Robert and Cortney Novogratz are gearing up to resume construction next week at their high-profile pink townhouse in Greenwich Village. “We were four months into a major rehab of the townhouse on Waverly Place when construction halted in March,” Robert says. “It looks to start up again this Monday. New York is clearly ready to get working.”
Last year, the husband-and-wife interior design duo — known as The Novogratz — paid $8.5 million for 114 Waverly Place, previously owned by West Village eccentric Celeste Marin.
The couple’s design tips are laid out in “Novogratz Design Fix,” their fourth book, released in late March, which highlights 11 of their projects. Other projects in the book include a trailer in Montauk, a 100-year-old mansion in the Hollywood Hills and a 300-square-foot home in San Diego.
The couple and six of their seven kids — who range from middle school to college age — have been sheltering in place in the Berkshires, where they have been updating their beloved home (bought right after Sept. 11 and also featured in the book) as much as they can.
“We got a dumpster and filled it, built shelves in the basement, painted, did a lot of reorganizing, turned the sunroom into a gym and got an outdoor sauna,” he says.
“We are with our kids all the time, which is great, but we are looking forward to school being open again. We, like many people, have been doing lots of updates in our home that might not have been done.”Since the pandemic, Robert continues, “home has become even more important. People are building home theaters, gyms, offices, home schools and Zoom rooms. I don’t think I knew what a Zoom room was 90 days ago. I think many people have enjoyed working at home and will continue to — and many will leave New York City, but the city will be just fine. There will be some bumpy days, but there still isn’t any place like it in the world!”