- 3 months ago
Today, AD is welcomed by supermodel Kate Upton and MLB superstar Justin Verlander to tour their elegant NYC home. Inspired by Central Park sunsets, the couple worked with interior designer John Ruggiero to drench the once all-white apartment with color. From a dramatic pink living room to a luxurious green kitchen, this Manhattan home blends Old Hollywood style with playful personality, creating a cozy yet glamorous space for their family to enjoy.
Shop the celebrity couple’s style with this editor-curated collection of furniture and decor inspired by the home:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/justin-verlander-kate-upton-open-door
Shop the celebrity couple’s style with this editor-curated collection of furniture and decor inspired by the home:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/shopping/justin-verlander-kate-upton-open-door
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LifestyleTranscript
00:02Hello, A.D. Welcome to our home.
00:04Hi, come on in. Let us show you around.
00:21So this is our entryway. Welcome.
00:22So in New York, you really have to take your shoes off because you don't want the streets in your
00:25house.
00:26I just learned this, by the way. I didn't know. Kate's been a New Yorker.
00:28So our designer, John, designed this entry piece that's really cool where it lifts up. You wouldn't think it does.
00:35My favorite boot.
00:35And you can just throw all your shoes in there or your packages.
00:39We're going to keep it formal for you guys, so we're going to keep our shoes on for this tour.
00:43Yeah, these are my house shoes.
00:44We also have this really great piece from El Anatsui that we really love and wanted to be a focal
00:50point walking into the house.
00:52It really pops when you open the door like it's like a real statement piece.
00:54My family member, Tom Lohler, commissioned it, and so it's really special to us.
00:59This is a really cool piece.
01:01I love the female energy.
01:03Our designer, John, found this at a flea market in New York.
01:06Ruth Lidoff, I believe.
01:08Yes.
01:08You can always find cool things in New York.
01:10And this is, you know, female energy.
01:12This is Kate's place.
01:14You're allowed here, too.
01:15It's like cool.
01:22So this is our living room.
01:24We really wanted to have fun and have a lot of color.
01:27We're still so young, and I feel like working with some designers, they want to make us very serious.
01:32And I think in this space, it really shows we're here to have fun.
01:35Yeah.
01:36This is the fun room.
01:36This is Kate's place.
01:37She had full design control.
01:39A lot of people call it a she shed, right?
01:41But we call this her shent house.
01:43Yeah, I really made that statement by painting the whole thing pink.
01:46I actually like the pink, though.
01:47I was a little concerned early on when she told me.
01:49But when we first moved in, it was just all white.
01:51It was brand new.
01:52Nothing had been done.
01:53Yeah, the whole building was a new belt.
01:54And when I played for the Mets, when I lived here, it was all white.
01:56Once I got in with the rooms painted, it really softened it, which was actually your intent.
02:01It brought down the ceilings a bit.
02:02It really kind of made it cozy.
02:04I worked with interior designer at John Ruggiero.
02:07And we were staying in here and seeing these gorgeous sunsets.
02:10And you have these beautiful views of Central Park.
02:13And we really wanted to bring that nature and those colors of the sunset into the apartment.
02:19As a fashion model, golden hour is very important.
02:22So I hope that you feel golden hour in this room.
02:25And we love to entertain here.
02:26If it feels like you'd have a cocktail in here, that was the intent.
02:30This past season, when we came and played in New York, I did have a bunch of my teammates over.
02:33It became, what would the boy version be? The Hee Hut.
02:37Wow.
02:37Suddenly.
02:38I think it's quite clear that it's still the Shent House.
02:39Yes.
02:40It was really the first time that we had entertained, I had entertained.
02:44I mean, it functioned so well. We were so happy.
02:45And since then, we've had a bunch of people over.
02:47We do cocktail hour in here, and then we walk to a dinner spot.
02:55Oh, and this is Norman.
02:56This is Normie Norm.
02:58He's a good boy.
02:59He loves the city.
03:00He loves walking with us, because we take him most places.
03:02Yeah, we can take him to restaurants here.
03:04He gets a little nervous of the cars and stuff, but.
03:06Yeah, the construction.
03:07He's a good boy, though.
03:08He really is always feeling himself.
03:10He's so pretty.
03:11Yeah.
03:13We named him Norman because our daughter could say Norman the best when we first got him.
03:18She would go, Norman.
03:20She always separated them and couldn't say them together.
03:22Norm-man.
03:22We have like a love triangle where Norman's obsessed with Genevieve.
03:26Genevieve's obsessed with Bellamy.
03:28Bellamy.
03:28And Bellamy's obsessed with Norman.
03:31And you and I are obsessed with each other.
03:33Yes.
03:33Yeah.
03:34Speaking of Genevieve, this is one of her favorite rooms because she loves to put on theater
03:38performances with my nieces as well.
03:40Yeah.
03:40We sit here and they come out of the theater room and like do a reveal out of the curtain,
03:44and then they put on a show for us.
03:46It's the cutest thing.
03:47It's so fun.
03:48Yeah.
03:51It's so fun.
03:52It's so fun.
