“Yes, we’re here! You’ve reached us here!” That was writer, lawyer and decorator Philip Galanes when The Observer phoned to ask if he and partner Michael Haverland had already moved into their recently purchased apartment at 29 East 9th Street. According to city records, Messrs. Galanes and Haverland bought the Greenwich Village duplex for $2 million from former Vogue editor Charles Gandee.
The gem in the dreamy duplex’s crown is, according to the listing, the “stunning double height living room with 18 foot barrel vaulted ceilings, floor to ceiling south facing windows, and a wood burning fireplace.”
“You know, it’s one of those buildings on East 9th Street near University Place that has those double-height windows and it’s just flooded with light. I mean it’s really amazing,” said Mr. Galanes, the author of two novels and a Yale Law alum.
The master bedroom suite features a Juliet balcony that overlooks the living room, “which lends itself to a charming home office.” Perfect for Mr. Galanes to write his weekly Social Q’s column for The New York Times Sunday Styles section. And for entertaining there is “the formal dining room with original wainscoting and a southwest exposure and French doors leading out to a small planting balcony.”
The co-op building, which the Douglas Elliman (DOUG) listing calls “one of the most sought after full-service homes in Greenwich Village,” caught the eye of the couple long ago. “It’s one of those buildings we’ve wanted to live in for about a million years and finally circumstances made it a possibility and we just couldn’t be happier to be here.”
“The apartment was not difficult to sell at all. It was only on the market for a month or so,” Dee Simonson, the Douglas Elliman agent who represented the listing, told The Observer.
The listing describes the apartment as “restored to perfection in a seamless combination of old world architecture and today’s amenities in impeccable style and design.” But considering Mr. Haverland’s profession—he is a high-end architect who, conviently, has several duplex apartment designs to his credit as well a number of Manhattan apartments and East Hampton homes—we assumed renovations were the de rigueur next step for the design-minded pair. However, when asked if they would begin extensive renovations in the apartment, Mr. Galanes deferred, “No, not much. It’s been left very authentic and we want to keep it that way. Other than just cleaning it up a bit.”
Fear not, though: Mr. Galanes who dabbles in high-end interior design in East Hampton and New York–his Web site explains, “always an avid furniture collector, Philip now also consults on interior design projects for select clients”– The Observer wondered whether one of those select clients would be himself and Mr. Haverland, to which he replied matter-of-factly, “Oh, yes, I’ll be decorating it.”
The couple also have a home designed by Mr. Haverland on East Hampton’s tony Cove Hollow Road. The spectacular glass house has been featured in an array of publications from Dwell to the New York Times.
Of their new neighborhood, Mr. Galanes told The Observer, “We used to live in this neighborhood but we took a very ill-advised trip uptown to 82nd Street between Fifth and Madison. I mean, it’s just gorgeous up there but it really wasn’t for us.”
cmalle@observer.com
