For Jasmine Tookes, Home Is Where You Have the Most Fun

Like many millennials, Jasmine Tookes practically lives on Zillow and Redfin. “It is my favorite place to aimlessly [browse] every day,” she confesses. “I just enjoy looking at houses and I love interiors and architecture so much.” During the pandemic, the Los Angeles–based model and entrepreneur spent the early days of quarantine scrolling real estate listings with her now husband, Juan David Borrero, not expecting to immediately find what turned out to be their ultimate dream home—but that’s exactly what happened. From the moment that they stepped into the house, the couple felt a “really great energy” that couldn’t be explained. “It had a lot of really beautiful light and we just looked at each other, like, ‘We think this is the one,’” she recalls.

The first major change that was made to the house was painting the exterior black, at her husband’s request. “I had to give him that because he allowed me to have my traditional contemporary sort of style on the inside,” Tookes says with a smile. This is where working with Kara Smith, principal and creative director of KES Studio, was fundamental throughout the process of transformation. Although Tookes claims that Smith was often on her side when it came to making most of the design decisions, the interior designer pushed both her and her husband to expand their horizons with out-of-the box elements like a mural wallpaper on the ceiling of the dining room or Kenya Black marble behind the bar in the speakeasy room.

Compared to her previous farmhouse-style homes in Beverly Hills and Brentwood, this house marks a metamorphosis for the JOJA cofounder, especially as Tookes settles into her motherhood era (the couple’s daughter, Mia Victoria, was born in 2023). Smith doesn’t hesitate to label Tookes as a “forward thinker” who prefers going for something timeless instead of following trends. “We really tried our best to steer clear of anything that was having a moment,” the designer says. “Her vision was something that would be very livable and comfortable and suit their lifestyle. They love to entertain with dinner parties or karaoke in the home, but they also wanted a place to retreat. She does a tremendous amount of travel and wanted it to be this very calming space for them.”

Shop out the look of the house here ⤵

Tookes describes her own aesthetic as more classic while Borrero leans more modern, so the biggest challenge for Smith was blending their respective styles. He loves marble, she likes bouclé. Her fondness of nudes, creams, and neutral tones didn’t take away from his preference for darker tones—and even prompted them both to make bolder choices like a moody kitchen dominated by dark stone slabs with white veining and hints of camel. Despite their differences, Smith was able to find common ground. “It wasn’t too much of a box of concrete and I felt like I could blend my softer style into it,” Tookes insists.

Considering how the couple already managed to pull off a wedding in the wake of COVID, they anticipated a few minor setbacks and delays here and there; but nothing could have prepared either of them for record-setting storms that caused massive leaks in the house and fully derailed the progress that had been made. “We finished our primary bedroom—it was all beautiful, paint was done, furniture was in—and we got this huge leak,” Tookes recalls. “We had to shift and change things with the furniture and materials that were available. Everything was quadruple the price when it came to picking stones…. There were a bunch of pivots that we had to make, but I think everything came out so perfectly.”

Given their passion for entertaining, it was extremely important to Tookes and Borrero that they have a variety of designated areas for hosting friends and family. Smith was determined to make these places pop from the lighting down to the glassware on the shelves. “We have a ton of game nights, that’s our thing—our friends come over and we do karaoke,” says Tookes. “We wanted to build a nice space for all of our friends.” The dining room is another standout space that warmly invites guests to unleash their playful side with the terracotta tinted walls before the groovy wallpapered ceiling stops them in their tracks. (The goal was to use rich, warm hues for a calming effect instead of anything that felt too loud or abrasive.) In order to maintain consistency so the interiors still felt contemporary, Smith combined ’70s influences with a blend of eras.

Some might find it surprising that when Tookes seeks a moment of serenity in the comfort of her home, she retires to the privacy of her sophisticated blush-toned office—not the primary bathroom with marble countertops and glam lighting. But the most satisfying room transformation of all came from tearing down the “horrible” lacquer cabinets that were originally in the couple’s primary bedroom and replacing them with a custom built-in shelving space. “My husband was, like, ‘These are great cabinets,’” Tookes laughs. “Kara and I were, like, ‘We need to get them out of here immediately.’”

In terms of the artwork, Tookes and Borrero have an impressive collection of original pieces from James Turrell, Rose Wylie, Angel Otero, Otis Jones, Jordy Kerwick, and Hank Willis Thomas. “They have amassed a great art collection that represents a very well traveled young couple,” says Smith. “It’s really on point for who they are and the family they’re building.”

Although there are still other areas that are works in progress, now that they’re basically done with the house, Tookes is most excited about how it will grow with them over time as a family. With their daughter now in the picture, the precious memories that will continue to live inside these walls simply can’t be rendered. “If I ever designed another home, I would definitely do it with Kara,” she says. “I’m very happy with everything.”