A great deal of celebrity-related real estate news is happening in New York City. Here is a look at just a few!
Laura Mercier Purchases Chelsea Apartment
French cosmetics giant Laura Mercier has recently purchased an apartment in Chelsea for $2.66 million after listing her two-bedroom, 2,168-square-foot Walker Tower apartment in July. After only one month on the market, that apartment was sold for $10.6 million. Mercier’s new home, which is much smaller at 1,346 square feet, features two bedrooms and two bathrooms, high ceilings a modest layout and an open chef’s kitchen with a 150-bottle wine cooler, original cast iron columns and custom built-ins.
Gerard Butler Places Chelsea Loft on the Market
Actor Gerard Butler has placed his apartment, which has been described as “bohemian old-world rustic chateau with a taste of baroque” n the market for $5.995. The celebrity reportedly purchased the 3,150-square-foot Chelsea apartment for $2.575 million in 2004. Located within a converted manufacturing warehouse, the apartment was transformed into a luxurious abode by Butler with the help of architect Alexander Gorlin and film designer Elvis Restaino. The transformation was so impressive that the home was featured on the cover of Architectural Digest in 2010.
Some of the home’s features include 11-foot-tall mahogany doors, high ceilings, plaster walls, a ceiling fresco and dramatic columns that support limestone lions. The great room on the main floor features beamed ceilings and large picturesque windows, while the laundry room, rustic open kitchen, office and bedroom are also on the same floor. Meanwhile, a set of stairs leads to a master bedroom suite featuring four closets and access to a terrace boasting views of the city skyline.
David Yurman’s West Village Townhouse Placed on the Market
David Yurman has placed his West Village Townhouse on the market for $18.45 million. The jewelry designer reportedly paid $17 million for the 165-year-old townhouse in 2015, $3 million more than the original asking price. Featuring five bedrooms and five-and-a-half baths, the four-story home has served as a movie set for several films over the years. Among these have been Autumn in New York and Working Girl.
The 6,000-square-foot townhouse boasts soaring ceilings that stretch to more than 14 feet high along with floor-to-ceiling windows on the parlor level. The property also features 1,130 square feet of additional space in the form of a 40-foot garden located on the first floor of the townhouse.
Louis Armstrong’s Queens Home Turns into a Museum
Located in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, the modest brick home of jazzman Louis Armstrong is now a museum open to public tours. Serving as the home of Armstrong and his wife Lucille from 1943 until his death in 1971, the home serves as a time capsule of midcentury design while also housing 700 reels of tape that the trumpeter recorded himself. Some of the home’s features, which were left virtually untouched or restored in order to maintain the appearance of when Armstrong was alive, including a wood-paneled den, a kitchen with bright blue cabinets and a custom-made Crown stove, a mirrored bathroom and an elegant living room.
Owned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and operated by the City University of New York’s Queens College, the museum is open for guided tours Tuesday through Sunday.