“If it’s coming into my home, it has to have real meaning,” actress Julianne Moore tells Architectural Digest in the magazine’s November cover story.
While you won’t find the usual celebrity real estate bells and whistles (indoor lap pool, Turkish-style hammam, for example) in her five-story New York City townhouse, you will see plenty of curated personal touches throughout — even the renovations are results of her careful thought.
“For years I dreamed about living in a townhouse in the West Village,” the Oscar winner said. “The first time I walked into this one, I knew this was it — I fell in love. There was enough character left that we could bring the house back to its Greek Revival roots without destroying the soul and texture of the building.”
Moore paid attention to how her family hung out at home and began to flip the rooms around to match their needs. “We originally put the kitchen downstairs, where it’s supposed to be. That’s where we always ended up, crammed on a love seat, watching television,” she explained. Then she had an epiphany that the living room, which was on the second floor, belonged down there and moved the kitchen up a level.
“I cannot recommend more strongly putting your kitchen somewhere with lots of natural light,” she said. “It changed everything. Now we use the whole house.”
The home is decorated in neutral tones, warm wood accents and meaningful treasures including a George Nakashima cocktail table, lamps by Isamu Noguchi and a host of vintage finds. “I like things that have real personality and authenticity,” Moore said. “I hate a knockoff.”
The downstairs living room is a prime example of how cozy she’s made the place. An inviting leather sofa, vintage ottoman and sheepskin Eames rocker sit atop a plush Moroccan rug.
“It’s shocking to me how many townhouses have had the soul renovated out of them. You end up with all the inconvenience of vertical living but none of the charm,” Moore said. “I like things that feel human, things that tell a story.”
See the rest of Moore’s townhouse in the November issue of Architectural Digest.