Remember those fancy, extravagant McMansion that used to be the main characters of the MTV Cribs series? The Toronto home of major recording artist Aubrey Drake Graham is something else entirely. At 50,000 square feet, with amenities like an NBA-standard indoor basketball court surrounded by a 21-square-foot pyramidal skylight, Drake’s incredible abode is certainly worthy of luxury. . But instead of vast cheap plaster walls and mountains of ungainly furniture upholstered with hot glue guns, Drake’s Manor is dignified, as envisioned by the Canadian interior and architectural designer. Ferris Rafauli, is a marvel of old world craftsmanship, constructed of limestone, bronze, exotic wood, and other noble materials. Every detail of the vibrant color property has been meticulously conceived and executed. And there were no Scarface posters in sight.
entrance with marble floor.
Two sculptures of Kaws by the entrance to the house. Rafauli’s custom marble and bronze chandelier; Escarpment Light and Nero Marquina marble cover the floor.
“Since I built it in my hometown, I want this structure to be able to stand for 100 years. I wanted it to have scale and a sense of grandeur,” Drake said of his dedicated project. “It’s going to be one of the things I leave behind, so it has to be enduring and strong,” he added.
Dubbed the Embassy, the house draws inspiration from traditional Beaux Arts architecture, distilling and slightly abstracting to imbue the classical idiom with a more contemporary spirit. “In terms of form, materials and construction, the structure is a true 19th-century limestone castle. But the exterior configurations are more minimalistic and the lines are a bit cleaner,” said Rafauli, head of his own luxury car design/build company based in Ontario. “This is not plaster, paint and fake gold. That’s not what Drake wants, and that’s not what I do.”
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Drake plays the piano at home.
Drake, wearing a Tom Ford outfit and Nike sneakers, at his home in Toronto. Mellany Sanchez’s fashion style.
Rafauli describes the crazysexycool interior as “Modern Art Deco”, again referring to the classic historic style that has been tweaked and rejuvenated to reflect the spirit of the times as well as the DNA of its high-end clientele. grandfather. The designer commented: “Once you have chosen a certain style, you can dance in that style. Drake asserts, “It is overwhelming high-end luxury. That message is conveyed through the size of the rooms, the materials and details of the floors and ceilings. I want to make sure that people can see the work I’ve put in over the years reflected from every vantage point.”
A custom Bösendorfer concert grand designed by Ferris Rafauli and Takashi Murakami accents the large room.
Indeed, the scale of the rooms sets the tone for the family experience from the moment one enters the vast entrance hall, clad in solid limestone with beveled Nero Marquina marble slabs below the ceiling with Many antique mirrors have bronze frames. The monumental room, which rises to 44 feet, boosts the volume even further. At one end of the space, a custom concert grand piano by the venerable Austrian piano maker Bösendorfer designed in collaboration with Japanese artists Takashi Murakami and Rafauli is nestled. in a gate defined by floor-to-ceiling macassar ebony panels set along the bronze front. antique beveled mirror. “Drake’s world revolves around music, so he’s not going to buy any pianos. This precious possession is a true combination of art, craft and quality,” notes Rafauli.
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In the master bedroom, Rafauli incorporated a hummingbird rug by Alexander McQueen for The Rug Company into the bedding. Rafauli custom rug by The Rug Company. Hästens x Ferris Rafauli’s bed; pendant by Jonathan Browning Studios.
The grand room’s second crown jewel is a monumental iteration of Lobmeyr’s iconic Metropolitan chandelier, originally designed by Hans Harald Rath for the Viennese producer to decorate the Metropolitan Opera House. in New York City in 1963. With over 20,000 hand-cut Swarovski crystals, this luminous sculpture is the second largest installation of its kind in the world.
swimming pool with light on.
Over the pool, a backlit Nero Assoluto granite slab provides interchangeable atmosphere lighting.
The designer’s nod to the Art Deco style becomes more apparent in the sumptuous canary yellow lounge that, like several other spaces in the home, can be glimpsed in Drak’s videos.
A brown onyx semi-precious stone backlit panel gently illuminates the studio’s living room. Erwan Boulloud aluminum cocktail table; vintage Ricardo Fasanello chair.
A suspended cantilever marble staircase is adorned with a chandelier by Rafauli.
Surveying the splendor of pleasure palaces in Canada, Drake has the foresight: “I think the house shows that I had real faith in myself to take on this task when I was 27 years old and see through it. ,” said the 33-year-old man. – old superstar. “I also think the house says that I will forever be firmly in the place where I was born.”
