Step Inside Guns N’ Roses Bassist Duff McKagan and Susan Holmes’s Wildly Whimsical English Tudor in Seattle

Kathryn Romeyn

December 11, 2024 at 8:00 a.m.·13 min read

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It’s hard enough to undergo a home renovation when you’re on the ground, meeting with the design team and making decisions. But what’s it like when you are Duff McKagan, on tour as a founding member of one of the world’s most legendary rock bands? That’s another level entirely. As eternal optimists, Guns N’ Roses’ bass guitarist McKagan and his supermodel wife Susan Holmes-McKagan saw only positives as they embarked on a major global excursion and simultaneous multiyear renovation of their beloved home, a 1927 English Tudor on Seattle’s Lake Washington.

Duff McKagan (right) and Susan Holmes-McKagan stand in their front garden. “The house is a little castle and, therefore, a bit fortress-like,” Line Architecture founder Nicolò Bini says. “As a guest, you have the pleasure of making your way through a front garden, where we played up the scale of the flowers to create drama” hand in hand with landscape designer Anton Prack of Peak Landscape. “Since it’s such a British home, I thought a couple of topiary sheep would be fun, and he made that happen.”

The couple, who was married in the home’s backyard 25 years ago, weren’t simply scrolling through Instagram for inspiration, they were living it for some three years on the road. The real-life research mission had them sleeping in, sitting on, and admiring eventual references everywhere they went. “We’d take pictures, like, ‘Check this out, we can do this at our house,’” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says, “There’d be shelves at a hotel in Bangkok…” Holmes-McKagan chimes in, “The bar at Reykjavik Konsulat Hotel [was an inspiration]. And our entry mudroom was directly influenced by the Four Seasons Hotel Washington DC’s natural light and round windows.” These worldly elements don’t just look good—they conjure happy, meaningful memories for the couple.

But those interior design moves came only after significant architectural work was done by Todd James Bertellotti of ObjectSpace and Paul Moon Design. “Susan had this vision,” McKagan says, to open up the five-bedroom residence’s small 1920s-style rooms, raise ceiling heights, and reclaim a sense of vintage elegance. The true impetus for their overhaul, however, was climate-related. “It gets hot in the Northwest now, so it was, like, ‘We gotta get AC.’ And Susan says, ‘We gotta get a pool!’ And it just went bananas.”

Shop out the look of the house here⤵

Animals are a consistent theme in Duff McKagan and Susan Holmes-McKagan’s forever home, including its Rapunzel-inspired entry court that features a pair of lion statues. “I believe the more life you have in a space the better,” Bini says. The trim is painted Benjamin Moore MoorGlo, and the original Art Deco stained glass door was restored. — Animals are a consistent theme in Duff McKagan and Susan Holmes-McKagan’s forever home, including its *Rapunzel*-inspired entry court that features a pair of lion statues. “I believe the more life you have in a space the better,” Bini says. The trim is painted Benjamin Moore MoorGlo, and the original Art Deco stained glass door was restored.

“I got the house knowing I was going to meet Susan,” McKagan laughs, “Hoping I was going to meet Susan and have a family. That did happen. Susan got here in ’96, and she made it the home that it became.” The history buff and aficionado of old-school style keeps his motorcycles in the garage, where gas lamps and sconces are by Bevolo, and the exterior wall color is Benjamin Moore MoorGlo.

Once the structural renovation had wrapped, the pair wasn’t finished. Cara Delevingne’s vivid home (AD, July/August 2021) led them to seek out Line Architecture founder Nicolò Bini to, in Holmes-McKagan’s words, add “European flair and romanticism, bespoke details, and more whimsy and color” to their 8,656-square-foot primary residence. During that first meeting in their kitchen, the Italian architect felt their deep history and connection with the property. But, he says, “I was struck by the contrast between how dynamic they were, and interesting and sexy and charismatic, versus how staid and monochromatic their house was.”

Rock ’n’ roll, but make it Gothic Revival. It’s hard to imagine another living room that could pull off this combo: seven-piece crown molding, Benjamin Moore Grasslands walls, harlequin stained glass (updated with colors that evoke a British pub by Unique Art Glass), carmine curtains, a golden velvet sofa and chairs (all by International Silks & Woolens), rose gold coffee tables, and a custom triangle rug by Melrose Carpet. Add to that a custom bar designed by ObjectSpace’s Todd James Bertellotti alongside Lenny Kravitz Design’s Rake Black counter stools complete with Guns N’ Roses customization and a painting of Susan by artist Greg Hildebrandt, and it’s nearly impossible.
Art: Greg Hildebrandt/Spider Web Art. Michele Kortbawi-Wilk/Jones & Terwilliger Galleries.

“I wanted to bring in some bold chromatics because, when you look at how they dress and how they live their life and where they travel, there’s a lot of color, there’s a lot of charisma,” says Bini, who went bold by painting the vintage stair rail in Benjamin Moore Heritage Red and pairing it with Timorous Beasties wallpaper, a Modish bulldog sculpture, and Michele Kortbawi Wilk artwork, plus a Unique Art Glass custom lantern and Nourtex by Nourison stair runner.
Art: Michele Kortbawi-Wilk/Jones & Terwilliger Galleries

The Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC, influenced the entry mudroom, according to Holmes-McKagan, who loved the natural light and round windows. A custom Chrome Hearts door, Kravet wallpaper in Magnolia, Ann Sacks Tabarka Fan floor tiles, and Visual Comfort’s Paris Flea Market chandelier—plus a splash of Benjamin Moore Heritage Red paint—make it a mudroom like no other.

