For more than a decade, Razor House, the stunning Wallace E. Cunningham-designed cliffside mansion in La Jolla, California, has been described as a “magnum opus,” or “architectural masterpiece.” architecture” or “the most wonderful house in America”.
Since purchasing this modernist structure in 2019, Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys and her husband, famous music producer Kasseem Dean (aka Swizz Beatz), viewed the house – where They and their two sons Egypt and Genesis reside in “Dreamland” or “Dreamland”.
Keys said the mansion is nearly 1,022 square meters, overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is rumored to be Tony Stark’s inspiration in the movie Iron Man.
Every wall in this house is a sculpture. Beautiful S -shaped curves , chevron patterns running down the hillside, etc. all exude a sculptural aesthetic rather than an architectural one.
The female singer said that during a morning meditation, she was surprised speechless when she saw skydivers flying high over a nearby mountain. In that moment, Keys felt like he was witnessing a miracle in an extremely poetic and beautiful scene.
After purchasing this architectural masterpiece, the couple began contacting interior designer Kelly Behun to create a living space where every object is not just an object, but exudes its own vitality.
Built in 2007, the home’s structure includes floor-to-ceiling glass, white concrete, grand walkways, manicured yards and floating stairs. Keys and Dean both wanted the house to become more family-friendly. So Behun brought warmth by using wood, Moroccan wool rugs and seating covered in soft fabrics like shearling and cotton velvet. The color palette harmonizes with the viewing angles — golden sand, caramel brown, cognac…
Accumulated over 20 years, Dean and Keys’ art collection totals more than 1,000 works. Years ago, the couple focused on acquiring works by African-American and African-American artists, from Kehinde Wiley and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye to Barkley L. Hendricks and Henry Taylor.
According to Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, “Alicia and Kasseem consider themselves not only art collectors but also cultural guardians. Over the years, I have watched their collection grow and their vision expand, creating a collection that represents the breadth and depth of their artists’ creative thinking. colored soldiers.”
Now, the couple is eager to welcome close friends to their bustling family parties.
