Calvin Klein

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

In 1891, the historic East Hampton estate was built by acclaimed Grey Gardens architect Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe for the homeowner’s wife, Laura Brevoort Sedgwick. Following a near century and list of elite owners, Calvin Klein purchased the property from the son of Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American World Airways. The real estate sale took place in 1987 with Klein’s second wife, Kelly Rector, where the formerly married couple spent $3.6 million to acquire the impressive property.

Following the first few years after purchase, the duo executed substantial renovations to the home and eventually had it featured in the 1992 edition of Vogue Decorations. While the celebrity couple officially divorced in 2006 and were reportedly separated for a decade prior, Rector continued to reside within the Hamptons home. Despite her stay nearly fifteen years following their split and her former initials “K. K.” plastered on the front gate, the deed was still in Klein’s name. This past week, the estate was sold in two off-market transactions to undisclosed buyers hidden behind an LLC. The sale consisted of the main property which sold for $75 million as well as the adjacent strip of undeveloped land for an additional $10 million.

The lavish Hamptons estate built in 1891 is situated on 8.4 acres of lush land and features a main mansion as well as a boathouse. Shortly after Klein and Rector purchased the residence over three decades ago, they summoned the help of renowned architect Thierry Despont to modernize the interior space. Spanning over 10,100 square feet, the primary house is a shingle-style mansion including five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. While information in regards to the home’s interior design is limited, Klein and Rector are infamously infatuated with sleek white interiors and perfectly executed construction projects. Some notable renovations to their former Hamptons estate consist of a swimming pool and boathouse on Georgica Pond pictured in the aforementioned 1992 issue of Vogue Decorations.

For more on the latest in luxury real estate, visit dev.hauteresidence.com.

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Carmen Electra

Photo Credit: ShutterShock

In 2016, Electra purchased her Hollywood Hills residence at a price of $2.11 million. Throughout her five year stay, she infused the property with her personal touch as the home’s glassed-wine in storage room was converted into a glamorous display for her high heels. This renovation is noted in her 2017 closet tour video with Vogue. However, no other substantial transformations appear to be made as showcased in the listing photos for the prospective property. Electra first listed this home on the market last month at a price of $2.95 million before reducing the cost to its current standing at $2.79 million.

Built in 1988, the Hollywood Hills property spans 3,852 square feet with its traditional exterior and chic interior featuring five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Stepping inside, the home opens to high ceilings and a sweeping staircase with custom dark wood floors stretching throughout. The living room highlights a sleek fireplace and carved wood swing. The customized kitchen includes a quartz waterfall-edge island leading to the cozy family room and elegant dining room with numerous windows offering a view of the serene outdoor space. Moving outside, the peaceful backyard area features a stone waterfall and veranda for outdoor entertainment. The master suite on the upper level is equipped with a fireplace, ensuite bath, and sparkling chandelier. Other highlights of this home include an office, guest quarters, and two car garage. The property rests upon a steep lot in the Mount Olympus neighborhood, a short distance from the Sunset Strip and Hollywood Boulevard.

The listing for this property is held by Heather Albertson and Stephen Hawn with Compass.

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Cheryl Eisen

Photo Credit: Kevin Sikorski Photography

In Miami, IMG was tasked by Swire Properties to do the virtual staging of its residences at Reach and Rise at Brickell City Centre. The digital renderings confound the eyes of those who see them for the first time, thinking they are looking at photographs of an actually furnished space.

We welcomed Eisen for a one-on-one interview to talk about her company’s trailblazing projects as well as the collaboration she is doing with Swire Properties.

What was your inspiration for developing digitally staged units for Swire Properties at Rise Residences?

We wanted to bring a New York look to this development. We felt like, overall, everything was sort of looking alike on the market. With such a unique brand as Reach & Rise, we wanted to bring some warmth and differentiators in[to the residences]. We were designing the space during COVID and the thing that made sense was to virtually stage it with pieces that we actually have in our inventory, and if buyers came in and loved it, we could install that exact look in a matter of weeks.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

HR: Why do you think new development projects in South Florida like Brickell City Centre are choosing to work with a New York-based design firm?

CE: The enormous insurgence of New Yorkers fleeing to Florida. They are used to a certain edge in terms of design, and we brought that to South Florida, to Reach & Rise, and are attracting the New York buyer. In addition to that, the goal was to, again, differentiate what is in Reach & Rise versus every other condo in South Florida which is like, “white on white on white.” We have brought in a New York vibe with some textures, large modern art, and unique light fixtures that create a “wow” moment, and something that looks completely different when you are searching online for listings. These really stand out and capture the eye. That is the goal in marketing.

HR: What impact did 2020 have on your projects? More? Bigger?

