When Jessica Hart split from her longtime boyfriend earlier this year, her friend Lauren Santo Domingo promptly set her up on a blind date—with a decorator. “We got together and it was like a match made in heaven,” says Hart of Remy Renzullo, whom she hired immediately. (A Cartagena house for Santo Domingo’s family is among the rising design star’s other projects.)
Newly settled into a light-flooded one-bedroom apartment overlooking Gramercy Park, Hart was faced with the pressing matter of editing the contents of her life: What she gained in 14-foot ceilings she lost in square footage. Still, she says, “I came across this and was like, ‘Wow. This is where I want to wake up.’ ” To make it work she decided to sleep in the loft above the kitchen and turn the bedroom into a spacious closet. “A genius idea,” says Renzullo. The closet’s twin-size window seat, cushioned with Le Manach’s Balmoral flower pattern, serves as a guest bed, and the walls are painted with Farrow & Ball’s vermilion Blazer in a nod to the opulent interiors of Paris’s Hôtel Costes. Hart’s impressive wardrobe is overseen by a home organizer who visits twice a week to curate, giving the room the air of a chic vintage boutique.
Renzullo arranged the open living area into vignettes, mixing feminine pieces with midcentury ones and centering the space on a needlepoint rug Hart found in Greece. The dining area is fitted with a George Nelson table, a window seat covered in Kuba cloth, and 1970s Wicker Works chairs. Art includes Richard Prince and Enoc Perez portraits starring Hart. And floor-to-ceiling green velvet curtains perfectly mimic the trees outside so “you get the greenness of the park year-round,” says Renzullo.
The welcoming space lends itself well to informal dinners and movie nights; three of Hart’s closest friends live in the neighborhood and are regulars. “We have a Gramercy Girls group text,” she says, noting that the previous night they binge-watched The Handmaid’s Tale.
The only thing the apartment, which Hart cheekily refers to as her bachelorette pad, isn’t designed for is guests of a more romantic nature. The loft cozily fits a twin bed well appointed in D. Porthault’s Tulipe Perroquet. “This place is all about me,” Hart says. She then adds with a wink: “There are plenty of other beds in this city.”
Hair by Corey Tuttle for Honey Artists using Oribe; Makeup by Joseph Carrillo for Kate Ryan inc. using Chanel
