A Look Inside a Redesigned New York Home Once Owned by the Romanoff Family
Gossip Girl fans, remember Blair Waldorf's palatial home on the Upper East Side? The one with the grand staircase? Well, before the fictional Queen B inhabited it, the home belonged to an actual royal family: The Romanoffs. The uptown home was recently given an interior design facelift by Jason Saft and is now on the market for $5.8 million.
Princess Mimi Romanoff and Prince Alexander Romanoff, the great-nephew of Czar Nicholas II, lived in the home from 1973 until their deaths (Alexander passed away in 2002, and Mimi lived there until 2023). There, they entertained thoroughly, with guests including Count Vassili Adlerberg, Princess Helen Obolensky, Princess Marina Wolkonsky, and more.
Saft had plenty of real estate to work with; 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, and 4 1.2 baths, and 4,000 square to be exact. While many of the historic pre-war building details, such as the crown moldings on the walls and gated staircase remain intact, Saft focused on giving the interiors a contemporary spin. It's like having a hand in both the past and the present.
"I find the greatest challenge when approaching such a historic and detailed home is the notion that all elements need to be period-appropriate," Saft tells T&C. "Many times when my work is shown on social media on pages that focus on historic homes, there is a chorus of outrage for incorporating in modern art, lighting, and furnishings. I’ve learned to tune it out, mostly. As a self-taught designer who has built a home staging business, I've been focused on elevating the idea of what a staged home can and should be."
Saft is a fan of Billy Baldwin, a designer best known for his great finesse of merging the old with the new. And while he lives in an older house, Saft remains "conscious [he] exists in the present."
For more information on the property, please visit
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