CE: In New York, it was different than in Florida. People were afraid to have anyone come into their buildings or into their homes, creating a real challenge in terms of installing furniture into spaces. We had to pivot very quickly and come up with virtual designs because they still had to sell. So we created a completely unique virtual inventory of our own products. We had to market them in a way that represented their unique look and design style. In addition to that, we have several digital marketing tools within these renderings that enable a buyer to have an immersive experience. We can do 360’s, a virtual tour with goggles, or just on the screen. The best we could do, if we could not sell furniture in a space while a buyer walks around, was to install a digital visualization so that they can go online and get a sense of what it is like to be in that unit; to live in that unit; to function in that unit.

HR: Homes had to sell and you needed to bring them to life. Do you have a success story that you can share with us?

CE: We worked with a very well-known South Florida agent to digitally design a unit on Prive Island. It was beautiful but completely empty; very cold and austere We digitally furnished it beautifully, and within 12 days on the market, it sold and the buyers were interested in buying the virtual furniture. That was a very fast deal and it was definitely thanks to the virtual staging, which gave the empty space a real feeling of home and luxury.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

HR: For the luxury buyer, Florida is usually a 2nd home market. How do turn-key homes attract these high-end residents?

CE: Now more than ever- with furniture hard to get because of the domino effect that happened with manufacturing and distribution overseas, and even locally- it makes more sense just to move right into a furnished space, especially if it is your vacation home. Why spend a year searching for furniture, going into furniture stores and have a designer help you shop piece by piece? In other words, COVID has changed everything, the way we buy and the way we think about homes. It makes sense, not only for secondary homes, vacation homes, but it is also happening more and more in New York and other markets.

HR: Are you expanding to South Florida and to other markets as you said?

CE: We are. There are some definite growth areas all over the country. Boston was a huge growth area this year and so was San Francisco. We can service any city, any state in the United States. We have done projects in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We are doing a building in Seattle, and we have worked in LA, but we’ve been working in the South Florida area for a few years now; it’s one of our favorite secondary markets.

HR: You have had signature projects over the years, including at the Visionaire, the Puck Penthouses, and multiple projects that have been featured on TV shows like "Million Dollar Listing" and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". Having set the bar high for yourself, what did you challenge yourself to do for your major South Florida debut?

CE: We are probably the best-known brand in the New York metro area. So, yes I agree. In South Florida, a lot of brokers that work in both markets know of us, but we wanted to come in and bring the same level of brand recognition and elevated style to South Florida. We wanted to come in with a big splash. The first project we did in South Florida was the largest penthouse in South Beach. The asking price was $50 million and it was an enormous triplex. It was a resale, so it was a huge before-and-after impact, but it was not a brand new development. The views were gorgeous, the space was beautiful. There are very few stagers and interior designers in South Florida. There are probably the top three that everyone knows and they design and stage every property, of which there are many. It is hard to have things look different when it is the top three players staging and designing everything. Our unique look came in to be completely different than everyone else’s, and that was really the goal. I think we have achieved that.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

HR: How has the pandemic affected the furniture supply lines and how have you adjusted?

CE: Luckily, we had started buying product in bulk overseas a couple of years ago so we have a pretty substantial inventory. We also started designing our own product- which we also have a significant inventory of- so our stuff is unique and in our warehouse. However, as soon as the pandemic hit, it hit first in China, and that is where most people, -between China and Italy- get their furniture. So the supply chain and manufacturing came to a complete halt for a while, creating a sort of domino effect across the rest of the industry as everyone was figuring out how to recover and how to function. When you cannot buy furniture, you are stuck with whatever you have on hand. We are lucky to have a large inventory on hand so we have been okay with it, but everyone else in the industry seems to be hurting for product. In normal circumstances, if you try to buy furniture, it is probably anywhere from two to twelve weeks [to receive]. Right now, it is six months out before you receive your product. That will continue to be a lag for a few more months as things get back into the swing in those countries. But yes, it was a huge challenge and created a huge ripple effect.

HR: Would you want to create a completely new style for Miami? Your signature is New York but what about a Miami IMG style?

CE: Absolutely, we would love to create a signature style that was specific to the Miami market. Brickell feels like Manhattan as much as possible and that is why I love staying in Brickell whenever I come to Miami. That already has a sense of our vibe. It is very city-like, very Manhattan but then out in the suburbs are houses. There seem to be two types of houses right now in terms of architecture. We want to create some visual distinction in those two styles by creating a unique interior. Again, there are about three main designers out there [in Miami]. We are coming in with a completely differentiated look and taking those two standard architectural styles to create something completely new with them by differentiating the interiors with our IMG New York City-type of look.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

HR: Do you feel as if the adjustments to digitally staging units will be the future of design? Or will there be a shift back to the more classical style of staging and designing?

CE: I think that is where we were headed to an extent, but I think it accelerated that process. Virtual staging or digital rendering in a marketing sense is the opener, it catches people’s eyes and it makes them want to come to the space to see it. The closer is the staging in person because when you are in love with the space that you saw digitally and you show up to an empty space, there is a letdown and, “Where is that space that I fell in love with?” But if you can show up and see that same space in person and fall in love with it and move right in, that is the closer.

We also have a product where you can change the floors from wood to marble and more. The wall color, the wall coverings, you can change any aspect of the home digitally by pressing a button, making your own on-site decisions immediately, which is great for developers. If you are showing the optionality for new spaces and sales offices. You can choose this cabinet, that cabinet in real time, digitally. You can see what it would look like to live in that space with different options. I think it is going in that direction, but there will always be the need for the actual physical staging because A, the peace of moving right in and B, because when you show up, you do want to feel that warmth of just moving right in and having a home versus an empty space.

HR: So, the digital staging helps to get to the closing stage as you mentioned, right?

CE: You capture their attention. That makes them want to come in and see the space in person. It brings people in which is very important; it is step one. The closer has to be when they get there, when they open the door to have that emotional reaction, “Wow, this is where I want to be.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

HR: What tools or products do you have to streamline the staging process, and what reactions do you get from the buyers?

CE: We have a new product called Rendered-to-Reality, which we created to help get a home on the market quickly. We render it and then when we stage it in person a couple of weeks later. People are pretty shocked when they walk in and it literally is a seamless transition from the digital rendering to what they see in person. If they have come to see it, it is because they loved the rendering, and when they walk in, it is exactly what they saw in the rendering. They are really floored by that.

HR: How do you feel about working with Swire Properties and its residences?

CE: Swire is amazing. These buildings [Reach and Rise] are next level. They have built this whole city in Brickell, and it is so modern, warm, and elevated. It is just so impressive how they have built an entire community with these beautiful buildings and with wellness in mind.

The post Cheryl Eisen Digitally Stages Brickell City Centre Residences appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

The series of units getting the special treatment include 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom + den, and the 4301 Penthouse. The living and master bedrooms, furnished with Interior Marketing Group's pieces, can be purchased as they appear in these digital renderings.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

The award-winning firm carefully curated and customized the digital spaces to give buyers a real-life glimpse at how their unit will look and feel before they ever step in it.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

Interior Marketing Group is the largest full-service property marketing and luxury design firm in the United States. In addition to providing interior design services to luxury homeowners, IMG’s award-winning staging and interior marketing services enable the most coveted properties and developments in the world to sell faster and at greater multiples than the market's average. IMG is regularly featured in publications including Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Interior Design Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Robb Report, Vogue, and on major television networks including BravoTV, NBC, CBS, and Fox.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

Interested in previewing life in your Reach and Rise residence designed by Interior Marketing Group? Visit residencesbrickellcitycentre.com or contact the sales gallery at 305.250.0748. Reach and Rise Residences offer an assortment of one- to five-bedroom floorplans, starting from the mid $500s.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Swire Properties

The post Digital Designs Of Reach And Rise Residences At Brickell City Centre Launch appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Blake continues to act in films while being a health and style icon for legions of fans. The mother of two consistently looks fabulous whether in $2 million worth of jewels at the Met Gala or strolling home in her sneakers from a Westchester gym.

When they do manage to escape the seemingly endless press junkets and paparazzi shutterfests, Ryan and Blake recoup and re-center their family on 1.8 acres of a bucolic garden estate in Pound Ridge, NY.

When Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively enjoy the country life, they're not cleaning chicken coops and milking dairy cows. Picture Martha Stewart cottage living. Seriously, Martha is actually the couple's neighbor and a homemaker mentor to Blake.

The glamorous couple purchased the 4,753-square-foot home that sits an hour's drive from Midtown Manhattan in 2012 for $2.35 million. Maybe it had something to do with the two pink dogwoods perfectly framing the home's sunny yellow sloping peak that sealed the deal.

There's plenty of luxury details built into this country house. Two private dressing rooms off the master, french doors leading out to a covered porch, a custom stone terrace overlooking the water, and a two-bedroom guest suite, are just some of the unique features that give this place its character.

The lush grounds provide amazing views of the Cross River Reservoir during the day, while Ryan and Blake can cozy up to one of the three fireplaces spread out over gleaming hardwoods on those chilly upstate nights.

Blake Lively is unashamedly domestic–her Instagram will attest to the fact that she uses every inch of her country kitchen to whip up tasty home-style family feasts.

Ryan is much more toned-down in real life than the Deadpool character he plays. After months of acting the part of a sarcastic superhero, he probably welcomes the breathing space his spacious house and sprawling yard provide. That is until neighbor Ralph Lauren pops by to borrow some curry-ketchup.

Locals describe Ryan and Blake as being "really nice" as they shop together in town for homemade goods or appear at chef Jean‑Georges' The Inn at Pound Ridge for some farm-to-table cuisine.

Three years ago, when Blake still maintained a website called Preserve, dedicated to all things handmade and local in Bedford, she explained to Vogue her reason for wanting to move to a more rural area. "People want things with meaning. I know that because I want that."

Meaningful is a great word to describe the stylish yet substantial life that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have curated for themselves.

Photos from realtor.com

The post Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively’s Pastoral New York Paradise appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Just recently, though, an opportunity emerged for Gunn to espouse home decor professionally. He teamed up with Command Brand, the maker of the adhesive picture-hanging strips, to translate his fashion aptitude to interior-design advice with a series of wall-decorating projects that require no nails. Last week, Gunn, Command and Gilt hosted the “From the Runway to the Hallway” pop-up shop, where fashion, art and decor intuitively coalesced.

Haute Residence caught up with Gunn to learn more about his partnership with Command, his appreciation for the arts and his decor tenets.

How did your partnership with Command Brand come to be?

I am approached by brands with some frequency. I am very, very, very particular about the decisions I make about which brands I would even want to work with. As a wonderful happenstance, I am a huge Command fan and I have used it forever. So, when they approached me, I said, "Good Heaven, you are all over my apartment. I would love to have a conversation about what we can do together."

I find that decision-making about interiors and decision-making about fashion have so many correlations. People are really afraid that they get paralyzed by the decisions they have to make and they do not know what to do. With Command, because it does not have to be a permanent place, you can move things around, you are not making that commitment that a nail in the wall makes. It means that you can play, you can try it as opposed to, "Oh, I am making a lifetime commitment to this particular painting or drawing or photograph being on this particular wall." Command is just completely and utterly liberating. It is interesting - as I first began to use them, it was about, "Well, let me experiment. Let me try." But then, because they are so long-lasting, there is no reason to take the Command strips down and put a nail. It is quite fantastic. I am involved because I am a huge fan of the product.

Photo credit: Command Brand

Is this your first venture into home decor?

Yes, absolutely. I have to say, in my heart, if I were not in fashion, I would be in interiors. I think in particular living in New York, our home environment is so important to us because it is our safe haven that it is accentuated, I think, even more here. So, we really care about coming home and feeling that we are in a place that we love.

Living in New York can often mean a compromise in square feet. How can interior design make the best of the available space?

I believe that decorating our homes follows the same principles that are important in getting our fashion right. It is not about the particulars of what you have. It is about the relationships among them. I say it is about silhouette, proportion and fit. With homes, scale is very important. I do not mean that you live in a tiny apartment that everything should be of a small scale but you need to look into the relationships among those objects. I always say, do not go to a store and buy a whole apartment full of furniture there and have it delivered to you. Start with one or two pieces and then let it grow. Feel the space. Think about what proportionately and also practically you need and want, and what will fit.

I believe that decorating our walls gives us another dimension to the living space but until the furniture is places, it is not a very good idea to do that because of the proportional relationships. That goes back to the fantastic partner we all have in Command, because it does give us that freedom of latitude and that agility and ability to make changes quickly and with no damage.

Photo credit: Command Brand

When it comes to art on the walls, what artists do you admire? Are there any contemporary ones you follow?

I studied art in the 1970s and art history. So, a lot of my personal taste is more into that. I would not say I am a huge fan of a lot of contemporary art that is happening right now, but Richard Diebenkorn, Josef Albers – they are so many artists of the 20th century whose work I truly love. In terms of my home, I am more of a classicist and most of what I have is more traditional. They are just images I like living with – a lot of portraits that are 18th- and 19th-century but very affordable. I care about things that have a history and a story.

Photo credit: Michael Simon, StarTraks

What is your favorite piece of art?

My only trouble is that I have so many. If someone was to say, "Your apartment is on fire, you can only take one thing with you," I think I would rather stay and get burnt. I do not think I can run out with just one thing.

What trends in terms of decor and fashion you see converging and shaping up for the upcoming summer season?

We have four trends – and they are trends in fashion and trends in interiors as well. Stripes are big; glitter, glamour, shiny surfaces are very, very big. As are also surfaces that are textured. We are calling them trends, but they all have staying power. These are not things that are only relevant today. I am happy that they are prevalent but they will be with us forever. So, depending on your taste and point of view, there is something there for you.

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