Jessica Alba, the actress and CEO of eco-friendly megabrand The Honest Co., threw her husband, Cash Warren, a 40th-birthday party in January 2019. She hosted annual pajama parties with beer pong, Twister, charades, and corn-hole toss during his 30s.
She decided to combine the birthday with a housewarming this year because they had recently relocated into a beautiful, lush canyon near Los Angeles. She retired the tradition after their lovely, new, big backyard—a hot commodity in this part of town—was destroyed by tents, bars, and wild corn tossers at the extravaganza. “He’s in his 40s, so he can do other stuff!” she laughs. “Our dream house!”
Alba and Warren met in 2004 on Fantastic Four. Honor was born in 2008. Haven and Hayes were born in 2011 and 2017, respectively. The couple had been living in a house down the street for a decade and wɑnted a bigger house with a spacious backyard. Alba says they wɑnted a location to watch their kids play and grow.
Their first day of searching yielded it. Alba convinced her Realtor to let her in that afternoon even though the sellers wɑnted to stage it first. I thought, I have imagination and know what I wɑnt. “I walked in and knew within 20 minutes, even though [the previous owners’ style] wasn’t our vibe, this was exactly what we were looking for.”
Their “vibe” has two elements. Alba’s Pinterest account features French farmhouses and Paris residences, as Warren’s mother lives in Provence. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s Beverly Hills home is second. “We’d leave holiday parties and say, ‘Their house is so sick!’” Alba asked DeGeneres to introduce her designers, mother-son combo Kathleen and Tommy Clements, after closing on this house.
Tommy says Jess’s business success is obvious. “She’s organized, hyper-focused, and superdecisive—no vacillation.” The Clementses completed their to-do list after weekly client meetings.
Tommy says Alba always liked organic materials, natural fibers and fabrics, hemp textures, and reclaimed wood, “which didn’t exactly come as a surprise since her company is based entirely on thoughtfully produced, safe products.” Kathleen laughs that Warren’s main concern was “where was the basketball hoop going to go? That was huge, and he was specific.”