Everyone loves a good look inside the lives of the rich and the famous, expecting to see insanely lavish homes and lifestyles. However, it might come as a shock to find out that not every celeb is like that. Some just prefer to spend their money on other things. Most of their homes are still dreamy and gorgeous, but they just aren’t what you would expect from such high profile celebrities.

Charlotte Ronson was already known for enjoying a humble apartment based in Manhattan, sharing her decor online, and demonstrating how she had to save on space, as it was very limited. However, since upgrading with Nate Ruess and having a baby, they had the choice of something big and luxurious. Instead, they chose comfort and convenience.

Their home is still quite compact but is bigger than the fashion designer’s previous home, making way for those baby toys, clothes diapers, and so on. Their decor is still minimalistic, and has a certain chicness to it, without going overboard. They have kept their apartment smart, so anyone who walks in should feel right at home.

Kesha has always had the image of being a wild party girl, and we think she likes it that way. This means people may assume she would want the biggest home she could get her hands on, in order to host her lavish parties. However, Kesha has surprised people by owning this understated bungalow, purchasing it for only $1.6 million. A price which is only a fraction of what she could afford with her fame.

However, it seems this crazy rebel-type prefers the quiet, simpler life, choosing cozy comfort over lavish luxury. Since 2015, Kesha has upgraded to a larger home, better suited to two or more people. Plus, while she maintains the understated decor, she has opted for a slightly more luxurious spa feel for her bathrooms; and we don’t blame her.

Warren Buffett is also an incredibly wealthy man, being worth an estimated 85 billion dollars. However, he maintains a very humble spirit. He bought his home in 1958 for a meager $38,000 and has never wanted to move out or sell up. In today’s terms it would be worth around $250,000, which is still a teeny tiny portion of what he could afford.

He is one of the world’s wealthiest people, he even says he can buy anything he wants, but he knows it won’t make him any happier. He prefers good memories to riches. He’s donated billions of dollars to charity and is part of the ‘Giving Pledge,’ where he chooses to give away half his wealth for worthy causes.

Christina Ricci has opted for a quaint, but cute style to incorporate into her home. She is estimated to be worth $18 million, so generally you would expect a home to represent that wealth. However, Ricci doesn’t appear to want to flaunt her money everywhere…

So her house was worth around $1,505,000 which is only a fraction of what she can afford. While these may seem incredibly expensive to most people, when you’re playing with money like that, it’s far less than you may realize.

Even when Lea Michele was at the height of her fame by starring in musical drama Glee, she decided to go for a small and cute bungalow to spend her days. It has an outside pool at the rear and is covered in greenery.

Lea Michele clearly likes her plants. She has since moved to a larger, more expensive home, but that seems to be the trend. Although we reckon she’s kept with simplicity. Her bungalow sold for $1.825 million.

Interestingly, Jack White may never have become a musician as he started his working life as an upholstery apprentice. This has also led people to believe he has a quirky interest in architecture, so it makes sense why he would be interested in this home in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Jack White is a millionaire but decided to purchase this home for only $510,000, which is nothing in comparison to his net worth. While this doesn’t seem simplistic, it isn’t typical celeb luxury.

John Krasinski obviously enjoys the simple life, without too much to worry about. His previous bachelor pad had next to no furniture, with only the basic creature comforts. Perhaps he didn’t spend too much time here, but he soon had to upgrade following his relationship and future family with Emily Blunt.

Until then he was happy with only a couple of rooms including two bedrooms and two bathrooms. If you have the money, then it’s nice to be accommodating for family and guests.

It’s amazing what money can buy, but Michael Symon obviously enjoyed the space that a countryside house offered. He has a fairly basic interior design, without sacrificing a phenomenal kitchen, as only a professional TV chef would require.

He purchased the home for a mere $500,000, and his net worth is estimated to be a whopping $4 million. Inside his home boasts a cozy fireplace, with a TV mounted above, but everything else is simplicity with only a few things making a real statement.

After the well-publicized split with ex Kristen Stewart, Rob had to find himself a cozy home for him, himself and…he? At any rate, considering the Twilight star is worth an estimated $100 million, he bought his new Hollywood home for a fraction at $2,176,500.

This style home is reminiscent of Spanish residence, and also has a small outside pool to lounge around in whenever he feels like it. Pattinson has not yet started a family, so perhaps we’ll see him upsize in the future.

