Meg Ryan, the girlfriend of the reforms

Meg Ryan, better known as Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra or the ex-girlfriend of America, has put on sale the purchased apartment to Hank Azaria (of the voices of the Simpsons) in the year 2014 by 8 million dollars (7.53 euros), and has done so with a revalued price of 10.9 million dollars (10.27 euros). This difference of nearly three million dollars is justified by an in-depth reform of the housing and by the surname of the owner (of course).

The housing is located on the fifth floor of the number 84 on Mercer Street in Soho New York, surrounded by the best shops in Manhattan, proof of this is that in the other side of the property, the 513 of Broadway, is a boutique of H&M. The complex was built in 1884 for DH Haight as tent and lofts, although the highlight of its past which replaced the Hotel St. Nicolas, built on 1,853 with the nickname of being the largest and most luxurious in the world (at that time), being the first building in New York with a cost of one million dollars (again, of the era).

In 1978 it was transformed by a cooperative to residential use, becoming in the largest cooperative building of the Soho with 19 residences and 7 commercial premises, distributed over six floors (ground floor more five levels). The building also boasts an undeniable elegance born in its style, the Neo-Romanic, which shows in its main facade its imitations free of Ionian and Corinthian columns, of circular and square sections made with reinforced concrete (new at the time).

Meg Ryan said to the magazine Architectural Digest, which she visited the loft 15 years ago during a party, when it belonged to Cindy Sherman, who sold it to Azaria at 4.63 billion dollars in 2005 (4.36 euros), becoming a property «very of Celebrities», and that despite lack of doorman, Concierge, communal terrace-parks its monthly expenses achieve the 6.147 dollars (5,790 euros).

To reform the 380 square meters of apartment, the actress and, recently, film director (Ithaca, a film that has not been very successful, despite to be starring for Tom Hanks) had two (not so) secret weapons, the architect Joel Barkley and the famous interior designer from Monique Gibson. Although, I must say it, Ryan already has a wide experience in reforms, given that she has done it with 9 houses, up to 24-year-old son (Jack) has a nickname for his mather: «The effect of Megan-ize».

To the house can be reached from a private elevator to a lobby of 3.7 square meters which makes of distributor. Front it communicates to a 12 meter long gallery with a wooden bench of the same length, where can enjoy of five windows to the Mercer Street. At the end of the gallery one of the three bedrooms with access to a bathroom shared with the press room, which is accessed from the living room of 70 square meters, (the centre of the house) which also communicates the gallery through black French style doors (ensuring the luminosity of the enclosure).

The classic style with which the actress of «You’ve Got Mail» wanted to permeate throughout the House, slipped to the second bedroom, which communicate the lounge (that boasts of its six simple Doric columns) and the gallery. This, no doubt, must be the room of the visits since it has no windows and its 14 square meters, or its bathroom for exclusive use, cannot make you forget this.

Seeing the planes of the old distribution and the new, you can see that the measures taken by one of the most important stars of Hollywood have not been poorly designed. It eliminated the gym, replacing it by the master bedroom and attaching it a super bath with a tub of the brand The Water Monopoly, a toilet of Urban Archaeology and Italian marble of Grigio Carnico for the countertop, surrounded all of style subway tile, this combination is repeated in the other two bathrooms.

The second was the transform of the old master bedroom in a dining room, adding a decorative marble fireplace, several mirrors and cabinets of shallow (for clothing and cutlery). This dining room is accessed from the living room and the kitchen, and serves as super mattress for the well-deserved rest from the owners (which, we suppose, use the master bedroom). If we must put some failure to this approach is that only a window gives light and ventilation to both rooms.

The third and best of the measures has been the extend the kitchen, there should not exist a home where the kitchen is relegated to a second or third level, is, by far, the most important room in a House. So, before was isolated between a bathroom and the lounge, and now is protagonist of the access from the staircase, of the lounge (this time without doors) and the dining room (through a hall with wooden bench under three windows facing the courtyard), bravo! The kitchen have long white marble shelves and counters, Viking appliances, two stainless steel refrigerators and a dishwasher of the brand Bosch.

As we said the classic style is imposed on the property, in the press room covering the brick wall of terracotta with white paint, on the wooden floor dark mahogany, with a rustic wooden table large in the kitchen, with lighting fixtures industrial anywhere in the home, with baths in two colors: black and white (and sink of two-legged golden) with French doors dark dividing each section or with the huge sofas of lounge safeguarded by elegant columns. All to the pleasure of the actress.

Ryan confesses to Architectural Digest of her fondness for the reforms: «I know that it seems insane to most people, the idea of renewing many houses, but I love the renovation. I believe that it is linked to the life of the actor. As actor, seldom have control, always are saying words that another person has given you, standing in a room that someone else has designed, to create a reality that someone wants to see. But with decoration I have the control; it is an opportunity for me to bring my vision to the world.»

From The Luxonomist, we encourage our readers who follow the example of the actress: reforming our home has beneficial effects on our psyche (would ask to Ana Villarrubia in this regard?), and, not least, enhances the value of our real estate, giving it a much more worthy and profitable commercial output.

Images courtesy of Architectural Digest.