Vera Wang's Duplex at 740 Park Avenue

Black roses?! How fashionable.

Well, it saves money and makes it easy to move out.

Edgy art

Finally a bit of clutter but I'm sure it can be hidden away.

Hijjus, just hijjus!

Looks a bit like a high end hair salon.

The help takes care of it

Did you ever think that the house was staged for the photo shoot OP?

Wang and her daughters.

I think someone like Vera sees this as a stage set, mere background for herself and her friends, the fabulous stars.

Isn’t 740 park the Jackie building?

I said stage set, but perhaps I really meant white-walled gallery, or photo shoot set.

[quote]Did you ever think that the house was staged for the photo shoot OP?

Maybe there is a bit more clutter normally but she wanted a minimalist look. I didn't know she came from a rich family. The apartment belonged to her parents for 30 years and had traditional decor. She spent a lot of time and money making it over. She's been living there since 2007.

No. 740 Park is the one michael wolf wrote the book about. A great read by the way. A microcosm of nyc history. Jackie on Assistance lived at 1040 Fifth

Although I may stand corrected. I hunk Jackie grew up in part as a child at 740. Before she was on Assistance.

[quote]Isn’t 740 park the Jackie building?

Yes Jackie Kennedy's grandfather, James T. Lee, built the building in 1929. She lived there as a child.

Jackie lived at 740 Park when she was a small child. In the past I've read that a young Vera would sit in the lobby in the evenings and watch the women come and go, changing their outfits several times as the evening progressed. It would have been in the book, 740 Park.

In my original post, the curtains are a bit long and sit bunched up on the floor. Is that the correct thing to do? Is having the curtains a bit above the floor middle class?

There was a ring of thieves operating inside the building for a while. Several residents lost massive quantities of very expensive jewelry, possibly amounting to millions. It was in the book, and I think it was members of the building staff. Residents would leave jewelry around their apartments and when it came up missing they would simply assume their staff had properly stored it.

[quote] ... assume their staff had properly stored it.

Did you mean "had probably stolen it"?

Thanks for the interesting info.

It looks like someplace a Satanist would live.

r20 No, I meant they assumed the staff had properly stored it, as in put it in a safe or a velvet lined drawer, what have you.

Oh ok. I understand.

Her apartment fits with her aesthetics and personality. Vera’s designs were never showy or cutesy unlike many of her female contemporaries like Kate Spade who attracted more typically frau followers. But her apartment is too stark for my taste, it looks too much like an art gallery.

Regarding Vera’s family, she did grow up wealthy. Her parents immigrated from China in the 1940s to escape communism. Her dad was educated in the US himself as many from wealthy, cultured Chinese families did pre-communist rule. Had they remained in China they’d be killed and family wealth seized. It’s why China today is basically a bunch of people descended from uncultured peasants, people like Vera’s parents fled or were killed.

She looks great for being 70, she went to SF to have a very subtly done facelift a few years ago. I know the surgeon.

First, I love this look and have it in my apartment - mainly because it is a small 1BR and the clean lines make it seem more spacious (not an issue for VW). However, I also like it for NY because it’s a calming oasis when you come in off the street. The you can add art to create an atmosphere.

Second, why do designers always have a fat kid? They hid this one behind the staircase so you can’t see her fat (except in the arms)

Third, VW has always been intriguing because she is basically old school NYC money but because she is Asian looking, it’s assumed she is an Asian immigrant. I give her props for the business he developed.

[quote]But her apartment is too stark for my taste, it looks too much like an art gallery.

An excellent way to put it.

[quote]Wang and her daughters.

Is Vera the silver thing in the middle?

Actually, R24, I'm pleased and surprised that the co-op board at 740 Park Avenue has been progressive for some time. I just assumed it would be difficult to get into this kind of prestige building if you're not white and WASP.

I do appreciate the concept, and it certainly is on-brand for her, however I just could never live a life so devoid of color. Color is such a gift.

R18 I personally like my curtains to pool on the ground, but I think it is up to individual taste

Ugh - I hate pooled curtains. I get it’s a design choice. But it just seems stupid. And it makes the curtains less functional. I actually prefer crisp shades cut to fit the window. Unless I’m in an old country house.