This cottage may not be understated, but it isn’t quite what you would imagine for a typical celebrity abode. Helberg purchased this home for around $950,000 which is just a fraction under the million dollar mark.

However, Helberg apparently makes a whopping $1 million per episode on The Big Bang Theory, and his entire net worth is estimated at around $45 million. He no longer lives in this home as he now has a wife and family… Although at that point in his career he could have lived anywhere.

Pete Wentz is an incredibly famous rock-star, part of the band Fall Out Boy. In the past, rockstars have been portrayed as enjoying luxury and over-indulgence. Pete Wentz decided he was going to go his own way and enjoy what he wanted.

This resulted in the simple million-dollar home. However, this soon became too small as Wentz found himself having a family so, eventually, he had to move. Wentz has still an estimated $16 million, and arguably Fall Out Boy are still one of the biggest bands in the pop punk world.

Elijah Wood has actually chosen to downsize from living a life of luxury and went all the way down to a basic Victorian-style home in Austin, Texas. The Lord of the Rings actor is worth a massive $18 million, and he purchased his home for the bargain price of $698,750.

A price some may see is way beneath the actor’s affordability bracket. Some sources have suggested his change is linked to his passion for music and record-collecting, and Austin has a diverse range for Elijah Wood to sink his teeth into.

Deschanel has been known for being cute and quirky, pulling the heartstrings with her performance on the TV show New Girl. While her home isn’t quite the hipster’s dream, this previous place of residence is definitely not the overstated grandeur she could have afforded.

Especially as it only cost her around $1.69 million. She’s now moved into a larger home with her husband, which was purchased for just over $5 million. While it’s no shabby place, she certainly hasn’t pushed the boat out.

While this isn’t her main home, Ellen Pompeo has decided to get creative with her trailer and make the most of the small space. A similar concept to McConaughey’s own airstream idea, she’s created a humble abode to satisfy her creature comforts.

She’s worth a whopping $40 million, so really she can kinda do what she likes. However, her decor suits simplicity. She must favor the modern open and airy style, with lush greenery adorning what it can.

Ellen Page clearly wasn’t too bothered about showing off her net worth when she purchased this studio home. She’s worth an estimated $18 million but decided this home, worth no more than $885,000, was more than enough for her.

Most of the items inside will be found in a basic house. Clearly Ellen didn’t need more than she had. The Juno actress did have an outside swimming pool and was surrounded by lush foliage. Although, since she got into a relationship, she has moved on and upsized.

While McConaughey has undoubtedly moved on since his trailer days, he’s reported to prefer living in smaller places, saying that they’re more relaxing than larger ones. McConaughey clearly enjoys the simple, more compact life without too many things getting in the way.

However, since becoming an award-winning actor and starting a family, he has definitely upgraded; even if he does reportedly still enjoy converting airstream trailers. After all, he is worth an incredible $95 million.

This may not be the only house that basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal owns, but it’s still a surprisingly modest purchase for someone worth $250 million. Shaq purchased the modest five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Mount Dora, Florida for $235,000, a very reasonable sum of money.

The retired athlete is not known for living humbly, and the ordinary looking house is a far cry from his other properties. Maybe he decided it was about time to tone things down a bit.

While Tori Spelling has reportedly had to move a lot and doesn’t seem to stay put very long, she has enjoyed humble homes both for herself and her family. In 2016 it was noted that she had moved eight times in six years, which is incredibly frequent. Most of the time she’s had less than a year to settle into her homes.

As an actress, socialite, and television personality, Spelling definitely has the dough to live a luxurious lifestyle. However, she has chosen a very basic and understated home, with a modern farmyard feel to it. It wasn’t long before she announced her fourth pregnancy and decided to move somewhere more substantial.

This truly looks like an ordinary family’s home, but Wolf Blitzer and his wife have actually lived here since 1990. The couple purchased the house for $710,000, which isn’t much for someone who is now worth $16 million.

The home is located in Bethesda, Maryland, which just slightly northwest of Washington, D.C., the capitol city of the United States. The house is in a very convenient location for Blitzer, but he could definitely afford a bigger place if he wanted.

It’s pretty astonishing because Dave Grohl has lived here for many years, although he has just sold the property. He is worth a mind-blowing $280 million but was more than happy enough in his simple $3 million beach home, with very few embellishments.

