Courteney Cox's life looks pretty sweet these days — just take a tour of her eye-popping estate in Malibu, as revealed in the new issue of Elle Decor.
"I wanted it to look like a modern barn," Cox, 46, says of the 2-acre, mid-century spread, which features guest cottages, a tennis house and court, a screening room, a saltwater swimming pool and other features. "Nothing too cluttered and not a lot of fancy details," she added of the look.
Once a would-be architect herself before she became a star, Cox worked with architect Michael Kovac and Trip Haenisch on the renovation, and it was totally hands-on.
"I've been overseeing renovations of my homes for a long time, and I have strong opinions about what I want and why," admits Cougar Town actress, who sat down with the team once a week for "intense" three-hour planning sessions.
How intense? When Cox didn't like the options for the color of her tennis court, "Courteney [asked for] a sample of the pigments of every color they had, along with some paintbrushes and paper plates, and everyone on the building team worked on mixing the pigments into new combinations. She had to get it exactly right," architect Kovac says.
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the estate's best view might be from the main kitchen, which looks out of the deck and pool and beyond. "With the doors open, you're completely outside," Cox says.
A smaller kitchen is attached to the outside of the "screening house," which also features a fast-food style "hot-dog window," where Cox's chef serves snacks and drinks to those by the pool. There's also a banquette surrounding a lava-rock fire pit overlooking the ocean.
"I have coffee there every day," she says. "This is exactly how I want to live."
