In several episodes of the FXX comedy Dave, pop hitmaker Benny Blanco welcomes the titular rapper Dave Burd (a.k.a. Lil Dicky) into his cavernous Los Angeles mansion and the two spend some quality time talking shop and goofing off in its expanse. It’s depicted as a glassy modern estate—fitting for a successful super producer like Blanco, who plays a version of himself in the show—but the down-to-earth music maven’s IRL Casa Blanco is a warmer, brighter abode than its TV stand-in.
Blanco chose the 1939-built LA dwelling primarily for its convenient location near his studio, where he routinely writes and produces popular tunes, like “Special” from SZA’s Grammy-winning album SOS and “Single Soon,” a dance-pop track by multihyphenate superstar (and Blanco’s girlfriend) Selena Gomez. Despite its proximity to his work, he wanted the house to represent a peaceful retreat from the daily grind. “I need separation,” Blanco tells AD via Zoom while posted up in his bedroom. “Otherwise, I'm waking up at 3 a.m. and going to the other room to make a song.”
He snapped up the pad in 2019 and made himself at home bit by bit, with the help of Rachel Leigh Ward and Dana M. Vitrano of BonVivant Interiors and designer Keefe Butler of Studio BAD, who describes his involvement in the house’s reimagining as more of a supporting role to Blanco’s creative lead. The resulting space certainly looks like the fruit of Blanco’s all-play, no-work design brief, with an alfresco dining paradise out back; a dreamy, Mariah Carey–worthy dressing room (as Blanco quips, “Don’t we all want to be Mariah?”); and a guesthouse-turned-movie theater, outfitted with crimson velvet-tufted walls and the candy bar of Blanco’s childhood fantasies—a big hit with friends’ little ones. “All the kids call it ‘the candy room,’” he says. “They run out with candy bursting from their pockets, and they’re screaming [because] they’ve eaten so much sugar. Their parents probably hate me.”
Butler explains that Old Hollywood and Paris’ Odéon theater were among the references he used for the home cinema. Blanco nods to similar themes in different words, envisioning the theater as “a Parisian brothel,” aesthetically speaking. It’s an undeniably sumptuous room, though Butler, who has worked with Blanco on several projects over the years, notes that “luxury not for the sake of luxury, but for the sake of hospitality” is the musician’s modus operandi. “He’s so much the host,” the designer says.
It’s common knowledge that Blanco loves to hold court at his home base. He’s established himself as the king of the foodie kickback for LA’s gastronome elites, with tasteful get-togethers centered around the menu and chefs like Matty Matheson and Molly Baz sometimes featured on the guest list, alongside other Hollywood pals. But don’t call it a party house: “It’s refined: This is a dinner party house,” says the producer, who just released a cookbook entitled Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends.
The terrace’s dining area, ensconced in a greenhouse’s worth of leafy plants, offers a prime venue for such gatherings. But often the whole group ends up in the kitchen, which is where Blanco likes to set up shop regardless of whose home he’s in. The songwriter’s own airy white kitchen is his happy place. “It’s just the best free-flowing space in the house,” he says. “Everyone sits on top of the island.” Butler explains that a “Benny” kitchen must be bright, clean, and functional, always with a huge countertop for serving friends.
Another essential element of a Blanco home? Coziness. The house’s cuddly atmosphere is set by plush oversized sofas—“pretty much everything” custom-made, some freshly reupholstered in punchy House of Hackney fabrics—an army of stuffed animals, and layers of Persian and Moroccan rugs in a variety of prints. “I’m not afraid to be a grandmother and have patterns everywhere,” Blanco says. “I don’t mind a clash.”
Pieces that might read as mismatches elsewhere seem to work in Blanco’s place, like his extensive art collection, which he describes as “high-low.” Works by Basquiat, Picasso, and Dalí mingle with portraits drawn by friends’ children and images printed off the internet he deemed worthy of display.
“I know the house is kooky,” Blanco says. But there’s nothing he likes less than a sterile home devoid of personality. The abode is authentically Blanco, and he hopes its unique look encourages guests to live authentically within its cozy confines too. “One time, a friend told me, ‘I love coming over to your house because I feel like I can just let go and be my true self.’ That’s exactly what I’m going for here.”
