Usher's Atlanta Home Proves the Most Powerful Design Statements Are Personal

Designed with longtime collaborator Nicole Fuller, the musician has built a family home that brings together his grandmother's piano, his children's artwork, and treasured mementos from his 30-plus-year career, all reframed for the futureUsher, in a Balenciaga sweater, Gucci sunglasses, and jewelry by AZLEE, MESSIKA, and Renato Cipullo, with his son Usher V, wearing Dries van Noten, at the wheel of a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass outside his family home in Atlanta. The statue is by Daniel Arsham. Usher’s fashion styling by Yashua Simmons; other fashion styling by Jeremy Haynes. ART: Daniel ArshamFive portraits by Gordon Parks, the photographer acclaimed for documenting African American life throughout the Civil Rights Era, frame the foyer inside Usher’s gracious Atlanta home. The singer loved the irony of making the famous 1956 photo of a Black woman and child outside the “colored entrance” of a department store in Mobile, Alabama, one of the first pieces of art visitors encounter when entering the home of a Black superstar. “I’m rebranding things,” he says—aware that not everyone will appreciate the gesture. “We cannot forget our history. But what we can reframe is being able to move forward.”For more than 30 years, Usher’s music has defied genre conventions, defining present and future trends, even as it draws on cultural markers from the past. That same spirit runs throughout his home, which he designed alongside longtime friend and collaborator Nicole Fuller.A photograph by Gordon Parks hangs above a custom console by Corbin Cruise in the entrance hall. ART: Gordon Parks / © The Gordon Parks FoundationIn the barbershop, Usher, in a custom leather-upholstered Collins barber chair, receives a haircut from Shawn “Shizz” Porter, while publicist Chris Chambers looks on. Oscar pendant by Roman and Williams Guild, tile on lower wall and floor by Waterworks. A commissioned work by Lauren Halsey, developed through Nicole Fuller Art Advisory, features a portrait of Usher among a series of other heads. Barber: Shawn “Shizz” Porter; Grooming: Lola Okanlawon; ART: Lauren Halsey.Artwork in the family room includes paintings by Sterling ruby (left) and Rick Lowe and a TV/video art installation by Jennifer Goicoechea Raymond. Walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Calluna. Vintage Max Ingrand Dahlia Chandelier; Bespoke sectional in Pierre Frey fabrics; vintage Lorin Marsh coffee Table. In the dining room, a photograph by Fabiola Jean-Louis hangs on a wall swathed in Dedar’s Lux Flammé wall covering. Ara sconce from Maison Gerard; Studio Drift hanging light; brass sideboard with a verre églomisé base designed by Nicole Fuller and produced by Art Space NYC. ART: Fabiola Jean-Louis / ALAN AVERY ART COMPANY. Darien Arikoski-Johnson / Alan Avery Art Company.Usher, wearing a FEAR OF GOD shirt and trousers and a Piaget watch, with son Naviyd, in a Vivienne Westwood shirt, Helmut Lang shorts, and Dr. Martens shoes, in the mirror-clad sculpture gallery. The Snub Cube sculpture is by Anthony James. ART: Anthony James / Anthony James Studio“We looked at this photo and decided this is the inspiration—in palette, in feeling, in moodiness, in tone and texture,” Fuller says of the Parks portrait. “It was our first moment of inspiration for the story of this home.”Across the spacious, elegantly proportioned, white-brick Georgian-style house, Usher and Fuller have transformed the otherwise classic, restrained architecture into a creative hub where the singer, his wife, Jennifer Goicoechea Raymond, and children—sons Usher V, Naviyd, and Sire, and daughter Sovereign—can revere the relics of the past while imagining future ones.Usher (holding Gucci sunglasses and wearing a Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit and shirt, Maison Margiela shoes, a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, Briony Raymond earrings, and Tiffany & Co. brooches) and family poolside. Jennifer is in Balenciaga, Sire is wearing a Ralph Lauren suit and Crocs shoes, and Sovereign’s dress is by Rare Editions. Naviyd wears a Vivienne Westwood shirt, Helmut Lang shorts, and