New York City

Subterms

    More stories

    • 238 Shares199 Views

      in Luxury

      Home of the Week: Inside the $20 Million NYC Townhouse of Movie Power Couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin

      by

      Elvis was in the building. Well, a least on the top floor. It was here, in his fifth floor “creative studio”, that Oscar-winning writer and director Baz Luhrmann is said to have penned the script for his upcoming film Elvis, starring Tom Hanks.

      It’s also Elvis who’s partly to blame for Luhrmann and his wife, four-time Oscar-winning set and costume designer Catherine Martin’s decision to put their beloved New York City townhouse on the market, with a $19.995 million asking price. Seems Covid travel restrictions in and out of the couple’s native Australia, where Elvis was filmed, have kept them away from NYC for the past couple of years, leaving the landmark property empty. Add to that, the couple’s two children are said to have reached college age, prompting the difficult decision to sell.

      “Homes like this come along once in a lifetime,” Steve Gold, listing agent with the Corcoran Group tells Robb Report. “It is a true unicorn in terms of New York townhouses. Its proportions and grandeur are just exceptional.”

      The exterior 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      Luhrmann, who wrote and directed films like Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby and Romeo + Juliet, purchased this elegant Anglo-Italian brownstone back in 2017, paying a reported $13.5 million.
      Built by a Brooklyn-based merchant in 1850, the home is unique in that its frontage spans 28 feet, making for exceptionally spacious rooms. Corcoran’s Gold says it’s a rarity among New York townhouses. The exterior design only adds to the grandeur, with its full-width second-floor Juliet balcony featuring a delicate, cast-iron railing, lovely arched windows and an imposing front entrance with arched stonework.

      The living area 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      Add to that the home’s tony location on East 17th Street overlooking Stuyvesant Square Park in Manhattan’s coveted Gramercy neighborhood, within strolling distance of bustling Union Square. “Stuyvesant Square is one of New York’s oldest parks, and the home faces it almost centerline. It’s also on the north side of the street so has a southern exposure. Almost all of the rooms are flooded with light,” says Gold.
      After Luhrmann and Martin bought the home, the couple immediately jumped into a massive, top-to-bottom renovation, converting the former three-family home into a single residence. The complete makeover also reflected the couple’s passion for theatrical design. As featured in the pages of Elle Decor and Vogue Australia magazines, the multitude of rooms are decorated in rich colors and wild-patterned wall coverings, most designed by Martin.

      The grand staircase (there’s also an elevator) 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      Spread across those five levels are six bedrooms, five baths and a couple of powder rooms. The highlight here is the second floor’s stark-white parlor, with its soaring 16-foot-high ceilings, floating curved staircase and floor-to-ceiling doors leading out onto the balcony. Through a high-arched door is the adjoining music room where, at least on the listing photos, the couple’s Oscars are lined-up on a shelf.
      The decoration for the striking green and ruby red family-room-cum-dining room is said to have been inspired by the green tiles surrounding the original fireplace. That boldly patterned emerald wallpaper is also one of Martin’s own designs. The set designer’s theatrical decorating skills are also on show in the home’s entry hallway, with its blood-red carpeting, black paintwork and wild geometric wall covering.

      The kitchen 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      On this level there’s also the oversized Clive Christian-designed kitchen with its professional-grade Viking and Sub-Zero appliances, white marble countertops and huge walk-in pantry.
      Take the stairs, or elevator (itself a work of art), down to the cellar level to find a media room with an overstuffed red velvet sofa, plus a studio that could be converted to another bedroom. From there there’s access to the home’s coveted, roughly 1,500-square-foot garden.

      The master bedroom 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      Way up on the fifth floor is Luhrmann’s space, which currently features a living room, bar, gym, bedroom and bathroom. For a number of years, the floor was home to renowned jazz tenor saxophonist Sandy Johnson and his wife.
      “This entire top floor would make a perfect self-contained primary suite, replacing the current one on the second floor. The owners did have plans to add stairs up to the roof and create a private roof deck. The views from up would be incredible,” adds Gold.
      Check out more photos of the townhouse below:

      Another view of the parlor 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      Another living area 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      A bathroom 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group

      The piano room 

      Nina Poon/MW Studio for The Corcoran Group More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Luxury

      Jimmy Fallon’s Tony Manhattan Triplex Hits the Market for $15 Million

      by

      Late-night chat show host Jimmy Fallon and film producer Nancy Juvoven, Drew Barrymore’s partner at Flower Films, spent a decade buying and combining four apartments on the top three floors of an elegant and prestigious 19th-century cooperative apartment house in New York City’s tony Gramercy Park neighborhood.
      The first of the four units was purchased in 2004, around the time the low-key but high-powered pair coupled up. Another was acquired in 2010, and two more were snapped up in two separate 2014 transactions. All together the Juvoven-Fallons coughed up $4.925 million for the four units that together, according to listings held by Jeremy V. Stein and Debbie Korb at Sotheby’s Int’l Realty—Downtown Manhattan Brokerage, sprawl across approximately 4,950-square-feet with six bedrooms and five bathrooms.

      Not counting carry costs and real estate fees, not to mention the unquestionably considerable expense of joining the four units into one family-sized triplex penthouse, the couple is set to more than triple their money on the fabulously quirky spread that’s popped up for sale at $15 million.
      The 4,950-square-feet abode is located in the Gramercy Park neighborhood.  Yale Wagner/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Comprehensively updated with modern-day creature comforts, the vast residence respects its architectural pedigree with carefully restored original window frames, as well as original wood floors that are enhanced by what marketing materials describe as “a curated collection of treasured vintage and antique finds from around the world.”
      A frothy confection of red brick and intricately ornamented red terra-cotta designed by little-celebrated architect George W. DaCunha, and built in 1883, the Queen Anne-style apartment house lords over the southeast corner of private Gramercy Park. Only those fortunate to live in the few dozen townhouses and apartment buildings that ring the serene and manicured green space are provided one of the roughly 400 keys that open the annually changed locks that secure the gates of the two-acre idyll. The Juvoven-Fallons’ penthouse transfers with a key to the park, and, in a city that relishes rarity and exclusivity, a key to Gramercy Park, one of just two private parks in New York City, is certainly one of its most coveted privileges.
      Corinthian columns flank the main entrance of the idiosyncratically turreted full-service building that, besides Fallon and Juvoven, has been home to a fair number of Hollywood heavy hitters including James Cagney and Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in the original Wizard of Oz.

      The sunny, west-facing eat-in kitchen incorporates top-end culinary equipment.  Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Even by New York standards, the sprawling apartment has an unconventional layout, and decorative eclecticism reigns in the not-so-formal formal living room. A gigantic Tiffany-blue tufted sectional sofa sits on a geometric green rug, and painstakingly applied skewed wood cladding is fearlessly paired with vintage floral wallpaper from the 1940s. A discreet in-ceiling projector means the cozy room does double duty a professional screening room.
      Multicolor satellite-style light fixtures and six vermillion stools at the island snack bar punch up the huge and sunny, west-facing eat-in kitchen that incorporates top-end culinary equipment, bespoke cabinetry with designer hardware and a gas fireplace with an original mantelpiece and vintage tiles.
      A cushioned window seat offers a bird’s eye view over the park and surrounding skyline. The casual family space also includes a huge pantry stocked with canned beans, a remarkable amount of Spagehettios and a 7-11’s worth of snacks and sodas. The pantry once served as a sound studio and is still fully soundproofed.
      Beneath the staircase lies a children’s playroom.  Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      A bookcase nipped under the handsomely crafted and mural-showcasing staircase swings opens to reveal a hidden, whimsically wallpapered children’s playroom complete with an arched fireplace. A secret hatch opens to the kitchen’s pantry, and a handy-dandy intercom makes a link to a second playroom on the triplex’s top floor.
      The middle level has the least amount of square footage of the apartment’s three floors but nonetheless comfortably packs in a guest bedroom and bathroom, a small gym and a 500-plus-square-foot lodge-like saloon and family room. The walls are emblazoned with plaid wallpaper and a deer antler chandelier hangs from the exposed wood coffered ceiling. A huge semi-circular wet bar showcases a series of custom-made backlit stained glass panels set in to an antique bar cabinet, and a small sign hung on the massive stone fireplace reads “WEEKEND UPDATE,” a not-so-subtle nod to Fallon’s long-ago days as co-anchor of the iconic parody news segment on Saturday Night Live.

      There are two guest bedrooms and a huge combination laundry room/bath tucked away down a long, meandering corridor at the back of the main floor. The larger of the bedrooms has a fireplace and east-facing windows that flood the room with morning light, while the smaller is less-than-ideally windowless yet still (and thankfully) filled with light that streams through a giant skylight.
      The bar comes complete with a “Weekend Update” sign.  Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Two more guest or family bedrooms, a shared hall bath, a second playroom and a second laundry room share the top floor with the deluxe primary suite. Occupying a spacious wing of its own with two walk-in closets and a fireplace, the suite comprises a skylight topped bedroom with custom-built massage bed and a sitting room designed to look like the inside of a tree, giving new meaning to the idea of an urban tree house. The commodious main bathroom includes a steam shower plus a separate room with a jetted tub for soaking in solitude.
      The floor plan reveals the triplex’s unusual layout, with its zigzagging hallways, far-flung bedrooms and unconventionally shaped rooms.
      Like many New Yorkers with the means to do so, Fallon and Juvoven also have a home in the Hamptons. Bought nearly ten years ago for $5.5 million, and picturesquely set on 2.2 beautifully landscaped acres in sleepy (yet powefully swank) Amagansett, the nearly 8,300-square-foot farmhouse stands three stories tall with weathered cedar shingles accented with gingerbread fretwork around the two-story porch. The grounds additionally include a detached garage, a huge barn, a swimming pool and a couple of guest cottages. The family has spent much of the last year quarantined on the expansive estate that is just as whimsically outfitted as their city digs.
      Check out more photos below:
      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty

      Evan Joseph/Sotheby’s International Realty More

    • 213 Shares99 Views

      in Luxury

      Home of the Week: Fashion Designer Lisa Perry’s $45 Million Manhattan Penthouse Is Like a Pop-Art Museum

      by

      No, before you even ask, all that eye-poppin’ pop art, the Skittles-colored furniture and that huge, flashy-green Jeff Koons diamond sculpture on the deck are not included in the sale of this spectacular East-side Manhattan penthouse.
      Of course, you could always ask. Everything has a price. And the going rate for this 6,600-square-foot, 12-room mansion-in-the sky is $45 million.

      Fashion designer and consummate house-flipper Lisa Perry and her billionaire hedge-fund hubby Richard C. Perry have just listed their penthouse atop of the pre-war pile that is 1 Sutton Place South.

      The power couple reportedly bought the landmark apartment, which takes up the entire top floor and roof of the 14-story building, back in 2000 for $10.9 million.
      Apparently they liked the building so much that in 2014 they snapped up a three-bed unit two floors down for $7.6 million, which they’re reportedly hanging on to.
      Nearly every room in the home is part art gallery.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      What sets the Perry penthouse apart—in addition to its art collection—is the 6,000-plus square feet of wrap-around outdoor terraces with incredible views of the cantilevered Queensboro Bridge and East River. That, and its acres of floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the home with light.
      Built in 1927, the limestone-clad Sutton Place building was designed by famed NYC architect Rosario Candela and is considered one of Manhattan’s most exclusive addresses, beloved by financial titans, celebs and media barons.
      The library.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      At one time, the Perrys’ apartment was owned by the philanthropist Janet Annenberg Hooker, sister of magazine magnate and former ambassador to the UK,  Walter Annenberg.
      One other interesting nugget is that the penthouse was originally built as a duplex with, at one time, the lower apartment belonging to fashion designer Bill Blass.
      The Perrys carried out an exhaustive renovation of the penthouse, reconfiguring it into two separate wings; one for day-to-day living, the other for entertaining.
      One of two private elevators opens on to a gallery-like foyer that leads into the vast, 34-by-22-foot living room. It features curved white walls and doors that opening to a huge, river-view terrace.
      One of the home’s six bedrooms.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The second wing is essentially one sprawling master suite with a main bedroom featuring expansive windows with right-there views of the Queensboro Bridge. Connected to it are vast dual dressing rooms and bathrooms, with a skylight-lit corridor leading to a cozy den and adjoining study.

      Linking the two wings is a stark white, industrial-grade kitchen with stainless-steel surfaces for the twin islands, stainless steel-faced cabinets and a Viking gas range nearly as big as an SUV.
      The industrial-grade kitchen.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      In total there are four bedrooms—a small staff suite could easily become a fifth bedroom—along with six full bathrooms and one half-bath.
      Arguably the exterior highlight of the penthouse is its massive 50-by-32-foot west-facing terrace that the Perrys used regularly for soirees. This white-surfaced space is home to that flashy Jeff Koons green diamond sculpture. In 2005, Richard Perry reportedly paid $2.3 million for the five-foot-tall piece, and had to hire a crane to lift it on to the roof.
      The breakfast nook.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      It was the source of some brouhaha when residents in nearby buildings complained that on sunny days, the shiny sculpture hit them with “laser beam” rays. Adjusting the diamond’s position apparently solved the problem.
      With or without the Koons diamond, the penthouse is indisputably a one-of-a-kind.
      “This is a true urban refuge, a place of tranquility and pure privacy high above the bustling pace of the city,” says broker Allison B. Koffman, who together with colleague Juliette R. Janssens of Sotheby’s International Realty, hold this listing.
      The dining room.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      If, or more likely when, the penthouse sells, it will be the latest “flip” for the multi-tasking Lisa Perry and her husband. In July, the couple sold a 6,700-square-foot Palm Beach spread for $9.1 million.
      After they paid a reported $6.5 million for the property in May 2018, Perry renovated and re-imagined the six-bedroom home in her trademark ’60s-inspired style, using it to help launch her Lisa Perry Homes brand.
      The family room.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The renovation featured widely on Perry’s website, and in the 2019 Assouline-published coffee table tome Lisa Perry: Fashion—Homes—Design.
      Interestingly, the Palm Beach home was offered with all the pop-art artwork, fixtures and funky furniture included, even a selection of carefully-selected ’60s-style clothing in the master closet.

      Maybe Perry can be convinced after all to throw in a few of her Sutton Place art pieces.
      The home office.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The vast seating area is part of the home’s entertainment wing.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The contemporary furniture is a backdrop for the views.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The master bath.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      One of the two walk-ins within the primary suite.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Even a guest bath has Pop Art touches.  Photo: Courtesy of Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty More

    • 213 Shares139 Views

      in Luxury

      Susan Sarandon’s Massive NYC Loft Has 60 Feet of Windows. It Can Be Yours for $7.9 Million.

      by

      The coolest room in Thelma & Louise star Susan Sarandon’s huge five-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot Manhattan duplex, might just be the smallest one.
      Painted a vibrant cobalt blue, the so-called “Academy Award bath” is the teeny guest bathroom where Sarandon, 73, displays her considerable trove of awards.
      From her Oscar for Dead Man Walking to her Screen Actors Guild award to her Glamour Woman of the Year accolade—they’re here. And taking pride of place there above the loo is the gold disc that commemorates her starring role in the 1975 classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.

      After living in this sprawling duplex for the past 29 years, Sarandon says it’s now time to let it go. With her kids grown and gone, the place is now too big. She’s priced it at a relatively modest $7.9 million, and when she sells, she plans to downsize to a smaller condo nearby.
      The native New Yorker bought the home in 1991 with former partner, actor and Bill Durham costar, Tim Robbins. When the couple split in 2011, she took over ownership.
      The “Academy Award bathroom.”  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Located in the nine-story La Fabrique building at 147 West 15th Street, between Chelsea and Greenwich Village, the former commercial structure was constructed in 1923 and converted into condos around 1987.
      Sarandon and Robbins originally purchased the eighth-floor unit, later acquiring the apartment below and combining the two into a vast space connected by a sweeping staircase.
      The informal family performance space.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      A key-locked private elevator whisks you to the eighth floor and opens into a truly massive living space dominated by almost 60 feet of windows. Stark-white walls and ceilings together with light-wood flooring only add to the airy, spacious feel of the entire condo.
      In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Sarandon called the room “The Field” because of its sheer size, and described how her children, along with a variety of actor and musician friends, would perform there, with the room’s curved, bleacher-like staircase doubling as audience seating.
      The dining area and kitchen.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      On this floor is also the open kitchen, with its grand island and bar-stool seating. Close by is a large dining area with views of the Manhattan skyline through floor-to-ceiling glass, a sunken media lounge and a cozy den with a wood-burning fireplace.

      The library.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      In the huge corner library, which according to the listing, could easily be converted into a sixth bedroom, jaw-descending views stretch to the east and south, across to Union Square and the Con Edison skyscraper and over to the One World Trade Center.
      The cozy den.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      The main bedroom on this floor enjoys commanding views of the towering Empire State building. The suite comes with a stand-alone soaking tub positioned in front of glass doors leading out on to a private balcony.
      The master bedroom has a private terrace.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      With no shortage of living space on this eighth floor, Sarandon reportedly used the floor below as huge private guest quarters. A staircase leads down into the space, with its three bedrooms, family room, a second kitchen, and its piece de resistance, a 45-foot-long terrace with more magnificent views of city landmarks.
      One of the home’s five bedrooms.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Throughout the two floors there’s an industrial vibe created by exposed sprinkler pipework, the free-standing iron radiators and deep-beamed ceilings.
      The master bath.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      As for that quirky “Academy Award” bathroom, Sarandon told the Journal she thought it fun to keep the “gongs” in the smallest room. “When people come out, I expect them to be laughing, but they don’t say a thing. Maybe they think I’m taking it seriously.”
      The sitting room.  Photo: Courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

      Selling the property will no doubt be bittersweet for the movie legend and passionate activist. “We saw the towers fall on 9/11, and we saw the sun rise again the next day,” she recalls.
      Realtors Nikki Field and Mara Flash Blum, of Sotheby’s International Realty, are the listing agents. More

    • 200 Shares189 Views

      in Luxury

      The RealReal’s CEO Just Bought a $6.75 Million Condo in One of NYC’s Most Iconic Skyscrapers

      by

      The RealReal has made some real good profits of late. The world’s largest online marketplace for consigned luxury goods increased revenue by a staggering 51 percent in the second quarter of 2019, making it worth around $500 million. And the CEO is ready to celebrate apparently. Julie Wainwright, who founded the San Francisco-based company back […] More