Inside the Beverly Hills Estate of the House of Bijan Heir

Ariel Foxman
·9 min read

House of Bijan scion Nicolas Bijan and his wife, interior designer and The Rich Kids of Beverly Hills alumna Roxy Bijan, were prepared to make an offer on their Beverly Hills estate based solely on a friend’s description. The 1941 estate in the covetable neighborhood of Beverly Hills Post Office sounded like the kind of traditional home they’d been dreaming of from their 1920s Spanish abode. “We were already sold,” says Nicolas of the house that was being very quietly shopped—its owner was Taylor Swift. “When we got to see it, finally, it was even more beautiful and charming and us than we had imagined.” Adds Roxy, “The gates open to this magical bridge, and you ascend into the middle of nowhere, with oak trees and deer.”

The incredible privacy of the acre-and-a-half property was already appealing, but it was made even more so by the fact that it’s just five minutes from Rodeo Drive, where Nicolas runs the menswear boutique made famous by his late father, Bijan. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom property’s motor court also spoke to the car collector whose brand collaborates with the likes of Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce.

But the property wasn’t exactly turnkey. “I wanted to make it a bit more us,” says Roxy, who describes their style as a fusion of traditional and contemporary—“fringe in a fun, young way, not in a grandma way.” To update and brighten the home, they embarked on cosmetic renovations, lots of repainting and removing wallpaper, and some structural changes since the “his” portion of the primary suite was minuscule. “I like to joke that I love Roxy so much, I bought us a house that didn’t have a bathroom for me, only a bathroom for her,” says Nicolas with a laugh. “But she really outdid herself and built me the most beautiful showroom of a closet,” complete with a dramatic wall of shoe cubbies, lit just so. Says Roxy, “Nick’s boutique is very curated—it’s like walking into a museum, so I wanted to give him a little bit of that at home.”

Across the entire estate there is a strong sense of personalization and significance. The couple, fortunately, has similar taste. But the sense of trust Nicolas feels leaving big design decisions to his wife—they married at home in October after their Lake Como nuptials were canceled due to COVID—was hard-earned. Previously, “we fought like crazy over what she wanted to do, and I would come home from traveling to a half-demolished house,” says Nicolas. “It really showed me that I should just let her do her thing and reap the beautiful benefits.”

The result of that trust is a home imbued with meaning, such as a powder room clad in pineapple-patterned Gucci wallpaper that pays homage to Nicolas’s childhood on pineapple farms, and a color scheme that nods subtly to Bijan, who featured a different hue in each room of his house. They each ticked off wish-list items, too, such as the breakfast sunroom they built and Roxy’s all-pink bathroom and dressing room with a “floral old-lady vanity chair,” inspired by Annabel’s in London. “They’re my favorite rooms in the house—they’re just very me and soothing, happy and bright.”

“We’re definitely a very fun couple, and we wanted the house to reflect that and our travels,” says Roxy of her approach to blending tradition with contemporary touches. A Botero sculpture inherited from Bijan rests on the coffee table; a Slim Aarons photograph hangs over the fireplace; and one of Roxy’s favorite pieces, a wood-carved banana leaf chair that belonged to her friend Josh Flagg’s late grandmother, is featured in the corner.

Throughout, art pieces are an amalgamation of the couple’s more contemporary purchases—Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, and three snake–and–banana leaf pieces from Joel Mesler’s “The Alphabet of Creation (For Now)” series—and inherited works from Bijan’s extensive collection, including several Fernando Botero sculptures. (In the ’90s, Bijan recreated Botero paintings in his fashion ads, to great controversy.) “We put them in really random places because they’re exceptional sculptures and we wanted to just turn a corner and have one pop out of nowhere,” says Nicolas. “It makes it more fun,” adds Roxy.

The late luxury haberdasher’s exquisite Persian rugs also feature in several rooms. Another noteworthy piece is the carved banana leaf chair that belonged to Roxy’s friend Million Dollar Listing star Josh Flagg’s grandmother, Edith Flagg. It inspired a furniture line the pair designed together and expect to release this year. Roxy’s creative juices also flowed especially strong into the guest house, which she totally gutted during week two of pandemic lockdown. There she “went wild,” turning it into her personal fantasy with a yellow kitchen, rattan pendants, and floral curtains, using fabric originally intended as tablecloths for their Lake Como wedding. “Now it’s the cutest, happiest little bungalow,” says the interior designer.

The outdoor living room when they moved in was “as different as you could imagine,” says Nicolas. But after reimagining the space and adding slipcovered RH sofas and Schumacher pillows, it’s become a favorite and oft-used hangout.
The outdoor living room when they moved in was “as different as you could imagine,” says Nicolas. But after reimagining the space and adding slipcovered RH sofas and Schumacher pillows, it’s become a favorite and oft-used hangout.

For Nicolas, his home office is a high point. Not that their house is overly feminine, but “I needed something of mine that was masculine. Somewhere I could escape and do my own thing,” he says. “Now I get so excited for Zoom calls because I have this awesome backdrop—moody green, my presidential letters, and all these really cool things she put on the bookshelf,” including boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali and Kobe Bryant.

