Inside Liv Tyler's West Village Townhouse That She Brought ‘Back to Its Original Glory’
Liv Tyler may spend most of her time at her home in London, but her West Village townhouse will always feel like home.
The Lord of the Rings actress, 42, has been settling into her charming four-story abode over the course of two decades, having purchased the building in a dilapidated state back in 2001. She knew it had potential as soon as she laid eyes on it, despite its obvious deterioration.
“When I found it, it was really, really, really run down,” Tyler told archdigest.com. “You really needed to have a vision to see what it would be — and I could just see it.”
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It had been owned by several interesting characters throughout the years, including “three spinster sisters” and a politician, something Tyler found fascinating. And she aspired to keep the house’s historic charm.
“I really wanted to bring the house back to its original glory,” she says. “I wanted to really honor the house and put back all the beautiful details.”
Tyler teamed up with a group of architects that helped her revamp the home from the ground up — literally. “Every window is new, every door is new,” she says. “We gutted it down to the absolute brick. You would be in the basement looking up to the attic. The only thing that we kept was the stairs, all the beautiful carvings and the banisters, but each step, each tread and riser, had to be remade.”
To maintain the Old World look, Tyler and the team brought in wood floors from a barn Upstate, single-pane Polish glass and more unique pieces, cutting no corners along the way.
Because she had a vision in her head of her dream home, Tyler wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty along the way. “There was scaffolding inside, all over the rooms, and I would get up and help them,” Tyler says. “I love spending the afternoon with a plumber, an electrician, or a painter and learning about how things are done and what really stands the test of time.”
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Today, Tyler revels in the fruits of her labor, spending her time in the home when she’s in New York City for work.
“I’ve been here five times in the past few months,” she says. “I just come and stay and plan little plans where I invite everyone that I love to come and be with me here. Everything I’ve ever owned is here. All my clothes, all my collections and all the little things.”
Her favorite part of the home? The convenience of living in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the West Village, with everything she could need steps away. “I just love how I don’t even have to leave my block,” she says.
To read the full feature and see more photos, visit archdigest.com.