He has recently sold this home for $4 million – making a profit! This rockstar sensation had a mind for the basic things in life, and for this guy, it was all about a beautiful view in the morning.

Vincent lived in this tiny bungalow for over ten years, before he moved in with his wife, Alexis Bledel. This compact home wasn’t just compact; it was very cleverly designed with space-saving techniques.

For example, he had a double bed which he could pull down, but otherwise, it remained suspended on the ceiling. When he started his family, he soon moved somewhere that at least had a bedroom for his child, although he could have been living a life of luxury whenever he wanted.

At the height of his fame, Chris Daughtry lived in this gorgeous, but humble home with his wife and four children. He is a successful American Idol contestant and has made his mark on the music industry.

He is currently estimated to be worth a respectable $10 million, which certainly means he can afford more than this $699,000 home. He has moved since then, but it’s usually only a matter of time before people move on to a change of scenery.

Adrian Peterson is another wealthy man who decided his home full of memories was worth more than an expensive house, representative of his wealth. Peterson is such a famous and successful NFL player that he is estimated to be worth around $30 million.

However, he preferred to raise his children in his $665,000 home along with his wife. They relocated to make it easier for his work; otherwise, they would likely still be living there.

When it comes to the Hilton family, Paris seems to perpetually be in the spotlight for her luxurious lifestyle. Her sister Nicky, on the other hand, lives a little bit less extravagantly.

In 2007, she purchased a three bedroom home in Los Angeles, where she lived until she tied the knot with husband James Rothschild in 2015. The modest home cost $2.8 million, which is still out of our price range, but for a young woman worth of $20 million, it’s not much at all.

Reality star, fashion designer, and television personality Lauren Conrad has been a household name since the series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County started documenting her life in 2004.

You might guess that she would choose a lavish house to complement her lifestyle, but in 2013, she moved into a three-bedroom condo in Beverly Hills. The apartment is not inexpensive thanks to the location, but it’s nowhere near the sprawling homes that other stars of her caliber have purchased.

Actor Don Cheadle and his wife Bridgid Coulter are known for buying small houses, remodeling them to be eco-friendly, and selling them for a profit. He purchased his latest house, a 1950s bungalow in Venice, California, for $894,000, and expanded and improved it.

The home is a very unique looking three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom house, with a large roof terrace that offers stunning views of the surrounding area. It may not be very large, but it certainly is immaculately designed and decorated.

This Hamptons house isn’t small, but it’s no match for the sprawling mansions that celebrities usually go for. Brooke Shields bought the cottage back in 2013, and completely renovated it.

Of course, due to the location, the modest house wasn’t cheap, but it sure does look like a regular family house. Shields and husband Chris Henchy have two daughters, and bought the home with the intention of making it a good space for their girls to grow up.

You’d think a famous musician with the wealth of Paul McCartney would live in a more extravagant home than this. The former member of The Beatles is worth $1.2 billion, but he lives in a relatively modest home in London.

In fact, it’s so unremarkable it looks pretty much the same as all the other houses on the street. McCartney has gained a reputation for being pretty frugal when it comes to his money, and even friends of his have labeled him “cheap.”

Although their net worth is estimated to be in the region of $12 million, Bill and Giuliana Rancic have taken a different approach to owning a home than most celebs. They bought themselves a brownstone in Chicago when others would have opted for a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Their Windy City home was originally built in 1866, and it set them back $2.1 million. Although the house was a relatively expensive purchase, it is much more modest in size than many of their famous peers live in.

Being worth $12 million isn’t enough to convince this movie director to live lavishly. Tom Shadyac has directed movies such as Bruce Almighty, Patch Adams, and Ace Ventura but he chooses to live in a trailer by Malibu Beach.

The director suffered an accident in 2007, which changed his perspective on life, and he gave away three-quarters of his fortune. He says the more he gives away the wealthier he feels, and Shadyac has even set up a homeless shelter in Virginia.

Tim Cook is the CEO of one of the world’s largest companies in Apple. He is worth over $625 million but lives in a pretty modest house in Palo Alto, California. Cook lives in a four-bedroom condo that has a tiny yard, and the Apple CEO likes to live modestly for a good reason.

He believes that living modestly reminds him of where he came from, and as far as he’s concerned, money is not a motivator for him.