More Inside the Beverly Hills Estate of House of Bijan’s Heir

“I had always wanted a sunroom,” says Roxy of the addition they made off the kitchen. In the oft-used space are three pieces by artist Joel Mesler, whom they discovered pre-pandemic during frequent dinners at their favorite Beverly Hills eatery Honor Bar. “Roxy is obsessed with banana leaves and, oddly enough, snakes,” says Nicolas of the letter artworks that hang in the skylit nook.
In the kitchen, Roxy chose Haze Blue by Dunn Edwards to coat the cabinetry and walls, complemented by Waterstone fixtures and open shelving holding some of Roxy’s collection of vintage tea sets. “The open shelves make it feel fun and younger. My mom always says, ‘It’s going to get dusty, Roxy!’ And I’m like, ‘No it’s not, Mom,’ but then she’s completely right.”
Roxy wanted her husband’s office to pop, so she painted it in dark green and had a leather-and-burl desk custom-made by L.A.’s 4th Period Woodshop. “During COVID I’ve gotten excited for Zoom calls because I have this awesome backdrop,” says Nicolas, whose acrylic desk chair is etched with the House of Bijan crest.
Pops of Bijan yellow add to the primary bedroom’s blue scheme, with an inherited Persian silk carpet, custom sofa (with Osborne & Little tassel trim), Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort lamps, and an Honorific valet stand.
Pops of Bijan yellow add to the primary bedroom’s blue scheme, with an inherited Persian silk carpet, custom sofa (with Osborne & Little tassel trim), Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort lamps, and an Honorific valet stand.
The couple’s glamorous dining room is outfitted with Galerie Glustin gilt bamboo chairs with goat hair seats around a custom white lacquer table, with an Alberto plaster chandelier by Julie Neill for Visual Comfort. Accents come by way of a rattan-skirted console Roxy found at Mainly Baskets, Pierre Frey drapes, and Gracie chinoiserie wallpaper.
In the guest room, which Nicolas describes as “a little moody,” a lofty RH bed is a focal point alongside velvet CB2 chairs and a Cy Twombly artwork.
In the guest room, which Nicolas describes as “a little moody,” a lofty RH bed is a focal point alongside velvet CB2 chairs and a Cy Twombly artwork.
Nicolas spotted the black marble penny tile floor used in his bathroom in AD. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to have that!’” In the closet, he keeps the yellow hard hats from each of the Bijan stores—“a reminder [of what I’ve built] every morning when I go and get dressed.”
Nicolas spotted the black marble penny tile floor used in his bathroom in AD. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to have that!’” In the closet, he keeps the yellow hard hats from each of the Bijan stores—“a reminder [of what I’ve built] every morning when I go and get dressed.”
Roxy admits she had the most fun designing the guest house. She had always wanted a yellow kitchen and made her dream a reality with Farrow & Ball Citron cabinetry and rattan pendants from Urban Outfitters. “Nick fought me on the pendants—he said it was like Trader Vic’s,” says Roxy, but “now he loves them. It’s very cute and very Golden Girls.”
The “hers” dressing room features a brass chair and floral rug from Anthropologie along with Phillip Jeffries wallpaper.
The “hers” dressing room features a brass chair and floral rug from Anthropologie along with Phillip Jeffries wallpaper.
In the powder room, Roxy installed a pedestal sink, stone backsplash, and ledge before coming across the Gucci pineapple print wallpaper she felt was perfectly paired with a vintage Venetian mirror.
In the powder room, Roxy installed a pedestal sink, stone backsplash, and ledge before coming across the Gucci pineapple print wallpaper she felt was perfectly paired with a vintage Venetian mirror.
When their Lake Como wedding was canceled, Roxy decided to repurpose the floral fabric intended for their tablecloths as draperies and lampshades in the guest house. A CB2 bouclé sofa, custom yellow ticking stripe bed, and antique coffee table also feature.
When their Lake Como wedding was canceled, Roxy decided to repurpose the floral fabric intended for their tablecloths as draperies and lampshades in the guest house. A CB2 bouclé sofa, custom yellow ticking stripe bed, and antique coffee table also feature.
Roxy’s pink bathroom is one of her favorite places in the house. “I spend a lot of time at my little vanity, even just on the phone,” she says. “I love my floral old-lady vanity chair, it’s so cute.” She looked to Osborne & Little for the drapery and chair fabric.
The “his” closet was a joke when the couple moved in, Nicolas recalls, prompting a serious remodel to house not only his wardrobe but extensive shoe collection. “The shoes were a big focal point and we wanted to really display them,” he says. “ I have to show it off, because the way it’s finished, with the lights and shoe cubbies, I think is really artistic.” House of Bijan crocodile luggage sits atop a Prince of Wales print rug by Stark.
The curtains draping the bathtub are a “charming” feature original to the house, says Roxy, adding that two loveseats in the bathroom make for a “sweet moment.”
The curtains draping the bathtub are a “charming” feature original to the house, says Roxy, adding that two loveseats in the bathroom make for a “sweet moment.”

At first, Nicolas opposed the hot-pink roses Roxy planted outside his office window. But, in a COVID silver lining, he’s found deep appreciation. “The pandemic has allowed me to spend more time during the day here, and I’m finding all these new, beautiful qualities of our home as a result of that,” says Nicolas. “Normally I see Rodeo Drive, but to be in this house and look out and see roses and grass and oak trees has been really nice and so peaceful. I’m very lucky.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest