Inside Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s homes
Lucille Ball homes—from a 1941 Chatsworth ranch to a desert hideaway and a Beverly Hills mansion—each mirroring the couple’s growing fame.
The 75th anniversary of I Love Lucy has reignited curiosity about the real homes of its stars, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Their residences spanned a modest ranch, a desert retreat, and a Beverly Hills mansion, each reflecting their growing fame and changing lifestyles over decades.
Desilu Ranch in Chatsworth
In 1941, just after their elopement, Ball and Arnaz purchased a five-acre property in Chatsworth, California, which they named Desilu Ranch. The land would later serve as the foundation for their production company and remained their rural retreat for fifteen years.
The ranch was designed by architect Paul R. Williams, whose portfolio included projects for Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. He incorporated a California classic aesthetic—white clapboard siding and floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto an oval-shaped pool.
Ball’s interior style leaned heavily toward bold, eclectic choices. As she wrote in her autobiography, Love, Lucy, the décor combined “Early Victorian and Bastard American” elements, featuring cabbage-rose wallpaper, red plush chairs, white ruffled curtains, trailing ivy, and beribboned lampshades. The effect was deliberately theatrical, though far less restrained than her on-screen persona.
The ranch became a self-sustaining homestead, complete with vegetable gardens, avocado and orange trees, and even a cow nicknamed “The Duchess of Devonshire.” Dogs and chickens roamed freely, creating a pastoral setting that hosted Hollywood gatherings, magazine photo shoots, and a high-profile Red Scare press conference. Ball’s two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., grew up there, though Lucie later noted in a 2011 interview that her mother’s real-life management style was far more organized than the chaotic Lucy Ricardo portrayed on television.
Thunderbird Vacation Home in Palm Springs
By 1954, the couple enlisted Williams once more to design a modernist desert retreat in Rancho Mirage, adjacent to the Thunderbird Country Club golf course. This time, the aesthetic took a dramatic turn from the ranch’s ornate interiors.
The home’s open-plan layout and expansive glass walls framed panoramic desert and mountain views. Stone walls, dark wood accents, a lanai patio, and a sleek swimming pool defined its minimalist design. Ball’s décor shifted toward sculptural simplicity, abandoning the frills of the ranch in favor of cleaner lines. Arnaz contributed to the design, sharing joint credit with Williams for the modernist features.
The property served as their getaway for five years during the peak of their television success. It was sold in 1960, the same year their marriage ended.
Beverly Hills North Roxbury House
After selling the ranch, Ball and Arnaz acquired a seven-bedroom Colonial Revival home at 1000 North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills for $85,000. Built in 1936 by Carleton Burgess, the estate later appraised at over $10 million.
The family lived there until their 1960 divorce. Though few interior photos remain, the house appeared in a memorable I Love Lucy episode starring Richard Widmark. Neighbors recalled Ball handing out Halloween candy dressed as a witch, a quirky tradition that reinforced her image as a warm, approachable neighbor.
Ball retained ownership of the Roxbury estate through her second marriage to Gary Morton, holding it until her death in 1989.