Very cold and plain. Other than the closet, there is really nothing that personalizes the home.

Well, I guess the minimalist look makes it easy for staff to dust. I assume the black thing on the wall is a piece of art, not just decor.

The more I look at the photo in the original post, the more I think it looks like a place where the owner didn't have enough money to furnish it properly. Really too bare.

I agree with you, OP. I could never live in a place so clinical and cold.

I hate these rooms that are decorated to death and look as bare and cold and antiseptic as a mortuary. There is nothing of a sense of true comfort or warmth. I could never relax and just live in a place that looked like a fucking gallery ir had an institutional, commercial atmosphere. I like things cozy. I want to be able to live in the damned space.

wonder if she works out like this

The only abortion clinic left in Manhattan.

What R35 said.

I think the author was Michael Gross, R14.

If I was in that apartment, I'd spend all my time setting books askew and moving floral bouquets off center on the tables. Give Vera a fit. She'd ask me to leave immediately.

Where did Evan Lysacek sleep?

Reminds me of the all-white apartment of Edina’s friend in AbFab.

Surfaces, darling!

It's very wangy.

Back in the day:

Walk in with a big pot of spaghetti sauce, trip, watch hilarity ensue.

I can't even imagine living like that.

I like minimalism but I don't think apartment design should rarely overlap boutique, hotel, and restaurant design. For example the symmetrical tall arrangements of dead branches by the door. Terrible thing to have in one's home (and not wonderful in hotel, or the White House, Melania). I could live with minimalism in 1 of my many homes. But if I only had 1 home, it's a bit sad. Also it requires domestic help, to be pure and clean and impeccable. At least a daily maid for 4 hours I would think. She (or he) might have time to do other things like cook lunch.

How big is Vera's Wang?

Are you really a minimalist if you rented storage space for the fireplaces, molding, bookcases, and other architectural detritus?

The robberies were more recent than I thought.

[quote]The tenant added that 740 residents “have so much, they barely notice. They think nothing of leaving a diamond watch on a counter and forgetting it’s there for two weeks.”

[quote]“It seemed high-security until you got inside,” the resident said. “I was shown other apartments by the staff when people were away. If you have five residences and 15 watches, the chances are you’ll think you misplaced it. That’s the life these tenants lead. It made them easy targets.”

MY JEWELS! MY JEWELS! They stole my jewels!

Is wery luffley. I vill ask Vera to decorate Vite House dis Christmas.

It looks barren and sterile. Like her uterus.

Not my taste but I think it’s fantastic. Would love to visit.

It looks very German.

R54 Vera Wang has two kids...

Tacky AF.

New money.

Looks like a boutique hotel 10 years ago.

New Yorkers prefer decor such as this, because it shows livability.

R59 posted by someone who has never been in NY apartments.

The apartment is 7400 square feet. Wow. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up with that much space in New York City. Walking down the street, things are crowded people everywhere, and then you come home and it’s just this giant empty palace.

I remember years ago reading an interview with Vera Wang where she made it sound like she’d grown up in a working class immigrant family. Ha!

R58 she’s not new money

She couldn't have kids. I think they are adopted or IVF with donor eggs. They are not her bio kids.

I could never have white couches...And your guests will never be comfortable in your house as well because they would be too worried about spilling something on it. I know I would.

It’s utterly depressing and tediously dull. It’s oppressive against the senses and it hungers for color.

This is new money. Difference being new money still has residuals of conventional taste.

R28, we prefer to think of the "Crazy Rich Asians" as white-adjacent. Almost, anyway.

Love it! I hate that old grandma look you ALWAYS see on the UES. Florals and billions of colors all fighting with each other.

OP’s photo looks like the waiting room of a funeral parlor.

Or a similar room in a Mormon temple.

Cold, sterile and weird.

FFS, the poster above ...”her fat arms “....”why are kids of designers always fat?”

No wonder eating disorders abound. Must be real easy to be spawn of this centipede living in a white box!!!!

Maybe a tattoo on her arm would be better . Misunderstood is already taken. How about “ as Wangs daughter bulimia was a prerequisite ... now I eat .”

Utterly boring

[quote] [R59] posted by someone who has never been in NY apartments.

Pretty sure R59's post was a joke.

Vera's closet looks like she has a lot of mini skirts and shorts on hangers. Right below the shorts (far right), there are some jackets (?) that are "pooling" on the bottom of the closet. Not impressed with Vera's closet.

There are different types of new money.

The interiors are desperately striver-ish.

Trite.

Ffs, that’s a hideous apartment. And I’m sure it had some terrific details originally. That kind of stark, un-ornamented decor works when the space has an abundance of floor to ceiling windows with spectacular views. This is a huge fail. she should have sold it and bought a new condo. I’m shocked at how bad it is. And it is only gong to look worse when it’s not immaculate for photos.

[quote]In my original post, the curtains are a bit long and sit bunched up on the floor. Is that the correct thing to do?

Yes.

[quote]Is having the curtains a bit above the floor middle class?

Yes.

This is the reason Andrew Wang will never be president. Elitist son of a bitch.

I haven't seen a pic of her in years and I just saw her insta page...She looks terrible! same drab hair for decades...she's had more than just a face lift.

Her draperies have a nice break to them...my mother’s puddle in a much more dramatic way than Vera’s. It is about style over convenience.

Also, now I am obsessed with how badly her clothes are arranged! Makes me want to go reorganize my own and make sure nothing is wrinkling up like that.

R31 I'm curious how the pooling makes them less functional? I think it looks elegant when you have quality silk curtains that slightly pool on the floor and drift in the breeze. Some take it too far though, it shouldn't be a yard of fabric bunched up on the floor. Just a few inches

Thanks, R75. Now I know that if your curtains end slightly above the floor, you're a quaint frau and fashionable people will snicker at you.

Oh dear. A shaggy pink chair in the closet. That's not minimalist.

It’s not minimalist to give long interviews about your minimalism.

Looks like a great place to commit suicide.

At least the twisted metal sculptures give a bit of interest to the stark interiors.

You don't hang out in an apartment like this. She probably only really uses her bedroom, bathroom and dressing room. You work all day, never eat at home, you're at parties and events. You're traveling. You have other houses. You have enough clutter in your life.

It's a place for parties and gatherings and for that it's a great backdrop.

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!

The darkest Bergman is a laugh riot compared to this grim shithole.

She has The Lamp.

She’s OVAH.

Her place was staged for the photoshoot no one lives like this.

She's not from old money, but her Chinese ancestors were important in their country.

The Wangs.

You mean my Wang?

Horrible name. Should have changed it to Smith or Cohen, anything but Wang.

As a spendthrift, a minimalist style apartment would be one of my several personal Hells.

Vat is dis? Dasnt look friendly and varm like my Christmas house. I vas arkitek in my cuntry.

Vera talks about working at VOGUE.

I think it's tremendous

I like it..

you'd have to wonder about the psyche of someone who lives in a space like this. Is she ruthless, cunning, cold and sterile too?

Oink. If I were as wealthy as Vera, I would hire a private chef and personal trainer for my chubby kids.

This is the way to decorate an apartment. Coco Chanel's apartment at 31 rue Cambon, Paris.

Old fashioned is the best.

Although the books behind the sofa don't look that great.

If I had a black and white decor, the art would be colorful.

No, Coco, just No.

those books in Chanel's apartment look like they were bought from a traveling encyclopedia salesman

Check out the fridge:

Andrew suspended his campaign. She will never be first lady.

Pay me respect cuz I was Michelle Kwan before Michelle Kwan was even an idea of a crotchfruit. Check out my white lace skating costume, white on white, get it? I had such great minimalist taste for a young girl. Bright colors are for basic bitches who are depressed, I mean look what wearing and decorating in bright colors did for Kate Spade.

R101 That photo, that angle of the apartment is gorgeous. Perfect 70 years ago, perfect for 2020.

reality check - she doesn't live there

I rather prefer Skinnygirl's pad, as it looks comfortable. She at least has cushions and blankets to pad her bones.

The Mnuchin apartment is for sale. I'd love nothing more than Bernie Madoff's old black marble bathroom. But for some reason, the fact that Mnuchin even breathed in here disturbs me. I think it's been in their family for a long time.

This apartment sold years ago but it's stayed with me. It was an absolutely perfect, original blank canvas. It looks like it would have on move in day in 1929.

I’ve been to parties at several apartments in 740 Park Avenue and, to be honest, the building is a disappointing in person. It does not live up to the hype surrounding its reputation. The main problem is the shape, size, proportion, and frame materials of the windows make it feel like a lackluster office building.

This becomes even more glaring in Vera’s minimalist decor.

Apartments I’ve seen in other top buildings like 820 Fifth, 960 Fifth, 1 Sutton Place South, and even 778 Park and 895 Park are much nicer and more impressive than those visited at 740 Park.

Is the book about the building worth reading?

The opposite style from Vera's but it doesn't look elegant. Saul Steinberg and wife. I assume this is their triplex in 740 Park Avenue.

Too much pink. Mme Steinberg's gown doesn't look elegant and sophisticated either.

Her place makes me feel like a hoarder!

I don't understand why this thread doesn't start with ' Tasteful friends '. And no one mentions it. Like it's normal. I feel hurt, confused and angry. This is very homophoblc. Who would do that here ? And why ? Why OP ? Do you HATE US ? Why would anyone do that ?

Who is her surgeon, poster above.

Vera sabotages her daughters. She makes sure that her dress looks the best.

I would love to poop on the shiny white floor

Sum Ting Wang!

To Wang Chung!

So cold you cold hang meat in it.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Vera’s daddy also owned this Southampton NY estate. Looked more to be in keeping with Tasteful Friends aesthetics.

Daddy and mommy Wang apparently had a fuddy duddy home decor thing going on. This one in Pound Ridge NY. Beige, lots of beige.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Is Vera considered new money given that her family wasn’t nouveau riche, and apparently quite cultured? Her dad even had his own paintings at the Met, guess he painted as a hobby. Also according to the descriptions, he also donated many pieces of classical Chinese artwork to the Met museum. They were newly rich here as immigrants but their families were definitely old and established upper class in pre-communist China.

I'm sure the Wangs had impeccable credentials - for a Chinese background couple to be accepted by the co-op 740 board is quite something.

At least Daddy Wang’s Palm Beach estate isn’t tacky. Still bland though. What these properties needed were fabulous gay decorators.

Vera's duplex as purchased for $350k in the 80s. From yhe linked article R135

“ Ever since the death of bridal maven Vera Wang’s oil and pharmaceutical tycoon daddy Cheng Ching Wang, we’ve been discussing the real estate whirligig that has ensued. Whispered speculation could be heard in the better buildings up and down posh Park Avenue as to what would happen to the elder Wang’s vast duplex occupying a prominent corner on the 10th and 11th floors of the hyper luxe 740 Park Avenue. The duplex, purchased in 1983 for just $350,000 from Campbell’s soup heiress Elinor Dorrance, has sat empty and lonely since Mrs. Florence Wu Wang passed in 1995.”

740 Park Avenue

The Steinberg’s place was certainly not tasteful, but I’ve got to be honest, it looks warm and jazzy and comfortable and a party place. Red walls were such a staple of fancy Manhattan apartments in the 80s.

Very true, R138. What's there to do in a bare room like R6 other than talk? Maybe there's a hidden TV set somewhere. I'd absolutely hate living like that.

There's a big gap between the sofa and the coffee tables in the original post. Practicality was not a high priority. Then again it's a big room with big pieces of furniture and a stark, bare esthetic so I guess it would look odd if the tables were a foot or two from the sofa. Too bunched up.

Vera Wang's Beverly Hills mansion has a very similar look. For a creative person, she has a very narrow taste in interior design.

I think vibrant red walls have been popular in the homes of the rich for a long time (ie. the old fashioned style). Phyllis Lambert, who was born into the wealthy Bronfman family of Montreal, said she would dream of the strong red color of the walls of her parents' mansion.

I have to say Mrs. Steinberg's gown looks like an overblown, very expensive version of a tacky prom / debutante dress. I much prefer Vera's dress at R124.