Dr. Martens shoes, and Usher V (diving into pool) is in a Suitsupply suit and Rick Owens shoes. RH Chaise longues with cushions of Ralph Lauren home outdoor fabrics. Specially commissioned artwork by Rashid Johnson on wall. The primary bedroom features a custom bed by Arthur Parks Upholstery with Kelly Wearstler Colina nightstands, above which hang Apparatus pendants. Bespoke rug by Rogan Gregory. In the primary bath, Usher, wearing a Louis Vuitton shirt and shorts with Gucci shoes, leans over a tub by MTI Baths with Waterworks filler. Son Sire and daughter Sovereign on a vintage love seat in a hallway. The portrait of Usher is by Julian Schnabel. ART: © 2026 Julian Schnabel / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkInspired by the Campana Brothers’ Chairs, the kids’ playroom features a stuffed animal wall, designed by Fuller and Jennifer utilizing the family’s original childhood toys. Custom Spill runner by Nicole Fuller for The Rug Company. Artwork by Jammie Holmes.ART: © 2026 Jammie Holmes / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkThe superstar has collected contemporary art for most of his adult life, but his passion is for preserving the work of Black artists. He recalls commissioning his first piece of art at 21 from street artist and muralist Retna. From there, he started visiting museums and studying the art hung on the walls of the luxury hotels he frequented. “That’s when my lens changed, that’s when my creative eye opened, [and] that’s when I started to be more experimental with my music,” he says.In the living room, Usher reinvented a mundane item—a plastic-covered sofa—transforming it from the pristine, off-limits furniture once revered by Black elders like his mom to an inviting, multigenerational conversation starter. “This is my art,” he says of the custom sofa created with the help of the Atlanta-based Bjork Studio. Yes, it makes the classic crunchy sound when you sit down.In daughter Sovereign’s room, the ceiling mural by Morgan Boszilkov is based on Sovereign’s own drawings. Custom bed curtained with a Dedar wool with Samuel & Sons trimmings; floral rug by RAG. ART: Veronica Dorsett / The Current Gallery. Yoshitomo Nara / Yoshitomo Nara Foundation.Looking into Jennifer’s closet, which features custom shelving lined with a Dedar Velvet. An ottoman by BG Robinson is cushioned in a leopard print silk velvet by Scalamandré. Rug by the Rug Company. A corner of the Entrance hall features an artwork by Eli Reed, a CH Sconce from JCRD Design, and an Eelko Moorer love seat. In the primary bedroom, a painting by Rashid Johnson hangs on a wall curtained in Coraggio’s Gramercy Park in Oyster. A sculptural walnut burl floor lamp with hand-blown glass shade by Aaron Poritz stands in the corner. Usher’s Apollo Theater award is displayed among other objects in the living room. A Christopher Russell vase and other objects in the family room Across the hall, in a lavender family room, a vintage TV installation by Jennifer stands in a corner playing hazy family videos and iconic cultural moments such as James Brown’s famously bizarre 1988 CNN interview on a loop. Acrylic-painted art by Rick Lowe hangs above a custom plum-colored velvet sectional, stretching beyond the wall molding. “Creatively, they say, you don’t color over the lines,” Usher says. “Well, we do here.”For all the lauded and emerging artists on display in every room—from Romare Bearden and Julian Schnabel to Rashid Johnson, Lauren Halsey, and Tyler Mitchell—Usher didn’t want the home to feel like a museum. “It’s not like the most expensive piece wins the best wall. That’s not the case in this house,” he says.Usher, wearing a Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit and shirt, Maison Margiela shoes, Gucci sunglasses, a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, Briony Raymond earrings, and Tiffany & Co. brooches, with his wife, Jennifer, in Balenciaga, in front of Yoshitomo Nara’s Peace Head in the garden. Hair: Jody Rowlands; Makeup: Lola Okanlawon; ART: Yoshitomo Nara / Yoshitomo Nara Foundation.The breakfast room centers on a custom lava stone–topped table designed by Lola Montes Schnabel on a hammered-steel base. Fertility Form