Today Architectural Digest is welcomed by Tan and Rob France to tour their new home in Salt Lake City. Wanting a forever home for their growing family, the Queer Eye star and his husband bought a plot of land and spent the next three years building their dream house from the ground up. With the help of The Fox Group, Tan and Rob built a grand Tudor-style home bringing together a blend of South Asian, English, and American interior touches. The design of their home was the project of a lifetime for the Next in Fashion host, and it was Tan’s own background as a stylist and designer that helped bring the couple’s dreams to life. “I treated this house like a collection,” France says. “If you’ve ever been to a runway show, it should tell a story. I wanted the top of the house to be like the opening look of a runway, and I wanted the final look to be shocking as the showstopper.”See more of Tan and Rob's dream home here
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (door opens)
00:01 - Hello, AD.
00:02 Welcome back to our home in Salt Lake City.
00:04 - Finally finished.
00:05 We're excited to show you.
00:06 Come on in.
00:07 (upbeat music)
00:10 - So we started building this home two years ago.
00:20 We started designing this home three years ago.
00:22 This was a from the ground up build.
00:24 We have labored so hard over every detail of this home.
00:29 You got to see many of those components
00:31 on our show Home At Last.
00:32 However, there are many things that we didn't get to show you
00:35 so we want to show you right now.
00:36 We love this foyer.
00:38 We wanted the home to feel cozy and cottagey,
00:40 but we still wanted a grand entrance.
00:42 - Designed the curvature of the stairs,
00:44 how it goes up and around, the door at the top.
00:46 I think it's absolutely beautiful.
00:47 - The reason why I wanted this, the mezzanine, is this.
00:50 Hall, please.
00:51 I wanted to be able to say when someone walks through my
00:57 home, welcome to my home.
00:59 - Yeah, just a little bit of a wow
01:01 when you walk into the house.
01:02 - So speaking of wow, we didn't want a regular wallpaper.
01:04 So this isn't actually wallpaper,
01:05 this is a painting on canvas that was kind of spliced up
01:08 and then brought into our home,
01:09 but it was actually custom painted
01:10 so it hits the right point everywhere in the foyer.
01:13 In each of the alcoves, there's trees positioned in there,
01:16 which I think is gorgeous.
01:17 When it came to styling the foyer,
01:19 we were really particular about it.
01:21 We found this burl console and a cabinet
01:25 that we loved so much from Restoration Hardware.
01:27 - He's just trying to draw your attention
01:28 to this right here.
01:29 - I swear to God it's not.
01:31 But do I love this?
01:33 Yeah.
01:34 Do I hold it every day and do a mini speech,
01:36 even though I didn't get to do a speech on the night?
01:39 Yeah.
01:40 If any of you saw our last open door in our old house,
01:43 I hid away all of the awards because I felt embarrassed.
01:46 You can now see that I am very much fully an American
01:50 that I'm like, why wouldn't I show this off?
01:51 And in the comments, all the Brits were like,
01:53 that's so British.
01:54 And now you Brits are now going to be pissed
01:56 that I'm showing this, but I feel so proud of it.
01:58 There's nothing to be proud of.
01:59 (upbeat music)
02:02 This is technically the living room.
02:07 And it is a living room.
02:08 There's a lot of debate about this.
02:12 So we have a TV that looks like a picture
02:17 - Above the fireplace.
02:18 - Above the fireplace.
02:20 I'm talking about a couple of people in particular,
02:21 Jenna Lyons, Jeremiah Brent.
02:24 They say you shouldn't have this above a fire.
02:26 However, what's all your furniture pointing at
02:29 if you don't have a TV in the room?
02:31 And secondly, I don't want it to look like a TV
02:35 'cause it just looks like a black box.
02:36 And I'm not trying to fool anyone.
02:37 - We're not going to pretend that we don't watch TV
02:39 in the living room.
02:40 - I live on TV in my job and in my private life.
02:43 So we have a TV above the mantle.
02:46 - This is called a club fender.
02:47 I had never seen one before.
02:49 I didn't even know what it was.
02:50 A lot of Americans might not understand what it is.
02:53 Well then, Americans, I have a PSA for you.
02:55 This is called a club fender.
02:57 This is something that you have in fancy English homes,
03:00 like English manors.
03:01 I think it's so gorgeous.
03:03 It is so classic that I just think it's magical.
03:05 I want to mention the sofa.
03:07 And I assume we're going to have a sofa custom made.
03:09 However, then we visited a vintage store
03:12 and we found this.
03:13 I think it's gorgeous.
03:15 I think it's so chic.
03:16 I think it's a perfect way to finish off this living room,
03:20 fancy receiving room situation.
03:24 - Oh yeah, absolutely love it.
03:25 Already spilled coffee on it.
03:26 The kids, yes.
03:27 So it's well lived in already.
03:29 - If you see on my Insta,
03:31 me posting in my living room with a different sofa,
03:33 it's because my kids just did it.
03:35 Like they destroyed the darn thing.
03:36 But for right now, I think it's beautiful.
03:38 - It's perfect.
03:39 [upbeat music]
03:42 - This is the breakfast nook.
03:46 We do use this a lot every day.
03:48 - A lot, constantly.
03:48 - Our son, our eldest, he uses this
03:51 with his iPad or his box
03:52 and he will have his breakfast or his lunch,
03:54 which is so lovely.
03:55 And then I will cook here for him.
03:57 Rob will help feed him.
03:58 So we do spend a heck of a lot of time in this space.
04:00 Our son has already destroyed these pillows.
04:04 This was the choice that was made
04:06 so that he would be comfortable, but he's destroying it.
04:08 He also loves to come over here and do this
04:13 because he loves the sound.
04:14 - He loves the sound.
04:16 - That this fridge makes.
04:17 And so he says fridge song and he means that,
04:22 which I think is absolutely lovely.
04:23 And then this is an Indian design.
04:26 And this is the design that Rob did, this flower.
04:28 So by code, you have to have a plug socket on your island.
04:31 I have no idea why we're sitting there talking
04:33 about how we were going to fit these.
04:34 We didn't want to pop up.
04:35 And I didn't want just these horrible plug sockets.
04:38 Gosh, first world problems.
04:39 I've changed so much.
04:40 I really wanted to try and hide the plug socket.
04:43 And so I was like, well, what if we put a flower here?
04:46 The plug socket goes in the middle
04:48 and we cover it with something that you can just pop off.
04:50 Ain't that amazing?
04:53 I love that so much.
04:54 - You saw it here first.
04:55 - If I see it in your house, I know you stole my idea.
04:58 But take that idea of all the ideas you want to take,
05:00 take this, I think it's so smart.
05:01 I love it so much.
05:02 And therefore nobody knows.
05:03 It's just a chic little flower.
05:05 Spice Kitchen next.
05:06 - Spice Kitchen.
05:07 - Ready? Go.
05:08 - Some may not know what a Spice Kitchen is.
05:11 - Oh, the Spice Kitchen is sometimes
05:14 in like fancy Asian homes.
05:16 You have a separate space where you can cook Indian food
05:18 and you can close the door
05:19 so it doesn't permeate the rest of the house.
05:21 And so this does have a sliding door.
05:24 We had a home in LA a few years ago
05:29 and we purchased this Dolce & Gabbana stuff
05:32 'cause it made sense for that house.
05:34 However, with our classic house here,
05:36 it didn't really make sense in the main kitchen.
05:38 But we decided to add it to the Spice Kitchen because spice.
05:45 So we feel like the bright bold colors make sense.
05:48 And quite honestly, the way this is done,
05:50 if you've ever been to India or Pakistan,
05:51 our buses are basically painted like that.
05:54 So it feels very much in Cuban, I think.
05:56 (upbeat music)
05:58 You've seen all about the dining room
06:03 and how about last, I won't belabor this,
06:06 but I love this.
06:07 - Yeah, me too.
06:08 It's yeah, our formal dining space.
06:10 - Yeah.
06:10 - And we've used it so many times.
06:12 Yeah, we've had friends around the table.
06:13 - We call it formal dining space,
06:15 but there've been many a pizza box.
06:17 - Our version of yeah, Indian takeout and pizza
06:19 is what we've eaten on this table so far.
06:21 - To be fair, I did cook for Thanksgiving.
06:23 - Oh, that's true.
06:24 - And there's some fresh.
06:25 But typically, yeah, it's not as formal as it might appear.
06:27 And the thing we do love about it
06:29 that I'm so glad we did decide to do
06:31 was to add in these doors
06:33 because our friends are exceptionally loud.
06:36 And so to be able to close up these doors
06:38 and then scream has made all the difference.
06:43 (upbeat music)
06:46 This bay window from the outside, it looks lovely,
06:52 but the kids really have spent a fair amount of time here.
06:55 You look closely, you will see my son's-
06:57 - Face prints.
06:59 - 'Cause he likes to kiss the city.
07:02 All the snow, all the deer.
07:03 Often in the morning, we'll just have the kids here
07:06 and we'll let them look out and keep themselves entertained.
07:09 I love this spot.
07:10 It's one of my favorite spots in the house.
07:11 - Best view in the house, yeah.
07:12 - Absolutely, like jaw-dropping view.
07:13 So it's a nice place.
07:14 It's a nice place to sit.
07:15 (upbeat music)
07:18 - You may remember from Home At Last,
07:22 we said that we don't want our kids in here.
07:24 Like we want just a space for us adults.
07:26 - And that lasted a day, tops.
07:29 - Anyone who's at home who's got kids
07:31 would have laughed at that comment,
07:33 but I do love that our son will get into bed with us,
07:36 our eldest, and we'll just bring his iPad
07:38 in the morning, first thing.
07:40 And so for the first 20 minutes,
07:41 he will just lay in bed and just watch a show.
07:44 And it's gorgeous.
07:45 - And when he needs some calm time,
07:46 he'll come and get in the nook
07:47 and say that he's taking a nap in the nook.
07:49 And he'll just lay down.
07:50 - I always wanted our children to hang out in this nook.
07:53 And the fact that he does is gorgeous.
07:57 Oh my gosh, I love it so much.
07:58 And then all of my work,
08:00 if ever any of you have a Zoom with me,
08:03 I do all of my Zoom calls from here.
08:05 I bring this over, I put my laptop on it.
08:08 I scoot back and I'm usually just in a pair of shorts
08:12 and a tank top, which is so professional for a Zoom call
08:14 with really important clients.
08:16 And this is where I do my Zooms.
08:17 Since we last saw you, it's looked like this outside.
08:21 Please take a look.
08:22 - We'll get to the balcony someday.
08:23 - That's a foot of smell on the balcony.
08:25 We're not spending much time out there right now.
08:26 - It looks beautiful from inside.
08:28 - It does look gorgeous.
08:28 - But yeah, we just haven't gotten out.
08:29 (upbeat music)
08:32 - Howdy, Bath.
08:36 Love our cabinet so much.
08:38 I just think it's all gorgeous.
08:39 I'm still so happy with the wallpaper.
08:41 - The dual vanities has been a God's end,
08:43 having both of them.
08:44 - We're still married. - We nailed it.
08:45 - Robert said that he wanted this one.
08:47 I said I wanted that one.
08:48 - And it works. - We got changed.
08:49 - It does work.
08:50 My biggest issue is I didn't want to spit in front of him.
08:52 Two months, he's not seen me spit.
08:53 - My biggest issue is that I always like to talk to him
08:56 while we're brushing our teeth.
08:57 - You try and talk with your mouth full, with your brush.
09:01 - It's just like an 80s teen movie thing to me.
09:04 - I've never understood a single word.
09:05 I smile and go, "Uh-huh."
09:06 And then I walk away thinking,
09:07 "I don't know what you're fucking saying."
09:09 So this closet is Rob's closet.
09:12 Mostly Rob's closet.
09:13 I have my closet downstairs.
09:15 We never showed this on "Home at Last."
09:17 Everyone assumed that I would move into this space.
09:20 And I didn't.
09:20 Thank you so much, you naysayers.
09:23 - If you will come around, please,
09:24 you will see a section of the closet that is still empty.
09:29 That is to receive Tan's collection of daily clothing.
09:35 - But yeah, do I keep like five things here?
09:38 Yeah, like for my day-to-day stuff.
09:39 - Maybe the drawers, yeah, check the drawers.
09:40 - Yeah, I've got like some T-shirts and some underwear.
09:43 It's just my round-the-house clothes is here.
09:45 He was never gonna fill this whole space.
09:48 So I've used this small section for me.
09:50 The rest of it is yours.
09:51 - If you come back in a month, that'll be full.
09:54 - It won't.
09:55 Come back in two years.
09:56 And just to piss you off, I'm never gonna fill that.
09:59 - Okay, well, I'll leave it empty for you.
10:00 - Thanks.
10:02 Our favorite thing in the house,
10:04 I thought I didn't have a favorite, but I definitely do.
10:08 Right here.
10:09 This is the mouse house.
10:11 Basically an Instagram account,
10:12 they post strange listings of homes
10:15 and like the weird, crazy things that people do.
10:17 And I was swiping through and I saw this little diorama,
10:21 a little mouse house built into the wall.
10:23 And I thought, I'm doing that in my house.
10:25 And so Rob was like, okay,
10:26 Ismael loves the book "Goodnight Mood."
10:29 So let's do a "Goodnight Mood" version.
10:31 Every little detail from "Goodnight Mood" is here.
10:33 She even included a mini version of our house.
10:36 Every night before bed,
10:38 our son comes out here with his blanket.
10:40 - And the book.
10:41 - And the book. - The book, "Goodnight Mood."
10:42 And he sits in front of it.
10:43 - And he says goodnight to everything in here.
10:46 - Refuses to go to bed without doing it.
10:47 We cannot put him in bed without saying goodnight.
10:51 - Then right across from the mouse house is Ismael's room.
10:53 There are entertainers who have these really elaborate rooms
10:56 for their kids and they're gorgeous, don't get me wrong.
10:58 I think they're incredible.
10:59 We really want our kids to have a nice room,
11:02 like a nice nursery,
11:03 but we don't want it to feel over the top
11:04 because how the heck do they compete
11:05 with that in the future?
11:07 - But also his bedroom cannot be his play place at all.
11:11 So I know that if there was a slide in here,
11:12 if there were things to climb,
11:14 he would never go to sleep.
11:16 - We were really particular about the space
11:17 and I'm so happy with how it turned out.
11:18 And he loves it.
11:20 It does feel a little large for a two-year-old,
11:22 but by the time he gets to his teens.
11:24 - He'll be a teen and he'll be sneaking out that window,
11:26 I'm sure.
11:27 - That's our biggest fear,
11:28 'cause this is what I would do as a kid.
11:29 He will open those windows and just kind of shimmy down
11:32 'cause it's not that long of a drop.
11:33 But if you ever do that, you're grounded.
11:35 - We're gonna find a makeshift ladder
11:36 stashed away in here somewhere.
11:38 (upbeat music)
11:41 - This is our theater room.
11:46 There is so much I wanna say about this space
11:47 'cause I love it.
11:48 First and foremost,
11:49 I love this wallpaper so much
11:51 and it's designed by Robert.
11:52 - Me, did it myself.
11:54 Didn't paint it myself,
11:55 but yeah, we had the opportunity to design a wallpaper.
11:58 It's meant to look like rice plants
12:00 and the reflection on the water.
12:01 Definitely bold, but yeah, I love it.
