When you think of Macklowe Gallery, which is famed for being a premier destination for fine decorative arts (especially Tiffany lamps), you think of exquisite and discerning taste. Museums, designers, and private collectors all come to the longstanding Park Avenue gallery to find delicate treasures. Benjamin Macklowe, son of the couple who founded it in 1971, and his wife Hillary Macklowe are the current owners and stewards of this New York institution. While they were once frequent travelers and happily nomadic, they settled into this elegant Sutton Place co-op when they started their family. Now, the duo is looking to sell the home, which they brightened and redesigned, for $3.495 million.
The Macklowes purchased the apartment in 2017 when their sons were two-and-a-half and one. Set within a prestigious 1928 building, the residence attracted them with its spacious layout for their young family. Two units has been combined to offer four bedrooms and approximately 3,000 square feet of living space, which meant there was plenty of room for the boys to play and even for the couple to have a guest room.
Hillary shares, “For the first few years, we really didn’t reimagine it at all. We had two little boys, so our priorities were wonderfully practical.” But, then a lightbulb went on, literally. They realized they were craving more natural light and brought in their longtime friend, architect Ed Kozanlian, to address that. Once structural changes were made to allow sunshine to stream in more easily while keeping the apartment’s character in tact, the couple went on to update the home’s style and decor.
“Interestingly, although both Ben and I spent our working lives at Macklowe Gallery, we never wanted our home to feel like an extension of the gallery. We didn’t fill it with Tiffany lighting or decorative objects from work,” Hillary reflects. Instead, they leaned into a fresh palette and let the residence develop an identity of its own, centered around family fun, comfortability, and their own personal collection tied to their memories and exciting world travels.
Nothing felt too precious, but most items held hidden meaning. Hillary explains, “We have pieces by friends who are artists—a painting by Jamie Nares, a ceramic work by Elizabeth Blake, an early piece by Peter Lane—and even a Roberto Dutesco photograph that came about through a trade for jewelry. I love that the things around us have stories and relationships attached to them.”
These pieces, and the feeling of home they helped develop, have come with the family now that they’ve moved. They’re looking to sell the polished and elegant apartment because their Westchester retreat, which they purchased after COVID, has morphed into their primary residence. The lifestyle it affords the couple and their kids, especially the freedom to explore nature and get outside more, made the decision to part with their longtime Manhattan co-op a natural next step.
Kim Shepard of Douglas Elliman holds the listing.
