New York City Chic

Legendary New York Townhouse

via: domainehome.com

Interior designer Betsy Morgan’s historic townhouse in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood is the kind of home you only see in magazines. And you probably have. It was the backdrop of Sarah Jessica Parker’s editorial for Vogue’s August 2011 issue, and has also housed celebrities like Jaclyn Smith, Julianne Moore, and Kelly Ripa for various editorials, commercials, and campaigns.

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PHOTO: Reid Rolls

Morgan not only lives in the residence with her husband and two daughters, but she also rents it out to established publications. “I died and went to heaven when Vogue came with Mario Testino,” she says. “Meeting him and his crew was like something out of a movie. They were all gorgeous, and they were all in black — so stylish, so international.” Renting the home for photoshoots not only allows Morgan to meet her favorite fashion photographers, whom she admires greatly, but also to re-arrange and design her home constantly, a skill she clearly excels at.

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PHOTO: Reid Rolls

The home is a meeting place of two very different design styles and time periods. The second and third floor feature original architecture from when the home was built, in 1855, and the ground floor is completely modern and renovated. And Morgan’s interior design brings the two together effortlessly. “I go for an eclectic look with clean-lined modern pieces with some antiques and more modern art,” she says. “I use that look throughout the house.”

domainehome

PHOTO: Reid Rolls

domainehome

PHOTO: Reid Rolls

“Everything on the gallery wall was given to me from family or artistic friends. One friend, Australian artist, David Ranken, did the ladder at the bottom. The baby picture is actually me; my parents got it done at a mall in Texas. The map is from France; I saw it discarded at Christie’s when I used to work there. It just shows: you don’t have to have a lot of money to have a nice art collection.”