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If you’re wondering what inspired Eva Mendes’s most recent work, you’re not alone. She’s spent the past few years with the team at Skura Style, a sponge brand she first became taken with as a customer before reaching out to the founders, getting involved, and becoming a co-owner herself. Mendes is aware that the decision has left some of her scores of fans, who first fell in love with her on the big screen in hits like Training Day, Hitch, and The Other Guys, a bit puzzled. But for those who know the actor and mom of two best, the move made perfect sense. “There was a big, ‘What?’ But people in my family understood. Ryan [Gosling] understood immediately,” she tells AD. After establishing herself as a fixture over years of work in Hollywood, the A-lister put her acting career on the back burner to focus on spending time at home and raising her young daughters. So is it really that shocking that domestic duties might bring her joy?
In fact, cleaning looms large among Mendes’s fond recollections of her own childhood. Growing up in LA, her family was packed into modest quarters and keeping the house tidy was both a necessary group effort as well as a bonding activity. “I grew up in a really lower-middle-class apartment, and it was tiny and overcrowded, and there was five of us to one small bathroom,” she says. “But when my mother would have time to clean on the weekends, she would wake up early, put some Cuban music on—and I would of course be like, ‘Ugh.’ But now looking back, I think, Best memories ever.” When she happened upon Skura Style’s sponges, which use pattern-fading technology that indicates when it’s time to toss them, she was intrigued enough to scrub in. “I wanted to product-develop this, grow it, and spread the word,” she says. “I thought, There’s got to be others like us who are this passionate over a sponge. So here I am.”
In between visits to the park with her kids, Mendes caught up with AD to chat about her decor style, her domestic routines, and all things life at home.
Architectural Digest: What city do you live in?
Eva Mendes: Los Angeles—but we travel so much! Right now, I am in London, but I try to bring a little bit of home anywhere we go, so I always have my certain things that make it feel like home.
Have you brought the sponges along with you?
Always.
How would you describe the style of your home?
Wabi-sabi. Nothing is thrown away because it’s broken. Maybe an appliance, but certainly not, like, a vase. We don’t drink, but when people come over and there’s a wine spill, it’s just an instant memory. I have this really cozy round swivel chair, and one day my dog Hugo, who’s passed, was left at home a little too long and he just ate it. And I will never have it redone or reupholstered. Your house can then have so many stories that it tells.
Do you have a favorite gadget or appliance?
An IQAir purifier. It is huge; it is not attractive. And it took me a while to make peace with that. But it’s an amazing air purifier, and it’s big because it has so many filters. I also use it as a sound machine at night, so it does double duty for me. But it is really, like….
Like R2-D2 size?
Totally. And almost like R2-D2 vibes. I kind of had to play a game with myself and be like, “Yeah, it’s from the future,” to make it cool, because it’s not my [thing], but it’s an amazing product. I couldn’t live without it.
What is your bedtime ritual?
It changes. My little one just turned eight, and then I have a nine-year-old. I think it’s because we travel so much, they need us at nighttime. And it’s not always the case; some nights are more extreme than others. I just know that they won’t need me for that much longer. So I really give in to their bedtime requests. It could be reading books, it could be giving them a late night snack—I know that’s against the mom rules, but sometimes they’re like, “Mama, I’m still hungry!” They’re going to grow up. In five years, they’re probably not going to want anything to do with me.
What’s your favorite room in your house and why?
Kitchen, for the obvious reasons. That’s where memories are made. Food is so emotional. And in my kitchen, [the kids] do homework and we talk. It’s the heart of the home, for sure. But I love my bedroom. I don’t have too many things in it, because I don't want to wake up or go to sleep with lots of scattered things. The books I have next to my bed are curated, because if it’s a dark book that I’m reading, I won’t read it at night. I create my safe space in my bedroom; I really love it there. Just soft colors, soft fabrics. And then the dog sleeps with us, and the kids end up sleeping with us. It’s just really relaxed and chill.
Describe an item that you brought back from a trip.
I love going to museum gift shops, and sometimes the more obvious the souvenir is, the more I like it. I will buy a dish towel that says Capri, or I’ll buy a something that says MoMA.
Your favorite celebrity homes come to life. Bring the look to your own space with these editor-approved picks inspired by the tours.
What object in your house has some extra sentimental value to it?
So many things! I almost don’t want it in my house if I don't have a sentimental attachment to it. (That also goes for people.) Oh! I know—so I never got to meet my maternal grandmother, and we named our little one after her. Her name was Amada, which means “love” in Spanish, and “beloved”—means a few things there, but all within love. We only have a few pictures of her. For my 40th birthday, I was pregnant, and Ryan got this amazing artist to do a huge painting of her. It’s just so powerful, not only because he thought of it and he gave it to me, but it’s my grandmother, and it’s a beautiful size. It watches over us, and it’s right when you walk in. Thanks for making me think of that.
If there was one thing you could change about your house, what would it be?
The lighting. Look, I’m all for saving energy, but I can’t get down with LEDs. But of course, I use them. I’m always on the search for the warmest one. If I could find some kind of energy-saving light that doesn’t have that LED feel, that’s what I would change. I’m crawling out of my skin, so I’ve gone back to candlelight, which is the way to go until your kid throws a ball in the house. So yeah, I’m frustrated with my lighting for sure.
What's the oldest and the newest thing in your house that you can think of?
The oldest thing might be me. But no, let me see…. The oldest-made, or the thing we’ve had the longest?
Good question! Whichever comes to mind.
The newest one is actually old. We got a little outdoor wagon from an auction that Knott’s Berry Farm had. I used to go there as a little girl with my mom a lot. It’s this really cool wooden wagon with these big metal wheels that we keep outside, and I use it as a huge flower pot, like a flower bed, in a way. And then the oldest thing, I have a wall with this beautiful floral wallpaper from the ’40s, it’s so delicate and lovely. I found it on Hannah’s Treasures. I’ve had to repair a lot of it, but I still have a wall of it. When I don’t know what to do with the room, I wallpaper it, so at least it'll give me time to think, and it’ll be beautiful meanwhile.