Ashley Benson Gives Tour of Her Luxurious Los Angeles Home

The ‘Pretty Little Liars’ star gave ‘Architectural Digest’ a behind-the-scenes look at her Los Angeles home

Sam Burros is a writer, producer, and cook working with the Food and Lifestyle team at PEOPLE. Prior to working with PEOPLE, he was an editorial fellow for Food Network, a reporter for Heritage Radio Network, and a recipe tester for Alison Roman's third cookbook Sweet Enough. Before making the pivot to food media, Burros studied theatre at NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he met artistic collaborators in theatre, film, and television with whom he created Miss Jordan's Spring 2020 Production, available to stream on Broadstream.

Ashley Benson is no stranger to opulence.

The Pretty Little Liars star, 33, invited Architectural Digest into her Los Angeles home for a behind-the-scenes tour of the eclectic space in the publication’s Open Door series on its YouTube channel.

“I’ve always wanted to live in a house that makes me feel like I’m on permanent vacation,” she told AD. “When I’m outside, I just feel like I’m in Italy, in Barcelona – anywhere that puts me outside of being in L.A.”

The 1930 home that was created by Arthur Kelly, the architect responsible for designing the Playboy Mansion, saw a redesign from her interior designer and friend Nicole Gordon as well as architect John Farrace. “It was very old, and I really had to be open-minded [about] the potential,” she explained.

Photography by Jenna Peffley

“She really wanted to respect the architecture and the integrity of the house,” Gordon said to Architectural Digest. “I think we both felt it was really special that she was [only] the third owner and that there hadn’t been a lot of bad additions.”

“A kitchen is everything to me,” Benson said, walking through the U-shaped kitchen. She and her friends gather around the massive center island, she explained, adding, “This is probably the most-used room in my house.”

The green cabinetry is inspired by the color palette featured in the exclusive Ralph Lauren restaurant, the Polo Bar, while white bricks and marble countertops brighten up the space. A rack with a collection of copper pots hangs in the center of the room. “I have a bunch of these pans, and no, I’ve never used them, and I never will,” she said of her collection of cookware from around the world.

Benson covered the dining room from floor to ceiling in black paint, black tables, black floors, and black chairs. Arched French doors surround the dark space to allow natural light to flow into the intimate space.

“I have a fireplace here, which I redid into gold,” the star said, gesturing to the fireplace in the corner of the room that has a large golden plate affixed to the front. “In the winter I have this fire going at all times.”

Photography by Jenna Peffley

By contrast, Benson’s formal living room is predominantly white and has no television in the space. “I wanted to have a space that felt very ‘adult’ and classy,” she said. The star confessed that while she didn’t have a TV in that room, she still wanted to have a home theater experience, so she installed a projector.

Benson’s backyard draws inspiration from Cabo. A hot tub sits on an elevated deck of the yard then overflows into a large pool that’s lined with blue ornamental tiles. “It’s just very cozy, and every time I’m out here I feel like I’m on vacation,” Benson told AD.

Her entire home is infused with global inspiration, from a dining room she described as Parisian, her backyard fit for an Italian vacation, and the bathrooms that she said were “inspired by one hotel in Amsterdam that had weird cages for the bathroom.”

The Mob Land star stood between two glass-lined rooms. In one of the wet rooms, Benson included more industrial vibes with a copper tub and shower set-up that can turn the space into a steam room. The opposite wet room featured some of the home’s charm, with the home’s original sconces, light woods and brushed gold hardware.

Photography by Jenna Peffley

“I was obsessed with blush, a mustardy-yellow and a navy situation,” the actress said while introducing her colorful bedroom. “I didn’t know how we were going to make it work, but we did.” The space is minimally furnished with a large mustard yellow bed frame that has floating nightstands attached beneath blush pink sconces.

In addition to the large pieces of statement furniture, the room has an original fireplace and another fun surprise. “Why not have a bar in your bedroom,” she said as she approached the dry bar set up with bottles of whiskey. “It just felt like I was away somewhere in a hotel,” she said, before opening a drawer to reveal that “it’s mainly just for [her] candy.”

For her closet, Benson converted one of her guest rooms into the closet of her dreams – it even has a laundry room attached to it. An unconverted room is “one of her favorite guest rooms,” because it houses a lot of memories from her family and career.

The final space in her house that Benson showed off was her “speakeasy.” The red room features a gaming table, a popcorn machine, and a piece by Franz Walderdorff. An adjoining space was converted into a full bar that was inspired by Hotel Costes in Paris for its use of black marble and deep red accent walls. “I find it’s actually a very creative space for me,” Benson said, revealing she does a lot of her self-taped auditions from the private space.

​​To see more photos and read the full article, visit architecturaldigest.com.