Red walls look great at Christmas.

Barbara Walters was rejected by the board. Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor were too. I wonder if Vera would be let in if she didn't grow up there.

R133: I believe that’s a different CC Wang who donated his collection to the Met.

His name is Wang Jiqian, a well known calligrapher/ art collector.

Forget the Wang family; Dorrace clan has far more dirt.......

How Vera decorated her place

R119

Late Mr. Saul Steinberg's first born son Jonathan is married to Maria Bartiromo of Fox News.

If the little dog at R6 had pooped in that room, that would then be the most interesting thing in the room.

Thanks for the info, R145.

Saul Steinberg's triplex, 15B, originally belonged to John D. Rockefeller Jr. It's considered to be the best apartment in the building. Steinberg bought the triplex for $285,000 in 1971. That would be about $1.8 million in today's money. He sold it for $30 million in 2000. I guess this is true for all of New York's prestigious apartment building, ie. the enormous increase in the value of the apartments since the 1970s.

Tedious and dated.

R147

Yes, city has changed much since 1970's and is reflected in RE values. Back then white flight was still in full force and that included parts of UES (Fifth to Lexington) .

Having a view of Central Park then was all very well; but you valued your life cheaply walking through even in broad daylight.

Everything being said you have to consider there is so much vast wealth today that simply didn't exist in 1970's or even previously. Mr. Jeff Bezos, Mr. Bill Gates, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg and others of recent vintage have amassed huge fortunes in very short periods of time that would make John D. Rockefeller blush.

As always one way to get into NYC society is to own the "right" home; Mr. Stephen Schwarzman nabbing that apartment at 740 Fifth is just another version of when Vanderbilt and other families built huge mansions all over UES for social status.

It also doesn't hurt that today's tax code is far more generous to great wealth than it was in 1970's.

In addition to the book, there was also a movie revolving around current residents of 740 Park. They described how during George W. Bush's reelection campaign he had to go to Schwarzman's apartment, kiss the ring and receive his campaign donation.

She ripped out her father’s library to install a black chamber.

Philistine

True, R149. In the 1970s, there was lots of crime, public services were in decline, etc. I believe the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. There were crumbling, dilapidated buildings in certain parts of Manhattan (never mind The Bronx). I remember the graffiti-covered subway cars from movies. There was a book promoted on Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" about this topic. Too bad I can't figure out the title.

I wonder how much a nice townhouse on the Upper East Side cost in the 1970s. Maybe they were also in the $300,000 range.

Back in the 70s and 80s New York City was cheap enough that middle-class families were able to buy a three or four bedroom place and raise their children on the Upper West Side.

I love this look. I’m an aspiring minimalist

[quote]Is Vera the silver thing in the middle?

No, she's not that fat.

2 skinny gals:

I have Vera Wang 100% Egyptian Cotton sheets I got at Kohls 3 years ago. Still very comfortable and soft!

How big is Vera's Wang!?! Dammit! I need to know!!!

R152

Mr. Andy Warhol picked up No. 57 East 66th Street in 1974 for $310k, so yes it could be done.

Mr. Warhol also racked up other real estate on UES and out in Montauk for very little money. But of course this was the 1970's and who could have predicted city would have turned into what we see today?

As for Montauk no one went there back in 1970's or even 1980's for that matter. Now sadly the place has become engulfed as part of "the Hamptons" scene.

740 Park Avenue in local NYC news yet again; must be something in the water......

Thanks for the great info, R159 - R161.

This is how to decorate an apartment. Minimalism is depressing.

Marella Agnelli's apartment at 770 Park Avenue

Okay. She used too much colour. The room with the nude painting isn't bad.

I love Marella’s quote about Mercedes Bass after visiting the absurdly over decorated apartment she and Sid created after their marriage: “It will take her another lifetime to understand wicker.“

LOL

Now this is something I prefer; Park avenue apartment of Fernanda Kellogg Henckels (step-daughter of Mercedes Bass from her marriage to Francis L. Kellogg).

[quote]Are you really a minimalist if you rented storage space for the fireplaces, molding, bookcases, and other architectural detritus?

