Lifestyle Home Celebrity Home Tours Sara Blakely: Inside the Home of Billionaire Spanx Founder A mini hair salon! A fantasy playroom! The mogul opens up her astounding Atlanta estate By Michelle Tauber Michelle Tauber Michelle Tauber is an Executive Editorial Director at PEOPLE, overseeing Lifestyle (Parents, Health, Home, Travel, Food, Pets), Style & Beauty, Royals, Weddings and Politics. She was previously the founding Senior Editor of Royals at PEOPLE and PEOPLE's first and only Head Writer. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 2, 2012 03:30PM EDT Photo: Christopher Sturman Sara Blakely likes to think big. The 41-year-old Spanx founder, who transformed $5,000 of her own money into a $1 billion shape-wear empire, didn’t hold back when it came to designing her new solar-powered Atlanta home. “It started as a minor renovation, and I basically built a house inside of a house,” says Blakely, who spent two years infusing the 10,000-sq.-ft. home with her “eclectic” style that blends bold patterns (check out that zebra print rug!) and strokes of whimsy. A giant gumball machine greets visitors in the foyer, and an indoor-outdoor vibe gives the home a “tree fort” feel, says Blakely, whom in March Forbes named the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Son Lazer, 3, enjoys a dream playroom, and fitness-focused husband Jesse Itzler, 43, gets spa-quality steam and sauna rooms. “He likes to do steam and sauna after a workout to get rid of the toxins,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Honey, what are you sweating out? Coconut water?’ I need to be in there to sweat out Tex-Mex food!” For exclusive photos of Sara Blakely’s Atlanta home – and how she juggles motherhood, marriage and moguldom – pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday