Time-capsule homes of the world's rich and famous

Perfectly preserved star properties

Have you ever wanted to know where your favourite celebrities once lived? Well, now you can. These dwellings were once home to some of the world’s most recognisable people. From Frank Sinatra and Elvis to Judy Garland and John Lennon, these former stars' houses have been carefully restored and preserved, to give us a fascinating insight into their lives.

Read on to step back in time and explore these time capsules of notoriety...

Nina Simone's childhood home, North Carolina, USA

In Tyron, North Carolina stands a humble three-bedroom clapboard residence with an extraordinary history.

Once the childhood home of Eunice Kathleen Waymon – aka Nina Simone, the legendary blues singer – the historic house was in a run down state when it was saved from ruin with a little help from tennis superstar Venus Williams.

Nina Simone's childhood home, North Carolina, USA

Nine Simone initially aspired to be a concert pianist and started playing the piano at just three years old in that very house in North Carolina.

She enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, before performing at a nightclub in Atlantic City under the stage name Nina Simone. The mega talent would go on to record over 40 albums between 1958 and 1974 showcasing her unique vocals and genius lyrics.

Nina Simone's childhood home, North Carolina, USA

While Simone's childhood home remained empty for many years, the historic property faced demolition before American conceptual artist Adam Pendleton stepped in and bought it for $95,000 (£74k) in 2017. In 2023, Pendleton and tennis ace Venus Williams raised just shy of $5.9 million (£4.6m) to preserve the landmark home as an African American historical site.

Pictured here in 2018, a Singer sewing machine sits with lace fabric still in its grasp while a crucifix hangs on the wall above.

Nina Simone's childhood home, North Carolina, USA

Another view shows a single bed in the room, with painted steel frame and patchwork sheets still lining the bed frame. An embroidered rug covers the painted floorboards, and a brown telephone hangs on the wall as though about to ring. The North Carolina property is a stunning snapshot in time.

The National Trust worked alongside the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and others to "preserve and rehabilitate the structure for future generations". It is said to be the "largest-ever preservation effort dedicated to an African American historic site".

Nina Simone's childhood home, North Carolina, USA

Remarkably, Simone’s piano still sits within her childhood home, perfectly preserved. The activist herself did not stay in her homeland however, becoming disillusioned with American politics after using her voice and platform to fight in the civil rights movement.

Moving to Barbados in the 1970s in protest, Simone ended her days living in the South of France, near her friend the notable African American writer James Baldwin. She died in 2003.

John Lennon’s semi-detached suburban home, Liverpool, UK

The northwest English city of Liverpool is famous for two major exports: football and The Beatles. Widely regarded as the most influential band of all time, all four members were born and bred in the city and their legacy continues to attract legions of fans year upon year.

Across the city, many landmarks have been erected or preserved in honour of the group, including the childhood home of the legendary John Lennon.

John Lennon’s semi-detached suburban home, Liverpool, UK

The first five years of Lennon's life were tumultuous; with absent parents, custody battles, infidelity and an attempted emigration to New Zealand.

He moved into 251 Menlove Avenue in Woolton – a well-to-do Liverpudlian suburb – to live with his uncle and aunt, George and Mimi Smith.

John Lennon’s semi-detached suburban home, Liverpool, UK

It was here he spent the remainder of his childhood and adolescence, living in the property until mid-1963 when he was 22-years-old. This was after The Beatles’ debut album had been released, featuring hits such as Love Me Do and Twist and Shout.

The home was a place of great significance for Lennon: not only had he grown up here, but songs like Please Please Me and I’ll Get You were composed on the premises.

John Lennon’s semi-detached suburban home, Liverpool, UK

Unfortunately the Liverpool semi-detached residence is also a site of great tragedy: approximately 100 feet (30 metres) from 251 Menlove Avenue, Lennon’s mother Julia was hit by a car and killed after a visit in 1958.

Her death traumatised the young musician and influenced future music such as the track Julia.

