With apologies to the Blue's Clues guy, the star of the show in New York mag's recent design issue was the Fifth Avenue mahogany monster occupied by interior designer Darren Henault, his partner Michael Bassett, and their twin daughters Bunny and Lulu. But while the story on this modern family's pre-war pad was full of whimsical details ("Bunny has a habit of decorating herself with Disney princess Band-Aids. Lulu dons them only occasionally.") it was severely lacking in actual photos of the epic Upper East Side apartment. Well, consider our curiosity satisfied!
Today's New York Social Diary house tour features Henault's and Basset's art-and-antique-filled apartment, in what's described as a "grand 19th-century Fifth Avenue mansion," and the photos reveal a dizzying over-the-top freakshow of a pre-war spread. Is that a good thing? Curbed National readers are split so far. Cast your vote!
As for why the family ditched Soho, Henault's explanation is 1,000 kinds of awesome:
Honestly I swore I would never move to the Upper East Side. I always lived downtown. I always said “I get a nosebleed whenever I go beyond 23rd Street” but as soon as we had kids, I hated being downtown...Because the sidewalks are dirty. They’re not wide. They’re not level. You can’t push a stroller. SoHo is very cool but you try pushing a stroller over the cobblestone street without a child being propelled from the stroller. They’re so many people, so many tourists ? it’s a mall.Sounds like he speaks from experience! No wonder Bunny is so adept at putting on Band-Aids. The photos above are just a taste. Click through for the full reveal.
· NYSD House: Darren Renault [New York Social Diary]
· Their Hearts Belong to Daddies [NYM]
· You Decide: Is Twice-Published Space Lovely, Whack, or Neither? [Curbed National]
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