15 photos of the Toronto mansion of superstar rapper, Drake – Architectural Digest India

Drake, in a Kapital sweatshirt and 1017 ALYX 9SM pants, with Rafauli in the lounge

Remember the chintzy, pimped-out McMansions that were a staple of the long-running MTV series Cribs? The Toronto home of mega recording artist Aubrey Drake Graham is something else altogether. Measuring 50,000-square-feet, with amenities such as an NBA regulation-size indoor basketball court crowned by a 21-square-foot pyramidal skylight, Drakes astonishing domicile certainly qualifies as extravagant. But instead of vast expanses of cheap drywall and mountains of ungainly furniture upholstered with a hot glue gun, stately Drake Manor, as envisioned by Canadian architectural and interior designer Ferris Rafauli, is a marvel of old-world craftsmanship, constructed of limestone, bronze, exotic woods, and other noble materials. Every detail of the sprawling property has been meticulously conceived and executed. And there isnt a Scarface poster in sight.

Dubbed The Embassy, the house takes its cues from traditional Beaux Arts architecture, distilled and slightly abstracted to imbue the classic idiom with a more contemporary spirit. In form, materials, and execution, the structure is a proper 19th-century limestone mansion. But the exterior profiles are more minimal and the lines are a bit cleaner, says Rafauli, who heads his own namesake luxury design/build firm based in Ontario. This isnt stucco, paint, and fake gold. Thats not what Drake wanted, and thats not what I do.

Once youve chosen a certain style, you can dance within that style, the designer observes. Drake insists, Its overwhelming high luxury. That message is delivered through the size of the rooms and the materials and details of the floors and the ceilings. I wanted to make sure people can see the work Ive put in over the years reflected from every vantage point.

The scale of the rooms set the tone for the home experience from the moment one enters the vast entry hall. The epic great room, which soars to 44 feet high, pumps up the volume even further. At one end of the space, a bespoke concert grand piano by the venerable Austrian piano maker Bsendorfer designed in collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Rafauli sits nestled within a portal defined by floor-to-ceiling panels of macassar ebony set alongside bronze screens fronting more antique beveled mirror. Drakes world completely revolves around music, so he wasnt going to buy just any piano. This prized possession is an authentic marriage of artistry, craft, and quality, Rafauli notes.

In the great room is Lobmeyrs iconic Metropolitan chandelier, originally designed by Hans Harald Rath for the Viennese maker to decorate the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1963. With more than 20,000 pieces of hand-cut Swarovski crystal, the dazzling light sculpture is the second largest installation of its kind in the world. The furnishings, here as throughout the home, were all custom designed by Rafauli in materials that range from dyed ostrich skin and mohair to macassar and bronze.

The bedroom is where I come to decompress from the world at the end of the night and where I open my eyes to seize the day, he says. The bed lets you float, the shower lets you escape and gather your thoughts, and the closet makes you want to talk to yourself while youre getting dressed. As always, God is in the details. The bed and bed base, which weigh roughly one ton and cost more than many peoples entire homes, is from Rafaulis new line for Hstens, called Grand Vividus. The headboard, accented with antique mirror and channel-tufted leather, encompasses a whiskey-and-champagne bar on the reverse side. The nightstands feature mother-of-pearl inlays, and the bedding incorporates an Alexander McQueen hummingbird tapestry from The Rug Company.

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15 photos of the Toronto mansion of superstar rapper, Drake - Architectural Digest India