03:53Yeah.
03:53It's so fun.
03:57Welcome to our theater room.
03:59Yeah, so we wanted this to really feel like an old Hollywood screening movie room,
04:04so I hope that those are the vibes you get, and it's very art deco if you look at the
04:09ceiling
04:10and all this wainscoting that we added
04:12to make this feel like the apartment's been here for a while,
04:15even though it's a new belt.
04:16This used to be formal dining,
04:18but we don't live in New York like that.
04:19Like we said, we'll usually have cocktails
04:21and then go out to dinner.
04:22And we wanted to have a place that was comfortable
04:24that we can lounge in and watch movies with the kids.
04:27And that's where we did this.
04:28We also, one of my favorite things is this lamp.
04:30The Cher lamp.
04:31Yes.
04:32The rumor is that Cher was going to get this lamp
04:35and I got it before her.
04:36It makes me feel very special that in my shoe shed,
04:39Cher might have wanted my lamp.
04:41We don't know if that's true, but if it is Cher...
04:43You're welcome here anytime you can come see the lamp.
04:46When Kate and I first started dating,
04:47when I came over to her apartment,
04:49I asked her, I was like,
04:50where's all your like covers and modeling photos?
04:52And she was like, well...
04:53I was like, that would be really weird
04:54if I had a bunch of photos of myself all over my walls.
04:57Which is totally true.
04:58So I had this fun idea.
04:59I commissioned this piece over here from Charles Fizzino.
05:03It's like a piece of 3D art.
05:04Obviously, Kate loves the city so much,
05:06so it's Times Square.
05:07And then I took a lot of her favorite photographs and covers
05:10and put them in this piece.
05:12So it wasn't so in-your-face.
05:14It was more cute and a gift from me,
05:15so she has to put it in the house.
05:17It's also the theater district
05:18and here we are in the theater room.
05:20So it just worked.
05:21Diana Al-Hadid is one of our favorite pieces of art.
05:23It's just so amazing.
05:25It used to be in the living room
05:26and then when we renovated,
05:27we moved it in this room.
05:29And the way that it changed with the dark walls
05:32and just a different light was really incredible.
05:34You completely see different reflections,
05:37different pieces.
05:38The gold pops.
05:39The gold pops.
05:40I love it in this space.
05:41Yeah, it feels so good.
05:42We watch kids' movies.
05:45Lots of kids' movies.
05:47Yes.
05:47We're very well-versed in children's movies.
05:49Yeah.
05:49And then my favorite part is closing the curtains.
05:54And it's just such a vibe.
05:56Such a vibe.
05:56It's so great.
05:57You know, you feel like you're in the theater.
06:09If it's not clear from this apartment,
06:11I love pink and green.
06:14So I really wanted a green kitchen.
06:16You got green.
06:16I did get green.
06:18This wallpaper is really the star of the kitchen.
06:21I saw this wallpaper in my friend Bailey's house
06:23and I loved it.
06:24And separately, John brought this
06:27and the design meeting as a sample.
06:29And I knew exactly what it looked like
06:31and I fell in love
06:32and it felt very kismet
06:33that we both love this wallpaper.
06:36It's bringing the pink in
06:38from the rest of the apartment,
06:39having the green and the cabinetry.
06:42And it has that gold,
06:43which adds that little extra glam.
06:46Extra glam.
06:46A lot of glam.
06:48Yeah.
06:48This company is phenomenal, DeGourney,
06:51and they come in and personally install
06:52and make sure that no nook or cranny is missed.
06:55I mean, this little place right here,
06:56like they stood back and looked
06:58once the wallpaper was in
06:59and there was a space right here
07:00so they hand-painted this nest.
07:02I love how symbolic it is.
07:03It's our home.
07:04It's our nest and there's a nest here.
07:06And then we have our breakfast nook.
07:08We really use this as the heart of the home.
07:10This is where we're pretty much eating every meal.
07:11We eat most meals here
07:12unless we want to feel very formal.
07:14We'll go in the other room.
07:14Everybody's close together.
07:15We both cook.
07:16We kind of have our different things.
07:17But not here.
07:18I don't know.
07:18Yeah, we don't cook much here.
07:19Being in the city,
07:20we don't really cook here.
07:21Maybe that's why the wallpaper is so glam.
07:24Don't have to worry about anything getting on it.
07:26Yes.
07:27We love this steam oven.
07:28We had it at a rental in Houston, actually.
07:30Yeah, a rental in Houston.
07:31We were playing there
07:32and the owner, when we rented it,
07:34said, you're going to love this steam oven.
07:35And we're like, okay, whatever.
07:36We ended up using it.
07:38All the time.
07:38All the time.
07:39Loved it.
07:39And now ever since,
07:40every house, everything we renovate,
07:42it's or we like demand to have a steam oven.
07:44Yeah, it's the best.
07:45It steams.
07:46It steams.
07:46So it keeps all your chicken,
07:49your fish moist.
07:50And it keeps it up super fast,
07:51which is obviously great
07:52because I eat a lot.
07:54I'm starving all the time.
