Wainwright's tiny bedroom. (The New York Times)

Celebrities—they're just like us! Okay, not really, but some small aspects of their lives are kind of like some small aspects of our lives, even if these small, overlapping aspects of our lives do not usually involve real estate. Unless, of course, it's the squalid apartment that the celebrity lived before he or she was a celebrity, like William Shatner's old, ramshackle house in Hastings-on-Hudson. Mostly, these reminiscences have a strong undertone of "can you believe that someone like me lived in someplace like this?"

And we look around at our own sad, squalid apartments and ask ourselves the same question, but we know the answer to that question which is that no one is surprised you live in a place like this and probably never will be.

In any event, imagine our pleasant surprise when we were reading The New York Times and learned that Rufus Wainwright is famous and he still has a small, cluttered apartment with bad light. That he keeps his blinds drawn most of the time because his look out onto brick walls. And that his bed, like almost every bed we've ever had, only offers egress from two of the four sides. "It's a total dump," Mr. Wainwright told The Times, betraying that oh-so-familiar disbelief.

The Gramercy Park apartment is only about 450 square feet, according to The Times and what's more he shares it with his husband Jörn Weisbrodt. Mr. Wainwright bought the apartment in 2002, when he was in the process of making it, but had not really made it, at a point in his career when making it meant buying a dark, small space and littering it with cigarette butts as he wrote his music.

Of course, the apartment is not quite like the dingy hovel we live in—The Times tells us that its walls have been recently papered with prints by Zuber, a favorite of Jackie Kennedy, and that the couple continues to use two chairs made by a close friend with a store on Melrose Avenue, and that they decided to move back into the apartment after renting a larger one in Chelsea because they are spending more time in Montauk these days. It is, in other words, a pied-a-terre. Which is, in a word, why Rufus Wainwright's small, dark apartment is nothing like our small, dark apartments.

kvelsey@observer.com

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Wainwright's tiny bedroom. (The New York Times)

Celebrities—they're just like us! Okay, not really, but some small aspects of their lives are kind of like some small aspects of our lives, even if these small, overlapping aspects of our lives do not usually involve real estate. Unless, of course, it's the squalid apartment that the celebrity lived before he or she was a celebrity, like William Shatner's old, ramshackle house in Hastings-on-Hudson. Mostly, these reminiscences have a strong undertone of "can you believe that someone like me lived in someplace like this?"

And we look around at our own sad, squalid apartments and ask ourselves the same question, but we know the answer to that question which is that no one is surprised you live in a place like this and probably never will be.

In any event, imagine our pleasant surprise when we were reading The New York Times and learned that Rufus Wainwright is famous and he still has a small, cluttered apartment with bad light. That he keeps his blinds drawn most of the time because his look out onto brick walls. And that his bed, like almost every bed we've ever had, only offers egress from two of the four sides. "It's a total dump," Mr. Wainwright told The Times, betraying that oh-so-familiar disbelief.

The Gramercy Park apartment is only about 450 square feet, according to The Times and what's more he shares it with his husband Jörn Weisbrodt. Mr. Wainwright bought the apartment in 2002, when he was in the process of making it, but had not really made it, at a point in his career when making it meant buying a dark, small space and littering it with cigarette butts as he wrote his music.

Of course, the apartment is not quite like the dingy hovel we live in—The Times tells us that its walls have been recently papered with prints by Zuber, a favorite of Jackie Kennedy, and that the couple continues to use two chairs made by a close friend with a store on Melrose Avenue, and that they decided to move back into the apartment after renting a larger one in Chelsea because they are spending more time in Montauk these days. It is, in other words, a pied-a-terre. Which is, in a word, why Rufus Wainwright's small, dark apartment is nothing like our small, dark apartments.

kvelsey@observer.com

]]> http://observer.com/2012/11/just-like-a-real-bohemian-rufus-wainwright-has-a-small-dark-apartment/feed/ 0 kvelseyobserver wainwright http://observer.com/2012/08/lindsay-lohan/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:03:51 -0400 http://observer.com/2012/08/lindsay-lohan/ Drew Grant and Kim Velsey http://observer.com/?p=260392

Lindsay Lohan at the Boom Boom Room (Patrick McMullan)

Now that Lindsay Lohan has been kicked out of the Chateau Marmont for not paying her $46,000 bill, it is time for her to pack her bags and move Eastward. Surprisingly, the LAPD is letting her do this, despite the fact that up until yesterday she was the prime suspect in yet another jewel-swiping case. And what of The Canyons? Will no one think of The Canyons?

Just when you hoped that New York City had successfully dodged its last   heat-seeking paparazzo after Los Angeles' native Kim Kardashian left the Gansevoort, the New York Daily News is reporting that LiLo is moving to Tribeca and rooming with her assistant.

But where will she ultimately be hanging her temporary hat? We have some ideas.

The Plaza: She can search for Madeline while participating in Park Ave's  illustrious history of jewel heists.

 Gansevoort Park Avenue: It's got the Kardashian seal of approval. Plus, they have the loudest, drunkest, and  most annoying roof parties, which should act as a homing beacon to Ms. Lohan.

Chelsea Hotel: The used-to-be-cool, asbestos-filled death trap is basically a metaphor for the actresses' entire career, except that Bob Dylan has never been inside Lindsay Lohan. That we know of.

The Standard: They have the Boom Boom Room, which offers Red Bull, and Cat Marnell, who offers angel dust.

Tribeca Grand: There is literally no better place to shmooze with downtown celeb scenesters, potential directors, or Harvey Weinstein.

The Wythe: Where better to listen to Skrillex and party with a bunch of dirty hipsters?

Courtyard Marriott on 92nd: She can get high on the over-chlorinated pool while staying close enough to Dorrian's to chill with Pat Kelly and Shane Spencer. Also the only place on the list she can afford.

Dream Downtown: Owner Vikram Chandal will be sure to give her a discount.

Tribeca Twelve: You know, when she needs to keep a low profile and pretend to be sober for a couple days.

Everyone wants to be just like Katie Holmes!

Celebrity copycats, it turns out, do not restrict their mimicry only to the enviable aspects of a Hollywood star's life. Now people are scrambling to be just like the soon-to-be-divorced Katie Holmes, The Real Deal reports.

Ms. Holmes, who reportedly signed the lease on Chelsea Mercantile pad a few days before filing for divorce (real estate deals being one of the biggest predictors of a change in relationship status), is said to be generating unprecedented interest in the building. Ryan Serhant, a broker with Nestseeker, tells The Real Deal that interest in one of his listings is five times what it was before Ms. Holmes arrived.

“We went from showing once or twice a week to five showings today, four on Thursday and seven on Friday so far,” said Mr. Serhant. “Celebrities boost exposure and brand value.”

Apparently, the interested parties are entirely unfazed by the prospect of walking through a media scrum to get to Mr. Serhant's listing—a $22.5 million 4,000-square-foot apartment that went on the market this February.

“When people know a building is good enough for a celebrity, it is automatically more valuable," Mr. Serhant told The Real Deal. "You don’t pay $500 for Oliver Peoples sunglasses because they’re better, you pay that because Brad and Angelina wear them.”

Although celebrities including Jane Fonda, Nick Jonas and Marc Jacobs have lived in the Chelsea Mercantile in the past, the building had, Mr. Serhant claims, lost something of its star-studded sheen. And it would seem that Ms. Holmes's power is such that buyers want to emulate her, even as she wades through the misery of divorce (not that Ms. Holmes, with her barely concealed smile, looks all that miserable these last few days).

kvelsey@observer.com