light fixture by Rogan Gregory for R & Company; dining chairs from Just One Eye; walls clad in an Élitis abaca, and the ceiling is covered in House of Hackney’s HEDERA. A concrete panel impressed with the family’s handprints and drawings hangs in the breakfast room. The breakfast room’s Lola Montes Schnabel-designed lava stone-top table features the spirit animals of Usher and Jennifer. Usher, wearing a Hermès jumpsuit, Balenciaga boots, a Piaget watch, and AZLEE necklaces, stands in the whiskey bar of the media room at his Atlanta home. The horse photograph is by Steven Klein. Fashion styling by Yashua Simmons. Instead, he’s worked to infuse his family into each space, including paintings by his son Naviyd. Caramel suede panels line the walls of a room that holds the piano of Usher’s grandmother, Tina, alongside a cross-shaped window encasing dried flowers from her funeral. In the breakfast room, a troweled concrete wall bears each family member’s handprints—including the paw prints of their dog, Scarlett. In the pool room, the design of his chin tattoo—by famed tattoo artist Dr. Woo—has been enlarged into a ceiling mural.In the “gentleman’s room,” the singer smokes cigars and listens to music amid touchstones from across his career: a throwback shot of a shirtless Usher by photographer Steven Klein, his eight Grammys, one of his BET Awards, a jewel-encrusted football honoring his 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance, and a sculpture of rotting cherries—a nod to a viral bit from his most recent tour, when he fed cherries to fans in the audience.A large-scale Photograph of a horse by Steven Klein presides over the media room. the bespoke sectional in a Rose Uniacke mohair with Houlès trim wraps around a Fendi coffee table. Walls upholstered in a floral velvet by Ralph Lauren home; custom rug by Fuller for The Rug Company. The striped walls in the kids’ playroom, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pitch Black and All White, were inspired by the façades of two Italian buildings, the cathedral in Orvieto and the Church of Sant’Andrea in Levanto; rug by The Rug Company. Daniel Arsham’s Bronze Eroded Venus of Arles and Bronze Eroded Astronaut, placed through Nicole Fuller Art Advisory, flank the front entrance. In the “Gentleman’s Lounge,” The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy commemorates the team’s championship season during Usher’s tenure as a part owner. Sire’s room features a custom stuffed-animal chair in homage to the Campana Brothers. The outdoor dining area features a Kombinat dining table by Heerenhuis from Platform D surrounded with custom wood stools by Landlocd Custom Craft with bespoke patchwork striped cushions in Ralph Lauren home outdoor fabrics. table set with vintage plates and candlesticks, Baccarat drinkware, and a pitcher from The Future Perfect; Wolf sculpture by Michael Stipe. Landscaping by Nicole Fuller in collaboration with Creekside Premier Landscaping incorporates a “lawn rug” concept conceived by Usher, using contrasting grass species to create a patterned border. In the living room, Usher, wearing a Saint Laurent trench, trousers, and shoes, Falke socks, AZLEE necklaces, MESSIKA earrings, a Piaget watch, and rings from his personal collection on a custom vinyl-upholstered “Grandma’s Sofa,” designed by Nicole Fuller and Usher. Artwork (above sofa) by Damien Hirst; portrait (at right) of Usher’s childhood nanny; coffee table by the Campana Brothers. ART: © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved / DACS, London / ARS, NY 2026.The study centers on Usher’s grandmother Tina’s piano, and the cross-shaped window holds her funeral flowers. Johanna Grawunder Four Square light fixture. Like Usher’s Style?Emulate the musician’s style with an editor-curated collection of furniture and decor inspired by his Atlanta home.This is the fourth house Usher has designed with Fuller. She credits the singer with being a hands-on creative who isn’t afraid to get into the minuscule details of design. “He will get out a tape measure,” she says. “He’s all in.”When they began work on this home four years ago, Usher wanted a space where his children could dream and play. There’s whimsy throughout, including a Studio Drift dandelion chandelier that hangs above the dining table, its seeds daring guests to blow them throughout the room (“I don’t tell them that,” Usher says of his kids, laughing). Plushies from the Raymond children’s personal collection—lions, frogs, pandas, and other stuffed animals—line the wall leading to a vibrant pink-and-blue playroom where the kids can perform on a small stage before leaping into a nearby foam pit. Naviyd’s room features a Jeff Koons print and a drawing of Michael Jackson’s signature stance made by the late pop star himself, alongside more teenager-friendly touches: skateboards and the cover of Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? displayed on a shelf. Daughter Sovereign’s room has her own art—butterflies, clouds, rainbows, and ice cream cones—painted on the ceiling, along with paintings by Justin Bieber, Usher’s late stepson Kile, and his eldest son, Usher V. Kids’ rooms are often Fuller’s favorite to design, she says, and she rejects the notion that precious art can’t be included. “Art is meant to be lived with,” she declares.The living room fireplace is clad in custom boiserie panels by David/Nicolas. custom light fixture by Nacho Carbonell; vintage chairs; coffee table by BG Robinson. Richard Prince’s Untitled (Folk Songs) hangs behind the grand piano in the living room. Another view of the kitchen; custom runner by ALT for Living Custom Giancarlo Valle Fin counter stools pull up to the Arabescato Orobico Rosso marble-topped island. pillars of Meerschaum light fixture by Feyza Kemahlioglu; custom copper sinks with Waterstone faucets; Officine Gullo Fiorentina range. An antique Tokoname pot holds a bonsai tree that is more than 60 years old. A Crater Mirror by Misha Kahn hangs in the powder room. The adults have their own spaces, too: a hookah lounge for Jennifer, a golf-simulator room for Usher, plus a barbershop, a basketball court, and a yoga deck. The couple’s bedroom, in soothing textures and blush tones, is both inviting and relaxing, every wall and window draped floor to ceiling in fabric that matches the softness of their custom upholstered headboard and Kelly Wearstler nightstands. A work by Rashid Johnson lends an unexpected burst of red to a sitting area.Despite touring steadily over the past five years, Usher had some downtime earlier this year. “I had surgery on my knee, so it gave me a lot of time to be able to just be home and get myself better,” he says. Now healed, he’s back on the road, co-headlining a stadium tour with Chris Brown that runs through December.A portrait by George Condo of Usher and Jennifer with their alter egos hangs above a Kelly Wearstler Palladium sofa upholstered in Wearstler’s Surge fabric for Lee Jofa. An artwork by Nathaniel Mary Quinn hangs in the stair hall. Usher, wearing an Hermès jumpsuit, Balenciaga boots, and Piaget watch, with Scarlett, the family’s goldendoodle, in the mudroom hall. Apparatus ceiling lights; Roman and Williams Guild sconces; shearling-covered Mott Stools by Maiden Home. Kathleen Ryan’s Bad Cherries on a pedestal in the “Gentleman’s Lounge” Creeping fig vines and clipped boxwood hedges accent the façade of Usher’s Atlanta home. Cast stone Roman garden seat from Architectural Accents; antique French lantern from Montage Antiques. Daniel Arsham’s Bronze Eroded Venus of Arles and Bronze Eroded Astronaut flank the front entrance. A 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass stands in the motor court. Throughout the property, Usher has carved out places to rest and reflect, among them a mirrored room with Anthony James’s sculpture Snub Cube (Solar Black) and a golden bench and chair by the late Virgil Abloh. The sculpture and mirrors throw back images that appear infinite—a visual stand-in for the singer’s outlook on life. Outside, near the pool, a Peace Head sculpture by the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara offers a space for contemplation. However far the road takes him, this is the place Usher has made to come home to.This story appears in the September issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.Not a subscriber? 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