House Tour: Step Inside Celebrity Rapper Drake’s Manor House

It’s all glitz and glamour inside the Toronto Manor house of celebrity rapper Drake. As he decided to build in his hometown, Drake wanted the home to be large in scale and grand – in every sense of the word.

It seems no expense was spared. In fact, the best quality materials bring each space to life. Designers, therefore, incorporated a beautiful mix of materials into the space – from limestone and bronze to exotic woods and other noble materials. Every detail of the sprawling property has thus been meticulously conceived and executed. And the result is a timeless home that has been referred to as a marvel of old-world craftsmanship.

Bigger and Better

If you think extravagant living, you may be right. Drake’s large-scale home measures 50,000 square feet. Amenities include an NBA regulation-size indoor basketball court crowned by a 21-square-foot pyramidal skylight. It has been dubbed ‘The Embassy’.

The interior is all about classic tones with a monochromatic palette that includes a vastness of materials – marble, metal and glass to name a few. The scale of the rooms sets the tone for the home experience from the moment one enters the vast entry hall, which is clad in solid limestone.

Drake’s favourite spot in the house is his 3,200-square-foot master-bedroom suite, with an additional 1,100 square feet of covered terraces.

A mansion is born

The design of the house took its cues from traditional Beaux Arts architecture. The design team thus elaborates, “In form, materials, and execution, the structure is a proper 19th-century limestone mansion. But the exterior profiles are more minimal and the lines are a bit cleaner. The designer behind this extravagant build is therefore Canadian architectural and interior designer Ferris Rafauli. He explains, “This isn’t stucco, paint, and fake gold. That’s not what Drake wanted, and that’s not what I do.”

What’s more is that there is so much to explore in this retreat. Every room has been planned out in true style. There’s the world-class recording studio, which Drake likens to “eccentric 1970s studios mixed with Annabel’s in London”; and the well-used kitchen that features the first stove from Rafauli’s new line for La Cornue. The home also boasts an awards room, which tells the story of Drake from his childhood to his years on the Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Furthermore, there is also the hall of sports jerseys displayed in museum-like vitrines; and the indoor swimming pool sheathed in black granite.