07:55Oh, my God.
07:56We actually focus a lot on lighting
07:57because we're both so tall.
07:59So you want to stand on the other side
08:02and be able to see someone eye to eye.
08:05We've had a couple experiences
08:06where it's like, oh, no.
08:08Yes.
08:08I can't see you.
08:10And you can't talk to each other.
08:10And so the height of it is really important,
08:13but we wanted to bring these ceilings down.
08:14John did a great job.
08:15These are beautiful.
08:25So this is the primary bedroom.
08:27I'm a big ideas girl,
08:29and I feel like John Ruggiero
08:31took all of my ideas
08:33and just elevated them
08:35to such a visual narrative.
08:37He really did this room,
08:38giving this bedroom its own color.
08:41We were blown away.
08:43Walked in was just like, oh, my God.
08:44This bed, John designed,
08:46and he worked with a local shop in Brooklyn called Stitch,
08:52who made it.
08:53And you can see the nature narrative brought back
08:55and then having the pink throughout the apartment.
08:58And then we wanted this bed to be high enough
09:00and none of this furniture
09:02to impede our view of New York City.
09:04We utilize this space a lot.
09:05It feels so nice.
09:07When we want kind of like our own adult space,
09:09you know, we'll use this sitting area.
09:10We very much were like,
09:11why do the kids have all the fun with their bedrooms?
09:13And we wanted colored.
09:14We wanted fun, too.
09:16And we wanted that experience in the primary.
09:18We always are adding things
09:19to make this apartment feel like it's been here longer
09:21and to feel Art Deco and pre-war.
09:23So we added these bookcases
09:25and we also added the doors,
09:26which before we didn't have a door.
09:29We used a shower curtain.
09:30Yes.
09:30And that was the only way to black out our room.
09:33So we felt really excited
09:34when we got a door to our bedroom.
09:36Yeah, big deal.
09:36Big deal.
09:37I think John did a really amazing job
09:39because for me,
09:40one of the most important things in a bedroom
09:41is being able to actually sleep.
09:42For recovery as an athlete.
09:44So like I really focus on my sleep,
09:46particularly in season.
09:47So rule number one for me in this room
09:48was like it needs to be blackout.
09:49And boy, is it.
09:51You can't even see your hand in here.
09:53If you get up in the middle of the night,
09:54you have to like feel your way to the door.
09:57Should we black it out?
09:57Yep.
09:58Let's black it out.
09:59We kind of will put up things in other homes
10:01like on the windows
10:02to make sure it's blackout.
10:04But to be able to do it like this
10:05and still have it so gorgeous
10:06was just like really well done.
10:08Norman thinks it's bedtime now.
10:09Yeah, Norman's like, where's my bed?
10:10The valance kind of helps keep out the light
10:12that would bleed over the top.
10:13But he made them modern
10:13because normally it can become
10:15a little traditional.
10:16We press a button in those clothes,
10:17but then you also have the shade
10:18that drops down as well.
10:19So it really, it really functions well.
10:21And then like he thought of so much,
10:22even the doorway has a slat
10:24and that hallway gets a lot of natural light
10:26so that it just seals the whole doorway.
10:28It's nice and dark.
10:29Ta-da.
10:30I mean, it's the middle of the day right now.
10:32So, you know, works pretty good.
10:33Yeah.
10:37Sleep is important.
10:38Yes.
10:38I never knew about it
10:39until I married an athlete.
10:40Now I know so much about sleep.
10:49In Genevieve's bedroom, yes.
10:50Genevieve was very opinionated.
10:52Yes, we're raising a strong woman
10:54and we love that she has so many opinions.
10:56Absolutely.
10:57And so she had a lot of creative input
10:59for her room.
11:01She wanted like the coziest bed set up.
11:03Where she could have her books
11:04and her toys.
11:05And the rug.
11:06Yeah, there was this one rug
11:07that is like memory foam in her room.
11:09And she was like,
11:10you can change my room
11:11but you cannot take this rug out.
11:12Cannot take the rug out.
11:13So John had to find a way
11:15to like cut it to fit into the room.
11:17He made it really beautiful.
11:18She really loves purple
11:19and she loves pink
11:20but she wanted a purple room.
11:22And as we were looking at paint colors,
11:24her paint color.
11:25Genevieve purple.
11:26Yes.
11:27Which is just so amazing.
11:28It just happened to be.
11:29Like we found the color
11:30and it was Genevieve purple
11:31which she loves.
11:32Yeah, she picked out the wallpaper.
11:33The wallpaper on her bed.
11:35It's actually fabric.
11:36It's soft.
11:37It's fabric.
11:37So it's like
11:38we'll have her little friends over
11:39and the first thing that she does
11:40is like wants to show them to her room
11:42and it's just like the cutest.
11:43It's the cutest thing.
11:44She's so proud of that room.
11:45She's so proud.
11:56Thanks for stopping by.
11:57Yeah, thanks AD.
11:58Thanks for coming.
11:59But get out.
11:59You gotta get pajamas on.
12:00Go to bed.
12:01Go to bed.
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