Names: Robert and Cortney Novogratz
Job: Risk-taking renovators turned red-hot interior designers.
The Novogratzes surfed the real estate wave, renovating a series of dilapidated downtown properties into shiny new one-of-a-kind townhouses, then selling them for eye-popping profits. Along the way, they produced seven children, moved more than half a dozen times in lower Manhattan, and became stars of their own reality show, 9 by Design, on Bravo.
But the days of buying for $1 million and selling for 10 are over. Since the bust, the couple’s been betting that their telegenic brood and hip design aesthetic will keep their bank account full.
So far, the bet’s paid off. Although their reality show recently ended, they’ve bounced back with HGTV’s “Home by Novogratz” (premiering July 16), as well as a second book on design scheduled for next spring. Uber-rich stealth celebrities looking for home makeovers are signing on as clients. And they have a flood of endorsements for everything from Microsoft’s Bing to First Republic Bank. They say they’re also on the cusp of securing a retail deal for their own product line.
Like the von Trapp family singers, the family is of Austrian descent, and blessed with youthful looks and winning charisma, though on a recent afternoon Cortney, 39, wearing a purple wrap dress that complemented her blue eyes, looked more like Demi Moore than Julie Andrews. Robert, 48, in a gingham red and white collared shirt, dark blue jeans, high white socks and black sneakers, evoked an ironic urban farmer. Thanks to their remarkably good genes and their dramatic empire-building story, the whole clan’s represented by the modeling agency One Management, which is tasked with selling the Novogratz brand to companies looking for their particular kind of luster.
In the past nine months, they’ve completed 17 jobs, including a Rockaway redo for two surfer girls, a remake of a hipster pad in Williamsburg and a revamped Fred Segal store in Santa Monica, Calif. The bulk of the projects were filmed for their new show.
The couple works on the second floor of their current home, a former BMW motor garage that they morphed into an 8,000-square-foot, six-story townhouse on the West Side Highway. The place, which features a basketball court and water views, is a light-filled mash-up of modern and rustic pieces. Sounds of traffic, whizzing by just feet away, are noticeably absent, thanks to noise-killing windows from Switzerland.
With seven cherubs ranging from Wolfgang, 14, to Major, 2, including two sets of twins, there’s inevitable chaos. But they say working from the house suits them fine. They park themselves and their two design assistants at their giant dining table.
“If we had a separate office, we couldn’t be on top of the kids,” Cortney notes. “We’d lose what control we have.”
Though they’re technically Southerners — Cortney hails from Georgia and Robert spent a chunk of his childhood in Virginia — they give off a distinctly New York energy, talking over each other as though they’re in a rapid-fire game of verbal pingpong.
Of their new show and upcoming book, Cortney says, “We keep mixing it up.”
“We’d rather sell paints and sheets than get yelled at by some rich socialite,” says Robert, more bluntly.
Décor: They treat their house as a showroom, wooing potential clients and prospective partners by letting them see their aesthetic in action.
The space is welcoming and thoughtfully curated. White walls and a white open kitchen are punctuated with pops of color — a multicolor abstract painting of a construction site, a red piece of art resembling a 6-foot standing fan and an ornate blue-and-pink chandelier over the massive kitchen island.
“It’s bohemian chic, a mix of high and low,” Robert says, referring to the juxtaposition of expensive and affordable features, such as their professional-grade Wolf range and Ikea cabinets.
“Design doesn’t have to be overwhelming,” Cortney says.
“We simplify, but in a unique way,” Robert adds.
Their vision and unique style sense helped launch them into the house-flipping game. In 1996, they bought their first building, a condemned townhouse in Chelsea, for $450,000, and lived in it while remaking it. When Suzanne Vega asked to rent the top three floors, they moved to the basement. They tapped the equity from its sale to buy another property on Thompson Street, and so on. They lived in the Thompson Street place the longest, but each of their infants has been brought from the hospital into a new home.
Desk: The Novogratzes do most of their work in their dining area on a rehabbed science-lab table from Paris. Its black top and gold-painted rim are offset by its chipped gray iron base, with drawers good for hiding laptops from curious children. In the evening they dance on it, play table tennis on it and fight over who will move it for their legendary parties.
Detritus: Paint chips from their new Stark paints collection are fanned across their desk. Tile samples from a project in progress sit next to a black bison skull they’re fashioning out of Lucite for their new product line.
Light boxes on the wall spell out NATURE in a green-gray cursive, perhaps reminding them to vacate the city and head to the Berkshires house they bought shortly after 9/11. “The kids think squirrels are rats,” Cortney laughs. “It’s crazy.”
Philosophy: “People with families feel like, ‘Now that I have kids, I can’t have high design.’ You can still be cool and have cool things in your house,” says Robert.
Routine: Thanks to the HGTV show, their days are even more frenetic than usual. One week they shot three episodes. “I couldn’t remember which pillows were for which job,” says Cortney.
The kids have varying schooling set-ups — two are in Catholic school, three are in private school, one’s home-schooled by a tutor and the youngest is just 2 years old. The home-schooled daughter will pop downstairs to have lunch with her parents if they’re free, or to use them as an audience for oral presentations.
Caffeine: The Novogratzes have two coffeemakers. One, a serious-looking Miele, is built into the wall.
Robert’s practical about coffee. He has three cups a day. Cortney’s passionate. “I adore it. Coffee for me is like cigarettes for others. I’ve slowed down, though.”
Work style: “Anything’s possible if you hustle,” says Cortney.
