"Once you realize that you can actually build your true dream house, it’s hard to go back to anything else."
Mandy Moore is opening up her home!
The 34-year-old actress took Architectural Digest into her newly renovated home on a hilltop in Pasadena, California, which she bought and fixed up with her fiance, Taylor Goldsmith.
"This house signifies the next chapter of my life — as an adult, a woman, and a performer. I was able to pour all of who I am into making this place," she says of the 1950s inspired dwelling, which has views of the San Gabriel mountains and valley. "We fell in love with the views, the pool, the yard, basically the whole energy of the place."
The home was filled with dated touches, but, instead of a gut renovation, Moore decided to add modern elements.
"We wanted to recapture the home’s original spirit without delving into a slavish period restoration," Moore explains. "We tried to imagine what [designer Harold B.] Zook would have done if he were designing it today."
When it came to decorating the house, the This Is Us star went for comfort and usefulness over lavishness — perhaps in preparation for kids in the future.
"I don’t have a great attachment to material things," Moore says. "The furniture we chose feels in line with the architecture, but there’s nothing so precious that a little wear and tear from kids or dogs would be a calamity."
Moore didn't do it alone, though. The actress had help from a team of designers, architects and, of course, Goldsmith.
"Taylor was as involved as he wanted to be," she says. "He had opinions about certain things, but his only real demands were for bookshelves —he’s a voracious reader — and room for a baby grand piano and a turntable."
In the end, Moore is beyond thrilled with the outcome.
"It still amazes me. We saw the potential of this house and brought it back to life. It’s hard to convey the excitement of working out every detail, from picking slabs at the stone yard to figuring out how many burners we wanted for the stove," she explains. "Once you realize that you can actually build your true dream house, it’s hard to go back to anything else."
When ET caught up with Moore last year, she revealed what her wedding to 32-year-old Goldsmith, a musician in the folk rock band Dawes, will look like.
"We want to have a friend officiate. So, feeling that connection with our friends, and our friend group, and having them feel a part of it," Moore shared. "I think I want to maybe do it at our home, like, do it very privately."
Moore continued: "And other than that, maybe have music! I want music to have an important thread throughout. Find a way to incorporate Taylor, or some of our musician friends, or something. So make it feel very much like us. A slightly more elevated house party, nothing fancy."
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