“Selling Sunset” star Nicole Young has been embroiled in plenty of public conflicts with fellow cast members throughout her run on the hit Netflix series, and through it all, has relied on her Woodland Hills, CA, home to serve as a private escape from the office drama.
Yet, even as the 39-year-old reality TV personality celebrates the Season 9 premiere of the show, she admits to Realtor.com® that she’s ready to start the next episode of her own life, which includes selling her beloved Los Angeles area abode, moving to Nashville, TN—and potentially riding off into the sunset after four seasons as a series regular.
“In terms of ‘Selling Sunset,’ future plans beyond Season 9 [and] what’s already been filmed, I don’t know if there are any further plans, so my next step now is Nashville and we’ll see from there,” Young admits in the latest installment of Celebrity Sanctuary. “There are no plans for any kind of filming in Nashville.”
For now, the luxury real estate agent is focused on representing her own $2.3 million listing and securing her next spot to settle down.
“Our house is currently on the market,” says Young. “We love our home, but we wanted some more interior square footage. That’s kind of where that all began. Since then, we have actually completely pivoted, and we are in the process of moving cross country to Nashville.
“We have determined a house [in Nashville] that we want,” she adds. “We’re not in escrow yet, but they’re basically just waiting for us to close here so that we can move forward with the property out there.
“When we’re moving is determined [by] when the [Woodland Hills] house sells,” explains Young. “I’m obviously the homeowner and the listing agent, so I am here until the closing date. So, TBD, but probably I would say in the next six-ish weeks, give or take.”
Young first bought and moved into the 1996-built, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home that she classifies as a mix of traditional and midcentury architectural styles shortly after marrying husband Brandon Young in 2017.
Over the years, the couple has completed several rounds of renovations to update and personalize their 2,700-square-foot residence, which sits on a 26,000-square-foot lot inside a gated community.
The whole home makeover process and its results helped the couple hone their design priorities that are now guiding the house hunt in Nashville.
“We want that [home] to also provide the same kind of feelings and warmth, comfort, our own sanctuary space, and it definitely needs to be something that has natural light and high ceilings,” she says. “There are certain elements that we are just very much in sync on, and if the room wouldn’t have it, we wouldn’t even consider it. At this point, those elements are just simple requirements for us.”
Nowhere in the Woodland Hills home are those elements more appreciated than in the primary bedroom. Young credits the space for providing solace away from the cameras, where she can recharge her energy and reinforce her confidence while in the company of her supportive husband and their three adoring dogs.
In this installment of Celebrity Sanctuary, Young recounts the style details she most loves about her Southern California home that are now non-negotiable design demands for her new Nashville dwelling, and shares how she’s really feeling about how the full-time move to Music City is playing out so far.
We purchased this house in the summer of 2017, a couple months after we got married, so it’s been a little over eight years.
The home was built in 1996, and originally I would say it was between traditional and midcentury [architectural styles]. We’ve opened it up even more, but the high ceilings throughout the house, particularly in the primary bedroom, kitchen, living room, family room—those are elements for us [that we love].
Our interior style is definitely a mix of a few different styles, which is what we wanted, our intention. [We] wanted [it] to feel curated, nice flowing from contemporary, clean lines, sleek modern finishes to some modern farmhouse and midcentury elements. You know, warmth and wood and comfortable living, comfortable furniture, lots of wood elements, concrete floors.
We wanted a bit of a mix of style, but for everything to flow seamlessly and feel like a very comfortable home with clean lines and sleek finishes.
When we first saw this house, what definitely caught our eye and what immediately made us fall in love with it was the backyard and the outdoor space. Of all the homes that we had been looking at, we had never seen a property with the backyard of that size and that nature.
Looking back at the photos of what it looked like when we first purchased it versus what it looks like now, it’s a pretty massive difference.
The backyard looked a lot more like a wooden forest. Tons of very large trees. The backyard didn’t get a lot of sun so we removed those very large—also very messy—trees to really open it up. [We] added thousands of plants, drought tolerant flowering shrub, bushes, cactus, and succulents. And, also [for] privacy, hedging in the back and on the side of the property.
We wanted the backyard to feel like you’re on vacation. You go into the backyard, it’s your portal. It’s not only just a sanctuary, but it’s completely private.
The backyard has been a place where we’ve spent so much time, entertained with so many friends and family, our dogs have loved it. It’s been a place where so many memories and love [exist] and we spend so much time. We have a lot of friends and family who are quite devastated that they will not get to come over and enjoy it anymore.