That wasn’t for lack of vision. Holmes-McKagan was bursting with idiosyncratic ideas. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I wanted to incorporate punk rock meets nautical vibes (because we’re on the lake) meets Madonna Inn, Disneyland, and Dolly Parton.” The model also felt inspired by a RuPaul adage: “‘Find the color you love and just drown yourself in it.’ For me, it’s rainbow. I know it sounds mad, but it just makes me happy.” As unabashed lovers of animals, nature, books, music, and, above all else, their two daughters, Holmes-McKagan says they wanted all those elements represented too. Instead of being overwhelmed, Bini was energized: “It’s just more fuel for the fire.”

Bini set out to integrate all of this and their steady stream of travel references “into a cohesive whole that would overlay an already beautiful piece of architecture.” Bringing in dramatic chromatics to reflect the couple’s charisma was a primary focus, as was toggling between Americana and gothic English design for a splash of irreverence suiting a rock star and supermodel.

“The kitchen is always the heart of the home,” Holmes-McKagan says. Hers has a cobalt blue island in Benjamin Moore Gentleman’s Gray and black leather barstool chairs with fringe and nailheads by International Silks & Woolens that are decidedly reminiscent of leather jackets. Meta Calcutta Carrara honed marble countertops, an Ann Sacks bullnose gloss tile backsplash, and custom RH pendants create an elegant setting for what McKagan calls “a chef’s kitchen. The Lacanche stove is the shit,” he adds. “It came from France—Susan can cook.” — “The kitchen is always the heart of the home,” Holmes-McKagan says. Hers has a cobalt blue island in Benjamin Moore Gentleman’s Gray and black leather barstool chairs with fringe and nailheads by International Silks & Woolens that are decidedly reminiscent of leather jackets. Meta Calcutta Carrara honed marble countertops, an Ann Sacks bullnose gloss tile backsplash, and custom RH pendants create an elegant setting for what McKagan calls “a chef’s kitchen. The Lacanche stove is the shit,” he adds. “It came from France—Susan can *cook*.”

The couple got rid of their formal dining room and instead created a magical and much-used dining nook off the kitchen that offers a panorama view. To “frame and glorify the special space right in the middle,” Bini sought a sculptural but also comfortable seating solution. He found a couple on Etsy, Zadai’s Studio, who carves goat foot stools, which felt to him so rock ’n’ roll. “Susan is very fanciful with a wonderful sense of humor, and she recognizes potential,” the designer says. “There was a camaraderie about the whole design process.”

“When we traveled to London I loved how there were no white walls,” says Holmes-McKagan, whose office features walls, bookshelves, and ceiling painted in high-gloss lacquer Benjamin Moore Heritage Red. “Their usage of color and paint and wallpaper brings a sense of warmth while keeping the elegance.” Her space off the living room features a Universal Furniture Hayworth writing desk, vintage chairs, a Horchow table lamp, and vintage Caltagirone vases with a Williams Sonoma rug.

The architect wove a ribbon of saturated crimson through nearly every space, notably in a lipstick-red stair rail, high-gloss lacquered office, immense custom Venetian chandelier, and charming cartoon-like cornices and drapes framing the lake-view dining nook. Balancing out the Disneyland energy are sexy rock ’n’ roll touches such as a Chrome Hearts door, Lenny Kravitz–designed barstools, and black-leather fringed, nailhead-studded kitchen island chairs that are the furniture equivalent of the jackets McKagan and his GNR bandmates used to wear in the ’80s.

Outside the castle-like brick-and-timber home is a sumptuous environment rivaling any Lake Como retreat. The new infinity pool is decidedly resort-worthy, especially alongside the dressed-up pier and verdant landscaping by Anton Prack of Peak Landscape that incorporates a couple topiary sheep (one of many English nods) and hydrangeas so colossal they appear to be from a fairy tale.

“The outside is pretty epic,” says the rocker Duff McKagan. Their existing RH chaise lounger cushions were reupholstered in Sunbrella fabric by International Silks & Woolens and paired with Santa Barbara Designs’ Mirasol Regatta umbrella.

During the renovation, the McKagans replaced the original pickleball court with a new, hotel-like pool with water cascading over the lakeside infinity edge and a Chrome Hearts etching done by owner Richard Stark. Bini’s goal for the environment was for “everything to feel lush, sexy, and a little bit decadent.”

The McKagans’ forever home is now an undeniable ode to their lifestyle. Both designer and client enjoyed surprising each other throughout the process. “He has guts,” Holmes-McKagan says, “Nicolò was so innovative and fearless.” Her husband adds, “He really matched Susan’s sense of whimsy: A big stuffed polar bear is looking at me right now, waving.”

Ever since 1994, when the rocker bought this abode with a premonition that Holmes-McKagan would walk into his life and make it a home, the couple have felt deeply rooted to it. And with this reimagining, the family’s fingerprints and energy are inextricably embedded in the house too. “It’s just so hard to leave,” says McKagan, who makes any excuse to stay put (when not on tour), savoring what they’ve created. “We do have other places,” Holmes-McKagan says, “but this is definitely my favorite place to come home to. It feels like home.”