John Lennon’s semi-detached suburban home, Liverpool, UK

251 Menlove Avenue received a coveted English Heritage blue plaque on 7th December 2000 - the day before the 20th anniversary of Lennon’s death. Two years later, his widow, Yoko Ono, purchased the home to protect it from developers. She donated it to the National Trust which restored the interiors authentically to the style of the era.

It opened to the public in 2003 and remains a huge tourist attraction in Liverpool. In February 2012, both Lennon and bandmate Paul McCartney’s respective childhood homes became Grade II listed buildings.

Frida Kahlo's Blue House, Mexico City, Mexico

Frida Kahlo remains one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century, so it's no real surprise that her lifelong home was just as colourful and unique as she was.

The Mexican painter was not only born at the Blue House in 1907 but she also grew up there, lived there with her husband Diego Rivera for many years and passed away in a room on the top floor of the house in the July of 1954.

Frida Kahlo's Blue House, Mexico City, Mexico

Kahlo contracted polio at just six years old, and was bedridden for nine months. It is said that her father encouraged her to recuperate by playing lots of sports that even included wrestling, which was unusual at that time for a girl.

In 1922, Kahlo attended the National Preparatory School in Mexico City where she would meet Mexican muralist Diego Rivera who she claimed to want to marry someday. That same year Frida would go travelling with Gomez Arias and suffer her fateful car accident, fracturing her pelvis and spine.

Frida Kahlo's Blue House, Mexico City, Mexico

Also known as La Casa Azul, the property can be found in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Mexico City, Coyoacán. In 1958, the house and its contents were turned into a museum and many of the artist's possessions can still be seen today, left exactly where she placed them many decades before.

Personal effects include Kahlo's paints, brushes and easels, as well as pre-Hispanic necklaces, folk dresses and her much-depicted wheelchair.

Frida Kahlo's Blue House, Mexico City, Mexico

Although Kahlo lived in various homes across Mexico during her lifetime, she always came back to La Casa Azul. Left much as it was in the 1950s, the unusual house reveals her enigmatic personality, with vibrant colours and unusual trinkets dotted in every room.

It offers 8,611 square feet of inside space and boasts some of the painter’s most important works, including Long Live Life and Portrait of My Father Wilhelm Kahlo.

Frida Kahlo's Blue House, Mexico City, Mexico

Yet the garden at La Casa Azul is probably its most important feature. This is where Kahlo spent much of her time and it is the place that fed her imagination, resulting in various spectacular paintings that were inspired by the garden's colours, plants and wildlife.

Left perfectly untouched, the Blue House preserves the memory of one of Latin America’s most celebrated female artists, offering a glimpse into her arduous and fascinating life.

Johnny Cash’s boyhood home, Arkansas, USA

Who isn't intrigued by celebrity childhood homes from before they were famous? This modest clapboard house is where country music legend Johnny Cash grew up. It is situated in the Dyess Colony of Arkansas, USA, a settlement created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the economic recovery programme known as The New Deal to help the country get back on its feet after the Great Depression.

More than 500 impoverished farm families were resettled here and Cash’s was one of them.

Johnny Cash’s boyhood home, Arkansas, USA

Along with his six siblings, Cash lived here from the age of three until he graduated from high school in 1950.

His experiences in Dyess inspired him to write various songs, including the likes of Pickin’ Time and Five Feet High and Rising.

Johnny Cash’s boyhood home, Arkansas, USA

You can now visit his home, which has been furnished as it would have been when he lived there. Like all the rooms in this humble house, there's not a lot of space for the large Cash family, but the interior is cosy and has all the essentials.

There's even the original wood-fired stove, which caused the burn marks in the linoleum that you can still see today.

Johnny Cash’s boyhood home, Arkansas, USA

Other perfectly preserved artefacts include this piano that belonged to Johnny’s mother, his father’s shaving mug and the original flooring in his childhood bedroom and living room.

Period details found throughout the 1930s time capsule have been donated, such as a pedestal sewing machine and a battery-operated radio that Johnny is said to have played at night.

