Ellen Pompeo [1] has been in our homes for over a decade now as the star of Grey's Anatomy [2], but — as she's the first to admit — it's hard to get her to leave her gorgeous Los Feliz home. With the help of close friend and designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, the actress completely revived the dilapidated property to stunning perfection. "The house was like an old relic. Hadn't been updated since it was built in the '20s," the Good Housekeeping September 2016 covergirl told the magazine. The result is a lush and cozy retreat that's fancy but approachable and perfect for Ellen's young family. "Every room was sort of inspired by something different. A lot of fashion design inspired a lot of the rooms." Browse the slideshow ahead to get a look inside and hear what Ellen has to say about interior design.
An inviting seating area is anchored with a lush velvet sofa. "The furniture tells a story once it's been lived in. That's what makes a house a home. I'm a straight-up homebody. It's hard to get me out of the house once the sun goes down," Ellen told Good Housekeeping.
!["My home is a place to have a good time with the kids. I had such a painful childhood and have such a happy family life now," explains the actress, whose mother passed away suddenly she was just five. "The house represents [my family] because it's hip but also comfortable."](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/0u6emHXQuPWR5jxXIObM7Pcucc8/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2016/08/12/766/n/1922794/8d96f2c3fedd21a6_Home_2/i/My-home-place-have-good-time-kids.jpg "\"My home is a place to have a good time with the kids. I had such a painful childhood and have such a happy family life now,\" explains the actress, whose mother passed away suddenly she was just five. \"The house represents [my family] because it's hip but also comfortable.\"")
"My home is a place to have a good time with the kids. I had such a painful childhood and have such a happy family life now," explains the actress, whose mother passed away suddenly she was just five. "The house represents [my family] because it's hip but also comfortable."
"Everything about the house needed to be refreshed. The gardens, especially. There were no gardens. It was just a yard full of dirt," Ellen told Good Housekeeping. "So to build the gardens was so fun, something that I had never done before. I'm still not finished, I'll keep adding to it. To be able to have all the fruit trees and the chickens and everything, I think it's so nice for the kids. I think everything I did outside was with the girls in mind."
Read what else Ellen has to say about her home, family, Grey's Anatomy [3], and more in the September issue of Good Housekeeping [4].