12:04 I'm really, really happy about it.
12:05 - Now, we're not finished in this space.
12:07 We haven't got pillows yet.
12:09 We're getting custom bar stools that are not finished.
12:11 It's a work in progress.
12:12 So the kids do love to play down here.
12:14 Ismael loves to bring his cars and play on this stuff.
12:17 So it's kind of a dual function.
12:21 So many people, including my sister and my cousins,
12:23 are like, "The TV is too small."
12:24 However, when we sit, this is the perfect size.
12:28 Any bigger and I'd have to move my head to the screen.
12:30 - To read the subtitles, yeah.
12:31 - And I'm too lazy to move my head to read.
12:34 And so this 90 inches it, kids.
12:36 So yeah, we spend a lot of time here.
12:38 Yes, I know we've got white sofas and children.
12:40 - And kids.
12:41 - But they're washable
12:42 and the kids aren't allowed to eat food down here.
12:45 Lol, I know eventually they will,
12:46 but right now they don't eat food here.
12:48 - We've stained them with chocolate so far.
12:50 The kids have done nothing, but we've stained them already.
12:52 - I do eat a lot of chocolate at night
12:54 and I do drop a lot of that chocolate on the sofa,
12:56 but I clean it every time.
12:58 (upbeat music)
13:00 The closet is incredible.
13:05 - I don't come down here very often.
13:08 I'm allowed, but I-
13:10 - Our kids are not allowed in this.
13:10 - Our kids are not allowed
13:11 and I've usually got one clinging on.
13:13 - I have kept this very organized,
13:14 which is much to everyone's surprise.
13:17 I finally opened up all my boxes
13:19 and now every piece of clothing I own is in this house.
13:22 The space wouldn't be as gorgeous without Rob's work.
13:25 Do you wanna talk about what you did?
13:26 - So it was a collaborative effort.
13:27 So any of the stenciling that you see
13:29 was designed by, well, us together.
13:31 I drew it up, Tan decided on the colors,
13:33 and then we had a lovely painter come in.
13:35 - Marjorie. - Marjorie.
13:36 She brought it to life.
13:37 I think it looks absolutely beautiful.
13:39 Even though we have separate closets,
13:41 there is some sharing.
13:42 - Crossover.
13:43 - Styled by Tan France.
13:45 Today, luckily we wear the same size.
13:48 - And for like nicer stuff, like for events,
13:51 you will typically come down to this closet
13:53 and choose something.
13:54 - Oh, I don't have a tux.
13:55 - Yeah. (both laughing)
13:58 He doesn't have a tux.
13:59 If I have a tux, he has a tux.
14:00 Whenever there's an event,
14:01 he comes down and can choose whatever he wants.
14:04 Rob designed the hardware completely.
14:07 These are bluebells and he designed the shape of it,
14:09 and then it was brought to life by Chris,
14:11 which is wonderful.
14:12 We love it so much.
14:13 - We use the bluebell because Tan and his siblings
14:15 used to play a game where they had a store
14:17 where they would sell flowers,
14:18 and they would find flowers around the town
14:21 and sell those flowers to one another.
14:22 And bluebells were the most expensive flower.
14:25 They were the most sought after flower.
14:27 - I do want to make it really clear
14:28 to our neighbors from our hometown who already hate us.
14:31 We weren't stealing your flowers.
14:33 We were taking wild flowers
14:35 and then selling those to each other.
14:37 We weren't pillaging your gardens.
14:39 (upbeat music)
14:42 Thank you so much for coming along on this house tour.
14:50 It's so personal to us,
14:52 so we hope you love it as much as we do.
14:54 - Thanks for coming.
14:55 I'm gonna go find the kids.
14:57 - Oh yeah, where are all the kids?
14:58 - We better go find them.
14:59 - See ya. - Bye.
14:59 - Bye.
15:01 - Get out of here.
15:01 - See ya.
15:02 (upbeat music)
15:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]