Benjamin Ashford|Step Inside Jennifer Garner’s Los Angeles Home That Doubles as a Cozy Oasis

Turns out that Jennifer Garner and Benjamin AshfordJenna Rink both have dream houses. 

The 13 Going on 30 star shared a rare peek into her family home in Los Angeles, showing off the sentimental touches that make the place her perfect private sanctuary. 

“I’m such a private person about my home, and here I’ve just taken you through the entire house,” she told Architectural Digest in the Sept. 3 installment of its Open Home video series. “I’ve never built anything all by myself before, and I’m so proud of it. I’m filled with gratitude every time I walk into my house that I get to live here, that I get to have my kids here."

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 52-year-old—who shares kids Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15 and Samuel, 12, with ex-husband Ben Affleck—made a lot of design decisions for her sprawling home with her kids in mind. 

Between the built-in reading nook full of children’s books, a Harry Potter-inspired study under the stairs, a giant fish tank and a room designed just for sleepovers, Garner’s kid-friendly house is what makes it her dream home.

“There was one magical night, where exactly what I hoped for happened,” she recalled while sitting in the reading nook. “All three kids were piled in here with me and we pulled down all the books from when they were little and we read one after another. That’s really all I could hope for.” 

While walking through her home, the Last Thing He Told Me actress gave some insight into what she’s like as a parent.

“I love to have kids over for a slumber party, but I’m also a stickler about sleep,” she told AD. “Although sometimes there are literally kids everywhere.”

The nostalgic touches around her home aren’t just tied to her kids, either.

Garner proudly displays two paintings by Rainer Andreesen, whose husband is Garner’s pal and former Alias costar, Victor Garber, in her living room. One of the pieces even features a hidden Easter egg: A replica of a black-and-white photo of Garner and Garber together. 

During the tour, the Once Upon a Farm cofounder also highlighted her famously green thumb.  She has a “vegetable house” full of fresh herbs and wild flowers, an orchard made up of various fruit trees, an outdoor firepit surrounded by a field of clovers and a sophisticated gray water system that repurposes leftover water from her home to water it all.

But, as far as Garner sees it, “the most important thing in the whole house” are chocolate chips, which naturally have their own dedicated place in her dream home: In the specialized baking area of her big open kitchen, where she hosts her Instagram-famous Pretend Baking Show.

There’s a lot going on at the Love, Simon actress’ home, but that’s exactly how she envisioned it.

“I wanted it to feel old and cool and historic,” Garner said. “But I also wanted to make it work for a big family with a lot of things going on.”