J Crew Wanna Be?

I adore all things J. Crew, and have always wanted to get inside the head of J. Crew's Creative Director and President Jenna Lyons - just to poke around and see what makes her brain tick. How does she stay in front of the trends and make simple, classic pieces look modern, fabulous and sexy?  Genius...

Well if you have a cool $3.75 million you might not be able to get inside her head, but you can at least get inside of her home.  In fact, you can own it, as she has listed her awe inspiring Park Slope pad, and it is truly stunning.  (Fueling the sale?  Ms. Lyons divorce from artist Vincent Mazeau and subsequent, much gossiped about relationship with Courtney Crangi...)

Lyons' townhouse, which you might recognize from publications including Living Etc. and Domino, features a fairly restrained, neutral color scheme (with bright pops of yellow) that lets the architectural detailing and rich wood flooring take center stage...

Remember Lyons' son Becket's nursery from Domino?

Look who got a big boy bed and train table!

Jenna's closet, and its contents, might be worth the $3.75 mil alone!  

And what is that I see, grass in New York City (well, Brooklyn)?  That's worth a bundle for sure, too...

Happy shopping!
Becky

On the Block: Dennis Hopper's Industrial Chic Compound

The Venice, California home of late actor and artist Dennis Hopper has recently hit the market, listed by Coldwell Banker for a cool $6.25 million.  The minimalist estate was designed by architect Brian Murphy, with a guest house built from plans drawn by Frank Gehry.  The sleek and stark surfaces of the main house contrast sharply with Hopper's extensive collection of Oriental rugs and abstract modern art.  Cozy, no.  Striking, yes. 

To see more of Hopper's own artwork, check out the exhibit "Dennis Hopper: Double Standard" at LA MOCA through September 10th.

Enjoy,

Deb

What to Do With An Extra $12.9 Million

...buy this West Village townhouse, owned by Billy Joel and his most recent former Mrs, Katie Lee.  And invite me over pronto, natch.

This 4000 square foot home was decorated by Oprah's design boy toy, the uber-talented Nate Berkus.  While I personally love and use a ton of color, I'm going for the serene and light neutrals used in most of these rooms.  Check out the lighting fixtures - totally decadent, and totally awesome.

You can see Katie Lee give Oprah viewers a tour of her incredible home in happier times here.  From what I remember of Katie and Billy in the sit-down that followed?  Her: adorable, sweet, and sincere. Him: apparently dragged to Chicago for the taping completely against his will and not afraid to show it (and this is coming from a huge Billy Joel fan!).  Perhaps he was too busy calculating how many more times he'd have to play Piano Man to a sold out crowd to cover the cost of his young wife's gold-leaf closet (shown further below).

 

To see the complete Perry Street listing, click here.  I'll bring a house plant to the house warming.
Cheers,
Deb
P.S. You might have to go halfsies with Lebron James, who's rumored to be interested.