Two Colorfully Whimsical NYC Pads Are For Sale
Full of art, natural light, and eclectic accessories, maximalists will appreciate these two new multimillion dollar listings. Let’s take a look at two colorfully creative Manhattan spaces that are just a little bit off-beat.
Starting in Chelsea, this $2.2M apartment owned by eBay executive Bradford Shellhammer (formerly founder of Fab.com) just came on the market last week — a place that Refinery29 once called “The Most Colorful Apartment We’ve EVER Seen,” and a space where “bold brights mix with high design for a space that’s playful yet elevated.”
Purchased in 2012 from The Hours author Michael Cunningham for $1.69 million — after touring the space and realizing he and the owner “used the same shampoo and had the same books on his bookshelves” — the co-op unit has been Shellhammer’s happy home with his now-husband, investment banker Georgi Balinov, these first four years of marriage.
The one-bedroom apartment is full of color and original art by the likes of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring — or, as 6sqft put it, “a Memphis-style-meets-mid-century-modern masterpiece in sherbet hues.” Soak in that dreamy master bath, with bookshelves lining the space both above the tub and on the opposing wall, with color and original art filling every nook in between, or swoon over the rose-colored view of Manhattan’s skyline through its gallery of windows in the open-concept entertaining spaces…drenched in a coat of Millennial Pink.
The couple is only selling the pad at 575 Sixth Avenue because Shellhammer says he needs more space for his 400 pairs of shoes, and he “grew up romanticizing New York City and its open loft spaces in the 1980s,” so they’re looking to downtown ‘hoods like Soho, Tribeca or NoMad, according to the New York Post. For more on Shellhammer’s vision to “carry on the energy of the space” as his now-friend Michael Cunningham had begun, the whole 2015 interview/home tour with Refinery29 is definitely worth a read.
Next up on our eclectic domestic adventures is an urban manse with a modern pedigree: the East Village townhouse designed by Annabelle Selldorf that just hit the market for $7.5 million.
The four-story, 5,200-square-foot townhouse at 26 East 5th Street was built in 1900, but this single-family home uses a 35-foot deep extension to add light and square footage by the “starchitect,” according to 6sqft — and the current owners have packed every square foot with pop art and fun, while leaving the bones of the place strikingly minimal yet warmly restored.
Bold, bright and whimsical fixtures like the kelly green lacquered front door to the bathroom that looks like a whimsical marriage of mermaid scales (Moroccan fish scale tiles) and mid-century pink (another dose of Millennial pink, if you will) perfectly contrast the classic wide pine floors, white walls, black-and-white checkerboard kitchen tiles, spiral staircase and exposed beams.
While sadly the owners’ collection of art and antique advertising is not included in the sale, the pre-war property is “conveniently located on a tree-lined street between Avenue A and B, steps to Tompkins Square Park in the heart of the East Village” and will not fail to inspire with seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, a garden-level private office space and courtyard, a master bedroom with wood-burning fireplace and Juliet balcony that takes up the entire fourth floor, and a roof deck with open-air views of downtown Manhattan to really get those creative juices flowing.
The homes are listed with Corcoran Group and Compass, respectively. For fun, play “spot the rocket” in each home’s slideshows!