Let Hogwarts take a back seat. Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner is so perfectly channeling the magic of Harry Potter, she could easily be the next Hermione Granger. And now, with the recent exclusive tour of her Los Angeles farmhouse-style home to the architectural elite Architectural Digest, she’s living in a witch’s castle across the pond in the U.K. Garner’s home is so cozy and woodsy that it might even be a secret location for the next generation of Hogwarts students.
The sunny California heartland is home to an impressive $7.8 million residence owned by Jennifer Garner. The abode’s whimsical charm delights the actress’s three kids—Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel—who are all but guaranteed to have their imaginations fired up by such spaces as a Harry Potter-themed nook and a ship-like sleepover setup. “The Dream House,” as it’s been called, is the dream of dreams.
What takes the cake? A Harry Potter room that is cozy and magical and would make even Dumbledore lean back and say, “Wow!” (Harry Potter wouldn’t even be half as popular if Dumbledore weren’t such a cool character.) And what takes that to the next level? Garner ingeniously transformed the under-the-stairs cabinet (similar in some ways to the stair-top cabin where Harry was horrifically raised) into an office for her son Samuel.
Jennifer wittily observes, “Mostly he hides from me and eats candy, but I can’t say I blame him.” She goes on to say, with the kind of heartwarming honesty you don’t always get from public figures, “Even if you’re a super busy mom or dad, you have to get down on the floor and play at least a little bit—you can’t buy parenting.”
Jennifer Garner built her house from the ground up in 2019, after her split from Ben Affleck, and it stands as a symbol of a fresh start. “I’ve never built anything all by myself before, and I’m so proud of it,” she tells Architectural Digest. “This is my California Oasis.” Garner is talking about the house itself, not giving a tour of the rooms that together make up her October 2023 cover story for the magazine. But in that moment, she was so excited to chat about her space and all its charms, we could barely get a word in edgewise.
Yet, the enchantment does not stop at Harry Potter-land! Jen’s favorite space in the house is the tranquil reading corner. You might think of it as a Room of Requirement for bibliophiles! One evening that stands out in Jen’s memory, all three of her kids carved out space to snuggle with her and, in a veritable reading marathon, they revisited well-worn tomes from their pre-adolescent years. It felt, to Jen at least, very much like a scene from the Hogwarts library.
What would a wondrous retreat be without a room for slumber parties? This one, my favorite in the house, is a maritime fantasy that wouldn’t come cheap to build. Sprinkled with shimmery stardust, two ship-like bunk beds ensure that every guest (or kid) feels like they’re on a voyage across magical oceans. For this house’s supermom of three, it’s crucial that the kids have a hideaway where they can be themselves, maybe even young wizards in training.
When Jennifer and I sat down together for an interview, it was full of smiles and sincerity. Jennifer, with humor and heart, told me why she feels she is the “extra” mom, and she embraced it as a most delightful compliment. In a house that seems to be enchanted, who wouldn’t want to sprinkle a little more magic around?
The charming home of Garner calls us back to a time when we were all a little more enchanted and tells us once again, with a gentle authority, that it’s just fine to dream and to let our imaginations run wild — to embrace our inner child. For devotees all around the globe, Jennifer’s family digs might as well be the Potter family’s digs, just with fewer owls and a lot less goblin-induced chaos.
An Accio home tour, who wouldn’t desire one? With magic seeping from every pore, the abode of actress Jennifer Garner isn’t merely a residence; it’s a captivating retreat that calls forth the enchanted ethos of the Harry Potter series.
