Venus Williams, Tennis Champ and Interior Designer, Decorated Sister Serena’s Florida House

When Serena Williams purchased her waterfront property just outside of Miami, Florida, it was without question that she would hire her own sister and fellow tennis star, Venus Williams, to decorate her new space. Venus, who owns her own design firm V Starr, helped Serena transform her Spanish Mediterranean-style home into a modern, minimalist marvel that includes an in-house art gallery.

“I was moving away from Venus for the first time in my life, so I wanted it to be really meaningful,” Serena told Architectural Digest during her March 2021 cover interview. “I’m really good at playing tennis; I’m not as good at interiors. But I was able to learn through just watching Venus.”

The renovation took three years to complete, and during that time Serena married husband Alexis Ohanian and gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia, Jr. The family finally moved into the home in July 2020 and has been using all the space the home has to offer — though most likely in different ways than the original builders intended.

“I am not a fan of just having spaces to have them,” Venus told AD. “Maybe some people use their formal living rooms, but we don’t. So we created a space that she can actually use and enjoy and live with the art, and invite other people to absorb it and have that emotional connection as soon as you walk in. It sets the tone for the rest of the home.”

“When you walk in, it’s like walking into an art gallery,” Serena said of her main foyer, which used to be a formal living room. “That’s my favorite part of the house. It’s so unique. I’ve never seen anything like it.” (Serena is probably one of very few who has an Elmo couch in her entryway.)

Serena and Venus’s collaboration off the tennis court will be on full display in the March issue of Architectural Digest.