Johnny Cash’s boyhood home, Arkansas, USA

Although small, the one-storey house has windows on all sides letting in plenty of light, as you can see in the dining room. Period items throughout are based on photos and recollections of two of Johny’s siblings – Tommy Cash and Joanne Cash Yates – even down to the kitchen ice box and corner cabinet which have been painted apple-green to match the Cash siblings' memories.

The house was bought by Arkansas State University and restored in honour of the 'Man in Black', earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Claude Monet’s country estate, Giverny, France

Straight out of a fairytale comes Claude Monet’s oasis in Normandy, northern France. The French impressionist first noticed the idyllic village of Giverny when passing by on a train and, in 1883, rented a sprawling country estate and the land surrounding it.

Monet's dream was to purchase the mansion and create the now famous gardens.

Claude Monet's country estate, Giverny, France

By 1890, the renowned impressionist painter had made enough money from the sale and exhibition of his paintings throughout Europe to purchase this house he had grown to love whilst renting.

Having left Paris in 1878, Monet made his Giverny abode the beating heart of his life and work until his death in 1926.

Claude Monet’s country estate, Giverny, France

Monet directed the since-restored renovation of the home that art lovers can visit today – its dreamy pink facade and many of the kaleidoscopic interiors (such as the greens, yellows and blues found throughout the home) were colours picked from his own painting palette.

Fortunately, Monet was able to buy the structural home and also the surrounding land, which he had big plans for...

Claude Monet’s country estate, Giverny, France

Now he was the landowner, he could create the enchanting gardens he had long envisioned. Throughout the years, he painted many of his most famous works here.

Though the paintings themselves are mainly on display at Musée Marmottan Monet and Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris, at Giverny you can find the sources of inspiration: the Japanese bridge, the water lilies on the pond and the many archways of lush twisting vinery.

Claude Monet’s country estate, Giverny, France

The home is spread across two floors and visitors can take a peek into where Monet read, lounged, ate and worked.

Many of the private apartments of the family are also open to the public, as is the separate studio where he immortalised the botanical sights of the garden.

Judy Garland’s childhood home, Minnesota, USA

Judy Garland's iconic depiction of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz made her a global star and her much-quoted line "there's no place like home", couldn't be more perfect for the place where she spent her early years.

The pretty white clapboard house in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, was built in 1892 but was bought by Garland’s parents in 1919.

Judy Garland's childhood home

The youngest of the family, Judy Garland was born into showbiz with vaudevillian parents who ran a movie theatre. Performing from the age of just two years old for one of her father’s Christmas shows, the child star went on to take the lead in musicals, TV shows and films – becoming the huge Hollywood name we know today.

The Grand Rapids house was their first family home, where Garland lived from her birth in 1922 until 1926.

Judy Garland’s childhood home, Minnesota, USA

Stepping inside is like going back in time. The house had been remodelled by the previous owner in 1915, four years before Garland’s family moved in.

It now forms part of the Judy Garland Museum and it was restored between 1995 and 1996, to look like it would have in the mid-1920s. The museum used old photographs to truly capture the heart of Garland's former home.

Judy Garland’s childhood home, Minnesota, USA

Framed family portraits, vintage clothing and cherished childhood items are placed in situ for visitors to admire.

This bedroom, decorated in pretty purples and greens, could have been where Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm) slept as a baby with her parents. She had two older sisters who she performed with from an early age.

Judy Garland’s childhood home, Minnesota, USA

Once a notable celebrity home, The Judy Garland Museum has been open since 1975 and was one of the first dedicated museums of its kind in the USA.

Other exhibits include this test dress from The Wizard of Oz, which forms part of the largest collection of Judy Garland memorabilia in the world.

Charles Dickens’ family home, London, UK

This house at 48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury, an area in central London, is where the English novelist Charles Dickens lived during the early years of his fame.

Now operating as a museum, he wrote many of his most celebrated works here including Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby. It was also where he raised his three oldest children with his wife Catherine.

Charles Dickens’ family home, London, UK

The interiors are meticulously restored to reflect the early Victorian period, offering a glimpse into the life and times of the renowned author. Dickens wrote with his quill pen in this book-lined study at the centre of the house.

