve the energy of the house. Details like this and references to Anitta’s Yoruba religion can be seen throughout our tour of her home. In, hanging above the table, there’s a handcrafted Brazilian lamp representing an orisha, a divine spirit in the Yoruba religion. It blesses the food and the meals that are shared here.
“I needed a really big table because my family is huge,” she tells me. “Christmas was the first time we all gathered and celebrated here.” Beyond, there’s a space with an iconic Brazilian piece, the Mole armchair by Sergio Rodrigues, alongside works of Brazilian art: “That was one of my requests,” she says. “The house had to be Brazilian and tell the story of who I am, my roots, my religion.”