The mom of Honey Boo Boo, and reality TV star, splashed out on a brand new home back in 2015. Although she reportedly has a net worth of over $1 million, thanks to her time on various shows, that doesn’t mean she’s going to spend a fortune on her home.

In fact, her four-bedroom suburban home in Georgia is thought to have cost just $149,000. It’s quite a nice house though, so she got herself a bargain there!

Retired NFL star Deion Sanders might well be a super-rich man, but that doesn’t mean everything and anything he owns has to be the biggest and the best. In fact, Deion and his wife Tracey have just bought themselves a vacation home that sits on 600 square-feet of ground – not too big, but not too small.

Although most of us can’t even afford to buy the luxury of a second home, Deion’s downsized vacation home shows it’s not just size that matters. Sometimes, modest and low-key is the best option.

As one of the biggest pop stars in the last decade, Disney prodigy Demi Lovato has always been a rather modest woman when it comes to her money and power. She may be worth over $15 million, but when she’s in LA, Demi likes to reside in her small but lavish West Coast condo.

A home that she bought for herself and her family years ago. Although she now has numerous houses to her name, this home is the definition of cozy.

Songwriters are known to get most inspired when they lock themselves away from the world inside their luxurious houses, and Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd is certainly one of the stars who likes to enjoy the home life when he can.

He spends most of his time in his $3.5 million bungalow located in Santa Monica, and although this price tag does sound pretty costly, it’s actually a very cheap price compared to the average property in the area.

As one of the most recognizable faces in journalism, you would automatically assume that Meredith Vieira has a house you can only dream of having. However, although that might still be true, for someone who’s said to be worth over $10 million, her home isn’t as grand as you’d expect.

It’s actually a very modest home located in the heart of LA, said to be worth $1.1 million with views of the Hollywood sign. Yes please, we’ll take it. When can we move in?

Funny girl Lena Dunham has been a name on everyone’s lips in the last few years, so it’s no surprise to know she’s beginning to take higher steps up the property ladder. When HBO’s hit show ‘Girls’ first started, Lena was living in her one-bedroom apartment…

Which is no different to the average flat either you or I would have – modest but lovely, which cost just $500,000. However, now it’s said to be worth $2.9 million. That’s a great investment!

Business entrepreneur Chuck Feeney is another billionaire CEO who likes to pretend they’re not worth as much as they are – Chuck is said to be worth a staggering $1.5 billion. However, despite having the money sitting in his bank account, he doesn’t like to spend huge amounts like we know we would.

In fact, for years, Chuck hasn’t even lived in a home that he’s bought, he lives in a San Francisco home that he rents instead.

CEO of Zappos Tony Hsieh is allegedly worth around $850 million – wouldn’t that be lovely? However, Tony doesn’t like to reside in a big and lonely mansion in the LA hills. Instead, he wants to live a more modest life in a custom-made Airstream trailer that is only around 240 square-feet of living space.

Speaking in his personal podcast, Tony said, “I don’t care how big it is, I love it because it brings me so many random things, especially around the campfire at night.

Although we’d all love to call a huge 13-bedroom mansion our home, sometimes smaller is much better than big. There’s definitely such a thing as too big, especially when you live on your own. Perhaps that’s why pop star Selena Gomez has for so long lived in her quaint Californian bungalow.

Although you can’t deny how gorgeous it is, it’s certainly not the largest celebrity home we’ve seen. But still, why do you need a humongous stately home when it’s just you?

Speaking of stately homes, if there’s anyone on this list who’s looked around their fair share of grand mansions, then it’s probably none other than Kate Middleton. Although she’s now the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate once lived in an average apartment that she shared with her sister, Pippa.

As a London home for the two sisters, the apartment was large enough to fit the two of them comfortably, but small enough for them to afford it – a far cry from the Kensington home she resides in now.

Living legend Cher is one of the biggest musical artists of all time, so it’s no surprise to hear she has an array of homes all over the world. However, on the other hand, it might be a surprise to know she once owned a house that she bought for no more than $900,000.

It was a small Tudor-style cottage located in Beverly Hills, and although Cher once enjoyed getting away from the hustle and bustle of mega-stardom, she sold the home not too long ago. Imagine living in Cher’s former home!

As a recently-appointed duchess, Meghan Markle now enjoys the high life as not just a former Hollywood actress, but as the wife of a royal heir to the throne, Prince Harry. The couple now enjoys a private life in the newly renovated Frogmore Cottage, Windsor.