Always blessed with a prolific output, he composed newspaper articles, essays, short stories and novels here and was often inspired by the people he encountered day to day, including guests and servants.

Charles Dickens’ family home, London, UK

This lavish dining room with its vivid blue walls is where Dickens and his wife would have entertained some of the most important people of the day. The couple moved into the house in 1837 just a few months before Queen Victoria came to the throne – and the table is elegantly set with Victorian-era tableware.

Charles Dickens’ family home, London, UK

A cosy, well-furnished room where the Dickens family would have entertained guests, the drawing room is decorated in an opulent style with long red drapes, finely carved furniture and works of art on the walls, as well as a piano and desk.

In a letter to his friend Thomas Beard, Dickens wrote: "We are now in our house, where there is plenty of room and everything [is] very cheerful and comfortable."

Charles Dickens’ family home, London, UK

Here we see Mary Hogarth's room, Dickens’ sister-in-law who he was very fond of. Hogarth first met Charles at age 14, and after he married her sister, Catherine, Mary lived with the newlyweds for a year.

According to the Dickens Museum Collection, inside the bedroom you’ll find a portrait of Mary by Frederick Kitton and a plaster copy of a bust of Dickens by Thomas Woolner, c.1875.

Jimi Hendrix’s (and Handel’s) Mayfair home, London, UK

This house was once the residence of a legendary rock and roll star. Jimi Hendrix lived on the upper floors of 23 Brook Street with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham in 1968 and 1969.

He said it was his ‘first real home’ and spent time decorating the flat with curtains and cushions from British home furnishings store, John Lewis and items from Portobello Road market.

Jimi Hendrix’s (and Handel’s) Mayfair home, London, UK

Born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington in 1942, this highly influential guitarist began playing at age 15. Playing backup for the likes of Little Richard and The Isley Brothers, it wasn’t until Hendrix moved to England in late 1966 that he achieved real fame.

Within months of Chas Chandler becoming his manager, who was also a bassist for the British beat group The Animals, Hendrix had gained three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He's pictured here with Kathy in their London flat.

Jimi Hendrix’s (and Handel’s) Mayfair home, London, UK

This image shows Hendrix's very 1960s bedroom. His flat is next door to the house once lived in by the German and British composer George Frideric Handel for 36 years and, unsurprisingly, they had very different interior design tastes.

In 2000, after being used as an office, Hendrix’s flat was taken over by the Handel House Trust and in 2014 restoration work began to return the flat to how it was when he lived there. It’s been open to visitors since 2016.

Jimi Hendrix’s (and Handel’s) Mayfair home, London, UK

Next door lies another residence with musical connections. Handel was the first occupant of 25 Brook Street and moved into it in 1723. The townhouse was close to St James’s Palace, where he performed royal duties. Extensive research was conducted to understand the original layout, furnishings and decor, using contemporary accounts, letters and similar period homes as references.

This room is the largest in the house, where Handel composed many of his famous works, including 'Messiah'. It is furnished with period instruments, such as a harpsichord, and decorated with music manuscripts, portraits, and other artefacts related to his compositions and works from his collection of fine art.

Jimi Hendrix’s (and Handel’s) Mayfair home, London, UK

Handel's bedroom has been restored to reflect the colours typical of an 18th-century Georgian home. Paint colours were matched to historical palettes, and furnishings were either original pieces from the period or high-quality reproductions. A central feature, the four-poster bed would have elegant carvings and luxurious drapery made from fine materials such as linen or cotton, which could be closed to keep in the warmth.

Handel lived, composed and rehearsed at 25 Brook Street in London for approximately 36 years. He moved into the house in 1723 and remained there until his death in 1759.

Sigmund Freud’s wartime refuge, London, UK

The neurologist Sigmund Freud was the founder of the school of psychoanalysis and is one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century.