I admire her for saving some of the architectural elements (is that the right word?) like fireplace mantels and pedestal sinks with Tiffany legs, and putting them in storage. I assume they're original to the building, ie. not bought by her parents. She could have sold them.

Then again, she's probably thinking about saleability. If someone really wants an apartment in 740 Park Avenue but hates her minimalist style, they'll have authentic elements to help them convert the apartment to a more traditional style.

The article says she demolished the moldings.

Can you remove moldings without damaging them?

I love the layouts of Park Avenue apartments. But no views and pseudo-suburban neighborhood,

R171

Well sweety that is what happens when one lives in an urban apartment house on an avenue that doesn't face a park or something.

Same as Paris, London, Berlin, etc.... You get what is seen from front or side windows, and that is that.

Park avenue only became built up after New York Central covered over their railroad tracks. Previously it was largely a backwater where no one lived thanks to smoke, noise and other objectionable things that come from living near a railroad.

Compared to Fifth, Park is far more quiet during day and much of night since it is a residential street. It is also a good midway point IMHO; close enough to shopping and whatever of Lexington and Madison, but also far enough away from other things as well.

R170 Wood moldings can be removed and saved, yes. I don’t know about plaster moldings, however those might have to be re-created. At that price point you can hire skilled artisans though.

Mother told me that back in the day, many "fast" women resided on Park Avenue: mistresses, divorcees, those of dubious lineage, etc.

Proper wives lived on Fifth.

Not casting dispersion upon your mother, but that's hard to credit. Unless talking about either above 96th or maybe below 57th street. Or maybe very early 1900's.

NYCRR covered over their ROW in 1903, and by 1920's Park Avenue was quite fashionable; hence all those grand pre-war co-op and rental buildings. Cannot see either of them allowing "shady ladies" to take up residence.

Now Yorkville on or east of Lexington was another matter. Reason behind that book and later film "BUtterfield8 " was that area was widely known by the 1940's or so for several kinds of women.

Nurses - from the many local UES hospitals

Secretaries - place was nicknamed "Secretaries Row" because so many of them lived in area. It was relatively safe, and had direct train access to mid-town or Wall Street where many young women worked in various pink ghetto jobs.

Then there were hookers and mistresses. One worked the streets (Yorkville had at least one stroll well into 1970's IIRC, East 84th/85th around Second Avenue, where post office is today), the other was stashed in apartments by their wealthy clients, and or worked indoor prossing. All those adverts in back of New York Magazine, business cards, answering services, etc....

For good part of 1990's Yorkville in 80's was notorious for trannie hookers, it was like a plague.....

UES was and still is a good location for prossing because men (especially white with money) feel safe. Yorkville is also adjancent to the rich heartland of UES west of Lexington. So a guy can zip out for a quick one and get back home rather quickly.

Over years there have been several famous raids of indoor prossing on UES

Very nice, R168. Too bad I can't find any photos of Mercedes Bass's over decorated apartment.

Not so crazy about this old fashioned apartment at 740 Park Avenue. I don't like the red walls and the flowery patterns.

740 Park Avenue has 19 stories and only 31 units.

Supposedly Jackie Kennedy's childhood home was an 8000 square foot duplex on the sixth and seventh floors. Under recent owner, hedge fund manager David Ganek, the duplex had four bedrooms, six bathrooms, a staff wing — and a hefty $13,278 a month maintenance fee.

Am told by those in the trade that wall paper is making a huge comeback, even for middle class homes/apartments. People just don't want to paint it seems, and putting up today's product is far less of a mess/hassle than previously.

That's way too matchy-matchy, r177. The wallpaper border matches the border on the upholstered furniture. Who thought that was a good idea?

Very true, R181. I also don't like the blocks of red color alternating with green curtains. I guess if you have quite a few windows, it's better to use a neutral color than that really strong red.

She inherited the duplex from her father. At the time of his death she was living at 778 Park Avenue (where Brooke Astor had an apartment for decades).

R183

Am going to assume the board gave Fernanda Kellogg Henckels no problems over inheriting her father's apartment. Aside from a few formalities discussed over tea and sandwiches rest of the interview likely moved on to other matters.

According to R51's article, Steve Mnuchin lives most of the time in California and problems in his apartment in 740 Park Avenue have caused flooding of neighbor's apartments several times. The owners should figure out a way to force him to sell.

Brooke Astor and her tiny 5000 square foot apartment

R177, where is Miss Belle Watling in that photo?

I like her copy of "wool" on the coffee table.

The article at R17 implies she destroyed original moldings when revamping the apartment. It just says "moldings" but it sounds like they were the originals, which really makes me angry. Allegedly she stored the fireplaces and Tiffany pedestal sinks, but something tells me she might not have. And all her "it's so insane! how could I do this! it's so edgy!" was insufferable.

I went from having no opinion of her to actively disliking her.

Saving all the moldings may have been a condition of the renovation.

Know the Dakota for some time now forces those making renovations to store removed interior bits (in a storage room on site IIRC), so things can be put back if wanted/needed when current owner vacates.

This came about (again IIRC) after too many shareholders were renovating, combining or whatever apartments and getting rid of irreplaceable interiors.

There are of course, and have been since early 1900's or so, architectural salvage dealers who buy and sell bits of interiors either at auction, and or come in before demolition. You find these sort of enterprises all over the country, which is a good thing. That being said even the most deep pocketed business cannot save everything; thus so much ends up going to landfills.

Cold as a witch's tit.

Ugly soulless style for an ugly soulless woman, to nobody's surprise.

[quote]The article at R17 implies she destroyed original moldings when revamping the apartment.

I'm hoping they used the word "demolished" in a figurative way, in other words a dramatic way of saying she removed them and hopefully saved them. Then again they might have been too hard to remove intact and she did wreck them and throw them out.

[quote]R177, where is Miss Belle Watling in that photo?

Nah, that decor doesn't say high class brothel. The owner isn't afraid of color, just like Marella Agnelli. The apartment at R177 is too "old fashioned UES dowager" for my liking but I still prefer it to Vera's cold, stark apartment.

Think we can cut Mrs. Brooke Astor some slack, as she was born and grew up in early part of last century when plenty of homes were still decorated in that heavy, crowded French or other European fashion. Rooms so packed with furniture (aside from maybe ballrooms), that it was often impossible to navigate from one side of room to other in straight line.

Of course for Mrs. Astor and her peers at the time there were only a handful of decorators everyone used; Parish-Hadley was top on that list.

Tory Burch approves!

From 1789 until just before WWII the various revolutions, coups, and or just hard times for various royal/noble families proved happy hunting grounds for wealthy Americans. Entire rooms of furniture and or furnishings (including wall panels, doors, etc..) rugs, carpets, tapastries, etc... were crated up and shipped to USA from Europe.

Over years as American families had their own issues, decorating tastes changed and or great homes were sold and demolished a good amount of these treasures were auctioned off/sold, or otherwise scattered. Things have also ended up in museums or left in homes that have become one of a sort themselves.

I know that wood paneling (unpainted) has a secondary market, but what’s the big deal about painted moldings? They aren’t plaster. If they were plaster you couldn’t remove them without destroyIng them. If someone wants to re-create the original moldings, they pay 2-3 hundred dollars per custom profile and then the same price as for standard, stock moldings. The newer wood might be slightly less hard, but if you aren’t walking on it, who cares?

What am I missing?

Well reusing old trim does help save trees so there is that environmental point of view.

R196, I like Brooke Astor's style, especially the room with the dark red walls and the fireplace in your post. It's just that I don't think R177 is a very attractive and elegant example of the old fashioned style.

The article I copied the photo at R186 from was making the point that a 5,000 square foot apartment is considered small by ultra rich New Yorkers these days.

R200, if they were plaster moldings and Vera had to destroy them, then I agree with a previous poster who said she should have moved to an expensive new building rather than radically remaking the apartment at 740 Park.

FWIW, I live in a Deco building uptown from the mid-20s. Lots of authentic period detail.

If I attempted to move/alter my plaster moldings in any way, they would crumble into dust. They cannot be moved, much less removed and stored somewhere.

Thanks for the info, R204.