We did a lot of renovations over the course of the past eight years, but we did major renovations three years ago which included the kitchen, the primary bedroom, primary bathroom, all the windows, and doors. A big element that was actually something we decided to do at the end of the major renovations was we switched out all the windows that looked out into the backyard for huge picture windows.
[The change] that made in the home was quite dramatic. Now when you open the front door, you see right to the backyard. Every room really highlights and frames the outdoor space, the pool, the plants, so it was a really big element. Now that [buyers] are coming to see the house, it’s always the first thing they comment on.
We’ve renovated and curated and definitely have made it our own personal sanctuary. The room that would be considered my private personal sanctuary would definitely be the primary bedroom. [To me, sanctuary] means relaxation, a place that you take pride in, a place that just warms your heart and soul.
In the bedroom area, for colors, we have a subdued, darker blue throughout the room and then leading to the bathroom, it’s very bright. [There are] additional windows in there, really pretty, deeply veined marble countertops, wide oversized tiled floors.
We wanted to make that a really bright, open area as well and it kind of all just flows together beautifully. The high ceilings, it’s just incredible [how] high ceilings really make such a difference. That, plus natural light are two things that are an absolute requirement for me, especially in a primary bedroom space.
We worked with a design team, however, especially when it came to the primary bedroom, I had already very specifically picked out the exact finishes that I wanted. I showed that to them and they were like, “I think that looks great.”
I wanted some wood elements to make it warm, but [also] things like the deeply veined countertops and backsplash to give it that clean, sleek finish. The warm contemporary mixture is, I think, a really nice marriage between the two.
We have huge, huge pieces of art in the bedroom that really just bring out the space and the style of the artwork. It’s the same photographer [who] also really perfectly matches that warm contemporary [style]. Artwork packs so much punch with the effort it makes in the room. It brings the whole room together and brings the whole home together.
We put in large picture windows that look out to the backyard and the pool. We have wide plank oak flooring and doors that open up to the large covered patio. We call it our outdoor California living room.
Every day when you wake up there, the sun’s shining through the windows and you get the feeling of waking up on vacation. Being able to open the door, let the dogs out and the sunlight in, the morning is just magical out there. There’s really no better way to wake up, and that room really exudes that feeling that we were going for.
A perfect evening [in my sanctuary] would be [bringing] the dogs into the room, getting everyone ready for bed, putting on a sheet mask, watching something on TV, reading a bit of a book, and then just falling asleep.
Having the shades open a bit, I love waking up in the morning to natural sunlight, and the way it comes into the bedroom, it’s never glaring in there. It’s just this nice, warm light, so I also like having those a bit open.
Sometimes the dogs, they’ll start scratching on the door before we’re even ready for bed being like, “We’re ready for bed now. Please, please put us in here.” They absolutely love it. They do [sleep in the room]. The two littlest ones sleep in bed and the French bulldog, she sleeps in her bed in the same room, but not in the bed. It’s a little party in there every night.
We always have phones in the bedroom; however, beyond that, like, sitting in bed working, we’ve never really done it. It’s never really even been an intentional thing; it’s just something we’ve never done. I think it’s a separation that we’ve always had and it’s worked. It’s always been that place of relaxation.
If someone has to jump on a call or a Zoom or do anything work-related, you get up and go to one of our office areas. We’ve always had that separation, and I think that is a really healthy thing because it’s just not the area for work.
It’s the sanctuary. When I’m in that room, it’s like everything else just kind of melts away. It’s mine. It’s my family’s. It brings me that peace and relaxation and it’s almost like the outside world and any drama or stress isn’t allowed to go in there. It just doesn’t penetrate those walls.
It will definitely be a full time move in the sense that, Nashville will be the home of our primary residence. However, it’s definitely not a permanent goodbye to L.A. We’ll be back and forth quite a bit. We’re going to have an apartment here.
My husband, the company he still works for is in L.A., and there’s certain clients—my long-term clients—that I’ll still come back and forth for. Nashville is definitely going to be our new home, but we’ll still be popping into L.A.
I think the physical moving change [is] an exciting new element, and I’m just excited to see what that brings. I feel great about it. The changes are fun, down to even [my] hair and look. It’s fun to reinvent yourself sometimes and try something different.
I definitely wouldn’t have expected how much attention it’s gotten. I’m like, it’s just hair and a slightly different color, but it’s funny how much attention it’s received. Me in the interior is the same person, but just even more comfortable and confident in my own skin.