Julia Roberts planned a recycled-materials Malibu home in 2007; in 2025, it remained her family's primary residence

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Julia Roberts described a Malibu home using reclaimed wood and solar power, and even in 2025, it remained her family's main residence.

In a 2007 interview for Vanity Fair, Julia Roberts spoke about a house that she and her husband, Danny Moder, were having built in Malibu using recycled materials and solar energy. By February 2025, Architectural Digest reported that they still consider Malibu their main residence.

As Roberts revealed in her interview with Vanity Fair, the house was supposed to be finished several months after the interview was conducted. Roberts noted that it would be constructed using wood from the house that existed there before, and some additional wood from an airplane hangar in Canada. She said that this construction would be "totally green" because of the use of recycled wood and solar energy.

The interview occurred while Roberts and Moder were still living in Venice, California. They had been living there since 2002, but Roberts said that they would soon relocate to Malibu and had already registered their children in a preschool there.

For Roberts, the house became a product of their coming together from diverse backgrounds and different perceptions about what constitutes a family. Moder is originally from Southern California, whereas Roberts came from Smyrna, Georgia, and relocated to New York at the age of 17. According to Roberts, Los Angeles has always been intimidating for her, although her first experience in Malibu was welcoming. She referred to Malibu as a small town and stated that the house symbolized their meeting ground.

Her attention to the materials used to build the house was tied to the bigger issue of household waste. Roberts said that she tried to create less trash and that she planned to grow food and compost household waste to use in the garden. Being a mother and living in a household of five, she had become more aware of household waste. She also mentioned using Seventh Generation diapers and gDiapers for her children.

The February 2025 profile of Roberts' real estate portfolio in Architectural Digest identified Malibu as the main residence of the actress…

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