However, before she met her prince, Meghan enjoyed living in a far more modest home that was situated in Toronto, Canada. She’s now sold the cottage for $1.3 million.

Actress and TV personality Rosie O’Donnell has had an exceptionally long and successful career in showbiz, and this also means she’s got a variety of spectacular homes to her names. Her most modest home is located along the Hudson River.

And although it’s undoubtedly stunning, the size of the home is average, and the feel of the house itself is cozy and homely rather than spacious and grand. That being said, she’s certainly got nothing to complain about, that’s for sure!

The term ‘style over substance’ makes sense with the homes we buy – most of the time, houses make much better homes when importance is put on how they look and make you feel, rather than how big they are and how many rooms they have.

Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon Levitt is one person who agrees style is more important than substance, because unlike many of his A-list peers, he owns a beautifully understated Franklin Hills home that might not be humongous, but inside it’s a palace.

We all know Olivia Newton-John from 1978’s hit musical ‘Grease’, so it’s no surprise to hear that she has raked in millions of dollars over the years. The home she’s spent the money on is located in Dalwood, NSW, and although it’s worth over $5.5 million, the house itself is somewhat modest.

It’s a rustic farmhouse-style house with just three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Not too shabby at all, but considering Olivia is said to be worth $40 million, it’s not exactly the top end of her price range.

Out of all the celebrity homes we’ve seen over the years, actress Juliette Lewis’s house certainly isn’t the biggest. In fact, it’s a mere 3-bedroom home that Juliette likes to reside in to make sure she doesn’t feel super lonely.

Don’t get us wrong, the stylish interior is absolutely breathtaking, but from the outside, it’s just your average Hollywood Hills condo you’d find anywhere around the town. Then again, we wouldn’t say no to living there.

Actress Diane Keaton was once one of the most well-known actresses in Hollywood, which comes as a surprise seeing as the home she owns now is far from Tinseltown magic. In fact, she lives in the heart of the Arizona desert – a $1.5 million Tucson home, complete with a charming 1800s architecture and a stunning outside pool area to match.

However, the house isn’t exactly massive, because it sits on just 1,200 square-feet of land. Diane certainly can’t complain, but she could also do a lot bigger and better if she wanted to.

Emma Stone is fast becoming one of the most loved and respected actresses these days, so to reward herself, she once bought herself a dream house that most of us could only imagine living in. It was a $3.3 million home in Beverly Hills…

Which while it is a lot of money, the house itself is pretty modest. It covers 3,000 square-feet with four bedrooms, a homely kitchen, and a moderately sized pool in the backyard.

Everyone knows Madonna’s name – whether you’re a fan or not – hence why she’s got enough money to have multiple homes on her portfolio. However, her former London flat might not be what you’d expect it to be.

Sure, any London property is going to be worth a lot of money, but Madonna’s flat is rather modest. It’s a simple 4-bedroom flat that any one of us would be lucky to have, but for Madonna, she could likely afford something far grander.

Model Angie Harmon once lived in a small shack-type home located in the hills of LA. The house itself is lovely, but also rather small, which tells us that perhaps Angie prefers to live a more modest life away from the electric gates and grand driveways that you often see with celebrity homes.

In 2013, she sold the house for $3 million, which is a pretty good deal considering it’s only on 2,300 square-feet of land.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are a highly prolific Hollywood couple, so it would stand to reason for them to have an expensive and equally prolific home, right? However, these guys decided to tone it down and raise their children in a more down-to-earth setting.

These guys have an estimated joint net worth of around $90 million, with the majority income from Ryan Reynolds according to sources. Their home is adorable, but doesn’t stand out and scream ‘celebrities live here.’

It probably comes as no surprise that Jennifer Lawrence is modest even with her home, as she appears to be with everything else. This was her home for a long time before she moved out in 2014 to different accommodation. However, it is reported only to be worth around $879,000, which is only a fraction of what she could afford.

She chose to live there with minimalistic furnishings and features. The bedroom had a basic layout, including the bed and a couple of units, nothing hugely outlandish with most things understated. Of course, she’s moved on now, but no-one can be expected to stay somewhere forever, and many stars upgrade so they can start a family home. We’re not sure J-Law is quite there yet, but it’s not off the table!