He lived and worked for the majority of his life in Vienna, Austria but fled the country in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution after the German annexation of Austria. Heading to the UK, he settled in this gorgeous North West London mansion with his wife Martha and daughter Anna for what turned out to be the final year of his life.

Sigmund Freud’s wartime refuge, London, UK

The influential godfather of psychoanalysis was born in Freiberg, Austria in 1856. Freud lived and worked in Vienna after qualifying as a doctor of medicine in 1881.

Throughout his practice, he would develop now infamous theories on the subconscious, including dream analysis and the Oedipus complex. His published works and lectures made him one of the world's most important contributors to the field of mental illness and analytical theory.

Sigmund Freud’s wartime refuge, London, UK

The idyllic home is situated at 20 Maresfield Gardens in the affluent Hampstead area. Although he died here at home in 1939, it remained in the family: his daughter Anna Freud – an influential figure in psychology in her own right – lived here until her death in 1982.

It was Anna's wish that, after her death, the home be converted into the Freud Museum to celebrate her father and his life’s work. Four years later, it opened to the public.

Sigmund Freud’s wartime refuge, London, UK

Today, the home is a popular attraction. Although he only lived here for a short time, Freud read and wrote prolifically here. He completed his final – and incredibly controversial – book Moses and Monotheism here in his library, which has retained all of his antique leatherbound books for public display.

The Freuds transported much of their own effects and belongings to London, including Biedermeier chests, tables and a variety of 18th and 19th-century Austrian painted country furniture. Freud’s extensive collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Oriental antiquities, alongside his personal library, were also carefully packed and shipped over, many of which are still on display today.

Sigmund Freud’s wartime refuge, London, UK

Freud also continued to practice psychoanalysis here and maintained a practice, which was well sought-after by the London wartime elite. The museum’s centrepiece is his infamous couch, brought all the way from Berggasse 19, his beloved Vienna home that he lived in for 47 years.

On this sofa, patients practised Freud’s signature free association technique, where they were encouraged to access their subconscious and say whatever came to mind.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion, Tennessee, USA

The King of Rock 'N' Roll bought Graceland, in his hometown of Memphis, in 1957 for $102,500 – that would be around $1.1 million (£862k) today. Elvis lived there until he died in 1977. Built in 1939, the estate was named Graceland after the original landowner, Grace Toof.

It had previously been a cattle farm and came with nearly 14 acres of land. Elvis' parents found the property and put a $1,000 ($11k/£8.6k today) deposit down for it, while the singer finished filming on Jailhouse Rock.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion, Tennessee, USA

The mansion spreads out over 17,000 square feet and attracts over 600,000 visitors a year, with people keen to see the place that this unrivalled musical icon called home.

The living room, where Elvis is playing bass guitar in this photo, was where he would receive guests. Lisa Marie Presley inherited the estate from her father after he died in 1977 when she was nine. Following her death, in January 2023 the estate was passed to her daughters.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion, Tennessee, USA

Elvis made many additions to the house, which was originally 10,000 square feet, including adding the famous musical gates in 1957. But the décor in Graceland reflects the height of fashion in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Beautiful stained glass panels depicting peacocks stand out behind the luxurious cream sofa and armchairs. The vintage living room also features one of the three fireplaces in the mansion.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion, Tennessee, USA

Downstairs in the basement, you’ll find Elvis’ extravagant pool room, based on a picture of an 18th-century billiards room that Elvis saw gracing the pages of a magazine. Next door to the King's TV room, where he would famously watch three screens at once, Graceland’s pool room boasts approximately 400 yards of patterned fabric which it is said to have taken three men 10 days to cut and hang across the walls and ceiling.

Bearing a 'Do Not Touch' sign, Elvis’s pool table has remained in place since 1960 and was reportedly one of the first purchases he made after serving in the army.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion, Tennessee, USA

Other rooms you can see on the tour include the jungle room: an amazing tiki-themed retreat which Elvis referred to simply as 'the den'. This cosy hangout was added to the back of the house in 1965 and was where he made his last recordings in 1976.

