Nina Dobrev is opening the doors to her Hollywood haven.
The Vampire Diaries alum recently gave Architectural Digest a tour of her almost-100-year-old home – and the breathtaking interiors are absolutely drool-worthy.
The four-bedroom Spanish-style home recently got an update, but the 32-year-old actress, who was born in Bulgaria, took inspiration from her roots and made sure to preserve much of the home’s European influence throughout the renovations. To Nina, it’s all about the little details.
“The house is from the 1920’s,” she told AD. “I wanted to pay respect to the original architecture and the Spanish-style influence. And even though we were redoing certain things, I wanted to use materials that were organic and felt like they could’ve belonged to the home before, while still refreshing and giving the house a facelift.”
She also isn’t afraid to go hands on with the renovations – she and boyfriend Shaun White were the ones who painted the entire exterior of the once-mustard-yellow home the fresh and striking white it is today.
“My boyfriend and I painted the whole exterior of the house ourselves and it took forever,” Nina shared. “But it turned out beautiful, so I’m happy I did it.”
As someone who loves entertaining and having friends over for dinner, her olive-green kitchen is arguably one of the home’s focal points.
The cozy kitchen showcases a playful yet functional mix of textures, patterns, and colors – from the lived-in look of her terracotta tile floors and the striking white of her dolomite island countertop to the smooth wood of her kitchen counters and olive-green cabinets.
“So, we got these reclaimed terracotta tiles from Europe that are all unique,” Nina shared. “They’re textured. Some have a lot of imperfections, which I kind of love, like it’s been lived in, and it feels European. And I’m from Europe so I wanted to bring in my heritage a little bit.”
While the it certainly gave off major country home kitchen vibes, she actually had some sweet upgrades put in – like an awesome feature that lets her open her fridge door hands-free. She also did away the the usual bulky range hoods, going for a more minimalist aesthetic with one that sits flush against the ceiling.
As for her most favorite part of the home, she reveals a hidden spice rack built in next to the gas range.
“It’s the best part of the whole house—it makes me feel like an adult, officially grown,” she confessed.
Outside, she has a pool with a built-in spa along with a pool house that she’s since converted into a home gym.
Despite the upgrades, Nina’s home continues to preserve many of the home’s original finishes – including one bathroom’s blue tiling and the “creaky” wooden floors, which she thinks could be an additional security measure.
“As you can hear, all the floors are very creaky, and it’s squeaking a lot, and that’s mainly because all the wood floors in the home are also original from the 1920s,” she said. “And you know, it’s good for when someone tries to break in because then I can hear them and grab my bat. Very helpful for that.”
While she does appreciate the floors, she muses that not everyone will.
“But, someday when I have kids, they’re really gonna hate it,” she continued. “Because, you know, they won’t be able to sneak out of the house as easily as I did growing up.”
