Julianne Moore’s apartment, a two-bedroom duplex smack in the center of New York’s West Village, was one she always wanted. “I had spotted it when I was wandering,” she confessed to Architectural Digest ahead of their November issue. A subconscious manifestation, perhaps. Today, she shares the space — which sits on top a 1920s building originally constructed as a residential hotel — with her film director husband Bart Freundlich. But even such a light-filled, serene apartment with impeccable city views still needed an eight-month renovation — according to Moore’s standards. She is passionate about design, after all. “Most of the changes we made were cosmetic,” said architectural designer and Moore’s brother-in-law Oliver Freundlich, who worked with her on the renovation — the sixth project the duo has taken on together. The pair “did a lot of editing,” he said, like installing a pantry for the kitchen, fitting a closet in the bedroom, and furnishing with both pre-owned and newly bought pieces. French mid-century chairs purchased in Paris in 1995 now live in the kitchen, vintage Anglepoise lamps sit atop bedside tables, and vintage tortoise shells hang from the library walls. “The trick was to make the place functional but without losing any of the magic,” said Freundlich. They therefore made resourceful decisions, like putting up shades made from fabric once used for curtains and leaving enough floor space for Moore to practice her beloved yoga. As an actor, Moore has played characters whose jobs have ranged from a linguistics professor in “Still Alice” (2014) to a horse trainer in “Echo Valley” (2025). In her most recent role in Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut,” Moore portrays a housewife who struggles as a method actor after being cast a small part at her local community theatre. It is an ironic role, given the Academy Award discreetly tucked away on a shelf in her library. If anything, she’s more suited to play an amateur interior designer. “Believe me, Julie scrutinized every switch and knob,” said Freundlich. “My taste is consistent, though it has evolved,” Moore told AD. Designing her new home was a playground for her creativity. “I love modernism. But this apartment is prewar, and you have to address that,” she added. “It’s not tiny, but it’s not massive, either, so materials and choices become even more important.” Her West Village town house, which had a beautiful garden that was featured in AD twice (March 2012 and November 2017), was more grand than her duplex’s terraces. Yet, the city views from her new outdoor space — of water towers, decorative brick and tilework, arches and columns and rooftop gardens — help soften the transition. The plan to downsize was fueled in part by this point in Moore’s life and career, with an emptying nest and — and unlike many other well-known actors — her commitment to be an engaged downtown New Yorker. “Lives change,” she said. Plus, her big holiday house in Montauk freed her from the need for a larger compound in the city. The result? “It feels very serene here,” she said of her new home in the midst of the metropolis. “I wanted a sense of history, of time, of all the people who have lived here before us. We’re just passing through. That’s the magic of New York City.” Tanya Fevzi, CNN