With faux timber panelling, a green shag carpet and animal print everywhere, it's a fitting sanctuary for the man who made rhinestone flared jumpsuits his signature look.

Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house, California, USA

Positioned in the glitzy city of Palm Springs, California lies Frank Sinatra's iconic desert modern home.

A spectacular mid-century abode, Ol’ Blue Eyes lived here between 1947 and 1954 and sold the property in 1957. In fact, the iconic crooner commissioned the house to be built, paying architect E. Stewart Williams $150,000 (around $2.1m/£1.6m today) to design and build the estate.

Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house, California, USA

Known as Twin Palms, Sinatra's house played host to various celebrity parties, movie sets and ferocious rows between Sinatra and his first and second wives respectively, Nancy Barbato and movie star Ava Gardner.

It was thanks to Sinatra that Palm Springs fast became the ultimate destination for the Hollywood elite.

Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house, California, USA

Sinatra initially hired Williams to design a Georgian-style mansion but the architect managed to persuade the singer to go with a design that was more appropriate for its desert setting, resulting in this low, sleek style that's become synonymous with mid-century homes in Palm Springs.

The Rat Pack member demanded that the house be ready for Christmas so he could host a lavish party for all his friends. This left Williams with just a few months to design and construct the property. The house is pictured here in 2005.

Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house, California, USA

Building work took place at an alarming rate (and cost) and was ready in time for New Year's Eve. The house soon set the standard for Hollywood artists and embodied the casual, indoor/outdoor lifestyle that California was known for.

Guests are seen testing the water here at one of Sinatra's many pool parties, in 1951.

Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house, California, USA

Now a museum and holiday rental, Twin Palms has been beautifully restored while retaining many of its original design details and furnishings. Sinatra was renowned for his talents as well as his temper and one of the original bathroom sinks still features a crack, caused when Sinatra threw a champagne bottle at Gardner.

The singer's bedroom, in which you can now sleep, and his iconic piano also remain untouched, revealing the life of one of the world's most celebrated artists.

Karen Blixen's Bogani House, Nairobi, Kenya

In 1917, Danish author and aristocrat Karen Blixen moved with her husband to this Swedish-designed house on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. They had intended to run the 6,000 acre (2428ha) farm as a dairy farm. However, her husband made the – ultimately doomed – decision to grow coffee instead.

Known as Bogani House, it was the backdrop to a great romance, which inspired a film that won seven Oscars...

Karen Blixen's Bogani House, Nairobi, Kenya

The coffee farm foundered, as did the Blixens' marriage. After her husband left in 1921, Karen (pictured, left) took over the running of the farm herself. After their official divorce in 1925, she fell in love with English aviator and big-game hunter, Denys Finch Hatton.

The pair lived together at Bogani House until Denys' untimely death in 1931, when Blixen returned to Denmark and wrote Out of Africa, which was made into a 1986 film starring Meryl Streep (pictured, right) as Karen and Robert Redford as Denys.

Karen Blixen's Bogani House, Nairobi, Kenya

Blixen's farm is now the Karen Blixen Museum and contains pieces of original furniture, as well as props from the film.

The rich wood panelling and parquet flooring feel distinctly European and a far cry from the traditional architecture of Kenya. However, outside there are two millstone tables, where Blixen would drink coffee in the morning and evening and enjoy views of the Ngong Hills. Karen and Denys loved the hills and visitors can visit Denys' grave as he was buried there.

Karen Blixen's Bogani House, Nairobi, Kenya

With the home's distinctly European feel – such as we see here in Blixen's bedroom – it's easy to forget it's in the heart of Africa, just 45 minutes from the centre of Nairobi.

After Denys died in a plane crash in 1931, Karen sold the farm and returned to Denmark, where she died in 1962 at the age of 77. However, her legacy remains in Africa, where the Nairobi suburb of Karen now bears her name.

Karen Blixen's Bogani House, Nairobi, Kenya

Although now open to the public, Bogani house, with all its mementoes, is said to retain a "serene environment that seems to belong to the past" and is surrounded by a peaceful garden, Indigenous forest and nature trails.

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