This couple's beautiful apartment could be yours. Call now! (Patrick McMullen)

When Lauren Muss and John Matteson saw the two-bedroom, 2.5-bath co-op for sale at 180 East 79th Street, they must have decided that they could not wait, they had to act now. After all, the price had been slashed from $3.2 million to just $1.99 million and supplies might not last.

We're not sure if the sellers—Home Shopping Network CEO Mindy Grossman and husband Neil made the familiar sales pitch—but Ms. Grossman must have picked up a few tricks of the trade at the helm of HSN, the oddly enchanting channel surfing favorite of those with cash to burn and too much time on their hands. 

Still, Ms. Grossman, who bought the classic six in 1999, according to city records, did not have an easy time with the sale of the "chic, streamlined space." It bounced through three brokers and series of price cuts after it hit the market asking $3.2 million in January 2010 (shipping and handling not included).

Did the apartment come with a free gift?

But who would risk missing the opportunity to own "a masterful combination of the best features of prewar living with the light and scale of a downtown loft," as the listing, held by Douglas Elliman broker Sabrina Saltiel gushes in a fashion befitting the station of shut-ins and fallen stars? At least that used to be the station's reputation before Ms. Grossman took the reins, giving it a gloss of sophistication.

Much like HSN, the apartment has benefited from Ms. Grossman's upscale touch: ebonized oak floors, elegant translucent glass walls, artistically concealed cabinetry and stone countertops.

Ms. Grossman, who keeps a primary residence in St. Petersburg, Fla., where HSN headquarters is located, apparently tired of what was or had turned into a pied-à-terre since she became CEO in 2006. The company does keep a set of sleek offices in the city, but sometimes a woman has to admit she doesn't need all the things she wants, even when those things are genuine cubic zirconia earrings or airy Upper East Side co-ops.

Did Ms. Grossman throw in a beautiful free gift to seal the deal with Ms. Muss and Mr. Matteson? We're guessing she considered $90,000 off the already deeply discounted price of $1.99 million gift enough. That $1.9 million can, of course, be paid in six easy installments of $316,666.66.

kvelsey@observer.com

Ms. Phillips paid $1.6 million for the one-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op near the top of 180 East 79th Street. The seller was the estate of Piera Circiello. She died in the fall of 2009, and was the wife of famed Upper East Side restaurateur Gino Circiello, whose eponymous restaurant was located 18 blocks south at 780 Lexington Avenue. In Gino Circiello's obituary from December 2001, The Times described the eatery thusly:

[Gino] epitomized the New York of the time when men still wore hats and a plate of spaghetti went for 95 cents. It was where Ed Sullivan ordered the same chicken dish every day and then spread out his papers on a table to work through the afternoon. Each Mother's Day, Frank Sinatra brought a dozen people to the big table in the back. Manicurists, opera stars and the odd mobster added spice to the sauce.

The 1930 red-brick-and-limestone building went co-op in 1965, according to Carter Horseley's City Realty, where he also notes, "The building has an impressive and large lobby decorated in an Oriental style with a doorman and a concierge."

SLIDESHOW: Connie Anne Phillips' Saucy New Spread >>

Entering Ms. Phillips' new 18th-floor "unique pre-war residence," as Sotheby's brokers Pierrette Hogan and Cheryl Daly put it in their listing, visitors are greeted by a set of exquisitely detailed and connected living spaces. A gallery steps down into a sunken 22-foot-long living room with a fireplace and then back up into the dining room on the left. Those rooms, along with the pantry and kitchen--with top-of-the-line appliances befitting any restaurant--have been painted the red of just-ripe Roma tomatoes. A staff room adjoins the pantry and dining room, leaving ample opportunity to create a two-bedroom. There are carved ceiling  beams and crown molding throughout the home.

These sorts of architectural details should suit Ms. Phillips very well. After all, she told Daily Front Row last September that the thing she missed most about working at Conde Nast was Frank Gehry's famous cafeteria in 4 Times Square.

Read past Manhattan Transfers here. >>

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo