RuPaul has always been hard to miss: Six-foot-seven without heels, he shot out of the New York City drag scene of the 1990s with a style that was maximalist and pure glamour. One would expect Ru—who uses his last name Charles for acting endeavors such as his new supporting role on the Netflix sitcom Girlboss—to have a similar design approach when it comes to his house in Los Angeles and his New York City condo. But fans of the RuPaul’s Drag Race host may be surprised by some of the music-video star’s more neutral takes on design. For the most part, however, drag informs his design aesthetic, and AD spoke with RuPaul about everything from the virtues of reproduced art to why, for him, when it comes to a go-to basic for decor, orange has always been the new black.

RuPaul gets in the mood to party, seemingly because of his favorite color: orange. Amanda Edwards

AD: You first made a name for yourself in the New York City drag scene. Before you established yourself, did you have a classic old-time East Village squatter pad like so many people in the entertainment industry in the 1980s and 1990s?

RuPaul: [Laughs] I've spent a few nights in squatter pads. The first year I lived there in 1984, I was couch-surfing and sleeping on the piers, sleeping in Central Park, sleeping all over the place. Then I lived on 5th Street between Avenue C and Avenue D. I lived lots of different places.

AD: When you were just starting out, how did you decorate on a shoestring budget?

RuPaul: My number-one style rule was lighting. I've always loved warm lighting. I gravitate toward oranges and peaches and warmth, and I still love those colors to this day. Even if it's some hippie blanket or some gauzy sheath over the window, or a bohemian scarf over a lamp. That's just how I feel comfortable.

AD: How would you describe your home-design philosophy?

RuPaul: My house here in Los Angeles is very different from the condo in New York, which I've had for 22 years. The New York place is very warm. It's as many shades of beige [as] exist. I like to keep it very calm, because outside is so mishegas, and I want to come home to something very peaceful. I want to come home to a sanctuary, where it's light. It's not fluffy and it doesn't demand a lot.