Inside Shonda Rhimes' Gorgeous NYC Apartment
Television producer Shonda Rhimes has curated her own workspace into the confinement of her home with the help of designer Michael S. Smith, according to CNN Style. Famous for her hit shows "Grey's Anatomy," "Bridgerton," and, newest Netflix series, "Inventing Anna," Rhimes knows how to create a world of her own. As a content creator, she spends most of her days doing a lot of thinking and writing in her Upper East Side apartment, so she wanted her space to be a place that was cozy and comfortable, she told Architectural Digest. While Rhimes centered her focus on her day-to-day work life, she also managed to incorporate design elements that would fit in with the life of her kids.
At the time of her apartment purchase, Rhimes was in her "Bridgerton" phase, which influenced most of the features in her home. Locking in the late 19th-century style with antiques and a pop of bright colors throughout the house — from the different chandeliers hung in each room to the color of the furniture reflecting from the bold patterned wallpaper.
Garden like living room
Stepping into the apartment, the entryway is simple yet elegant in the way the light fixtures illuminate the space from the get-go, which bounces off the paintings by Hughie Lee Smith on each wall. Leading into the living room, one of the brighter rooms in the apartment, you're immediately welcomed with Chinese-style wallpaper a beautiful light blue background with trees and flowers printed all over. There are three windows with long bright yellow curtains overlooking the view of the city that allow a lot of natural light, especially in Rhimes' favorite workspace — a double-sided wood desk in between two of the windows in front of an orange tree with a gorgeous gold framed mirror hanging just above the desk.
Most of her knick-knacks and nooks were carefully handpicked, especially her furniture pieces. Rhimes told Architectural Digest in their YouTube video that she didn't have any extra furniture lying around, so she started with the wallpaper and worked backgrounds. The furniture and decor each play a crucial part in tying the whole room together even though it may not look like they go well alone, but once they're in the same room, it works. The hardwood side tables, coffee table, and a few chairs match perfectly with the white sofas and various colored vases and paintings.
Pull down wall turns dining room into guest room
Moving along into the dining area, it sets a whole different scene for the apartment where it serves as three different rooms: dining room, guest room, and library. Lined with stunning pink patterned wallpaper and a few sage green walls, the mood of the room is set immediately. It's filled with light pink furniture and gold light fixtures that make the space fun and elegant. Various sized vases with flowers and branches placed in them add extra life to the space.
On one side of the room, there's a dining table with various paintings by Walter Henry Williams Jr., and on the other side of the room, there's a tv hung on a wall that is able to be pulled out and turned into a bed for guests, Rhimes told Architectural Digest. There's a full bathroom just outside the room for guests to use. Not only can dinner parties be thrown in the room or allow for guests to stay the night, but it also has huge bookshelves that encompass a myriad of books for anyone interested in reading.
Sophisticated yet child-like interior
The kitchen is similar to most NYC apartments that have minimal space, but Rhimes and Smith made it work with an all-white room to make it appear bigger and an accent wall with yellow wallpaper. Rhimes told Architectural Digest that in every home of hers, she has yellow wallpaper, which her mom's house also had — offering a way to represent her childhood.
The kid's room is suitable for everyone who stays in the Rhimes household since it sticks to more neutral colors with grays and the blues throughout the room. The gray wallpaper allows for more room to add fun colors. There's a blue fixture light hanging from the wall above, which looks like an octopus. The focal art piece behind the bed with animal masks helps to add a child-like feel to the room. It's sophisticated and mature, but also fun and inviting at the same time.