Step Inside Emma Roberts’s “Grown-up Dollhouse” in LA

On her first visit, Roberts had taken one look at the cabinets in the living room and thought, “I can put all my books there.” At the time, the doors were inset with chicken wire, so anything on the shelves would be on full view. Pierce and Ward changed the open wire to solid caning to help create a sophisticated neutral backdrop for the room. This way, Roberts can continue collecting all the mismatched paperbacks she likes without the pressure to style them in any way. On nearby open shelves, many of her prized vintage editions are on display, amplifying the feeling of coziness and adding to the literary atmosphere.

It’s clear a reader lives here. Roberts and her best friend Karah Preiss have run the beloved Belletrist book club since 2017, and two years later, the two started Belletrist Productions, which has produced two television shows so far (First Kill on Netflix, and Tell Me Lies on Hulu). In this role, Roberts is often reading several books at once.

Rhodes has his own mini library in his room, in addition to his first “big boy bed.” The ceiling is covered in a Mulberry Home wallpaper depicting flying ducks because, Roberts explains, “I remember as a kid, whatever’s on your wall and your ceiling is seared into your brain for the rest of your life. So I wanted to make it extra cozy and fun, but not too overwhelming.”

Roberts calls the primary bath her “happy place.” It’s where her son gets ready for bed and, later, where she likes to soak with a book. Right now, she’s reading an advanced copy of The Coin by Yasmin Zaher, which comes out in July. Roberts recently finished The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis, which she recommends wholeheartedly, and After Henry, a 1992 collection of essays by her literary hero Joan Didion, which she bought on Etsy from Womb House Books. This was the last book by Didion on Roberts’s list—she was saving it, because she didn’t want to have read all of her books. Next to the tub stands a bar cart that the design team cleverly repurposed to hold Roberts’s favorite candles and bath salts, as well as Rhodes’s bath toys.