In Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ NYC townhouse, Art Deco meets old Hollywood glamour
By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
(CNN) — In their Upper East Side townhouse, TV power couple Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have recreated a slice of Paris in New York.
The glamorous five-story home has seen their three children grow up, but has largely remained unchanged since interior designers William Sofield and Emma O’Neill of Studio Sofield transformed the property into an Art Deco paradise more than a decade ago. Now, the co-hosts of “Live With Kelly and Mark” are opening the doors to the pristine space in the January issue of Architectural Digest, giving a full tour that goes beyond the hints of chandeliers and holiday decor seen in the background of Ripa’s social media posts.
While celebrity homes often have a short lifespan before being rotated out of their owners’ portfolios, Ripa told the magazine she has no desire to leave — ever.
“I don’t want to sound morbid, but they’ll have to carry me out of here feet-first because I have gotten good and comfortable in this house,” she said.
Ripa and Consuelos met on the set of soap opera “All My Children” in the 1990s and became co-stars once again last year, when Consuelos joined the long-running morning talk show, “Live,” which Ripa has co-hosted since 2001 alongside Regis Philbin, Michael Strahan and, most recently, Ryan Seacrest. In May, the couple celebrated 28 years of marriage.
When they first purchased their home in 2013, Ripa was ready to move in at first sight. “I was like, ‘It’s perfect, just hand me my toothbrush,” she recalled to Architectural Digest. But Consuelos wanted to customize the property to both their personal tastes and practical needs.
The result mixed Sofield’s version of early 20th-century French glamour with functional touches, like dual Art Deco-style armoires that keep scooters and sporting equipment hidden from view. Treasures can be spotted throughout the townhouse: 1940s dining room chairs attributed to the artist and furniture designer Maurice Jallot; a Napoleon-style secretary desk, from around 1870, in the entryway; and the bedroom sconces taken from a decommissioned ocean liner.
Some rooms diverge from the Parisian theme, including the kids’ rooms (which have been kept unchanged, even though they’ve now left the nest), and Consuelos’ cigar room, which boasts black leather couches, dark walls and a backlit bar with velvet curtains. But Ripa said, when it comes to interiors, she is drawn to theatrics.
“I’ve spent my life growing up on sets,” Ripa said. “So I like a bit of dazzle. Give me a show.”
Nowhere is this more true than in the main bathroom, where Ripa recreated some movie magic in the form of a white chaise lounge, inspired by the 1981 film “Mommie Dearest”.
“There’s an amazing scene where Faye Dunaway, playing Joan Crawford, is lying on a white satin chaise in her dressing room, putting lotion on her elbow,” she told Architectural Digest, complete with a dramatic demonstration. “I had Bill (Sofield) make me an identical replica of it!”
Ripa insisted on hammered satin for the piece, and Sofield’s warning against the decision soon proved to be sage.
“I sat down on the chaise to apply some lotion, kind of as a joke, but when I put my leg down I basically destroyed the entire surface,” she recalled. She later had it reupholstered in cotton silk, to which Ripa said: “I learned my lesson.”
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