Actress Julianne Moore has shared a look inside the West Village duplex penthouse she recently renovated, where items she’s thoughtfully collected for decades create a perfectly lived-in vibe.
“The Big Lebowski” star, 65, told Architectural Digest that she had her eye on the residence before it ever hit the market.
“We were so lucky to find this apartment,” she said in a video tour of the home. “I think this is one of the most beautiful apartments in New York.”
Located in a 1920s building that was originally a hotel, the home is on “the roof of the building” and boasts several terraces—including one with an herb garden she planted and shares with her “very close friends.”
After living in a townhouse with her husband, director Brett Freundlich, and their two children for nearly 25 years, this apartment is her first time living “up high.”
“There’s so much life. You see people,” she said, pointing to a man on his balcony visible through the window. “It’s a wonderful way to experience the life of the city.”
The home underwent an eight-month renovation, a project Moore worked on closely with her brother-in-law, architectural designer Oliver Freundlich. The duo have worked together through six transformations.
“It’s compact enough that the details really, really matter.” Moore said of the home. Freundlich added “a little bit of shine everywhere, like in the light switches and with the faucets and the cabinet handles.”
The home isn’t just filled with items that were sourced to match the aesthetic. Moore seemingly has a meaningful connection to each piece she’s brought into her abode, from the kitchen chairs she purchased in Paris in 1995 and have been in “every place” that she’s lived in since to the modest piece of Ikea furniture she bought instead of “having something made,” which holds dishes in the corner of her storage-lacking kitchen.
The mom of two elaborated on her design preferences, noting that she likes “craft.”
“I don’t like things to be overly produced,” she shared. “I like patina. I like texture. I like ceramics.”
Ceramics carrying fascinating backstories line many of the surfaces in the dwelling. A fascinating piece by an artist named “Four” holds eggs in the kitchen, a mirror made by Isabel Rower greets guests in the entryway, and a collection of ceramic items cast in bronze—like AirPods and a cassette tape—are displayed in the living room.
While many of the collectibles Moore has acquired over the years have ties to her impressive career—such as the wax baby she snapped up while working with Lisbeth McCoy, the artist who sculpted it—there’s not an inch of the home that feels pretentious.
A table she spent “a long time” hunting down serves as a catchall in the home’s entry, and the hardwood floors of the primary bedroom are bare because she enjoys doing yoga there.
The statement-making bookshelves nestled in a corner of the main living space are left over from the previous owners, whom Moore applauded for having great taste.
She kept their original bathtub, too, which is high praise from the tub-obsessed A-lister who considers the feature “essential” to her life.
Just a few cosmetic changes were made to upgrade the primary bathroom, where she worked with Freundlich to source tiles that would match the existing marble.
Simple pleasures seem to bring Moore lots of joy. For example, a “marine lip” has been added to the edge of her bathroom countertop, a detail she says “everybody always comments on.” The feature prevents water from running off the side of the counter.
The bathroom, in general, seems to be a special place for the Academy Award winner.
“One of the things that’s great about this bathroom in particular is, because the marble is so bright and these lights are so good, you tend to look really good in this bathroom,” Moore shared. “Sometimes you might look better in this bathroom than you do in real life, so I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
While the apartment certainly has some quirks, such as the aforementioned lack of space in the kitchen and a tricky terrace door that increases the odds of getting stuck outside, there’s no shortage of character.
Moore loves working from her table while she looks out at the terrace and is appreciative of her “actual working fireplace,” a feature she explained is “very, very unusual in New York City.”
In addition to the charming penthouse, Moore and her family have a “big house in Montauk.” They originally held a cottage in the same area, selling it for $2.85 million when she realized her children had outgrown it.
“Our kids grew up, literally,” she said. “One is 5’10” and the other is 6-foot-2.”
Although the family has opted for more space by the beach, their apartment in the West Village is a downsize from the townhouse in which she raised her children, Caleb Moore Freundlich, 28, and Liv Helen Moore Freundlich, 24.
Get real estate news in your inbox
