In every aspect of her life, the late design legend and style icon Bunny Mellon cultivated refined elegance. The American heiress, married to the billionaire arts patron Paul Mellon, was an accomplished horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the White House Rose Garden, and assembled one of the largest collections of rare horticultural books. After reading about Bunny in P. Gaye Tapp’s new book, How They Decorated: Inspiration from Great Women of the Twentieth Century, I decided to revisit the real estate listing for her incredible Manhattan Townhouse, which sold in 2015.
Gaye reports that over the years Bunny worked with designers including John Fowler, Billy Baldwin, and Bruce Budd. John Fowler of Colefax & Fowler in London instructed Bunny by mailed correspondence for the decoration of the New York Townhouse, and painters Paul Leonard (who created the beautiful painted floors) and William Strom traveled to London to garner his expertise in finishes. Below is a tour, along with images of the home from Architectural Digest.
From the real estate listing…
Paul Mellon, heir to one of America’s great banking fortunes, and his wife, Bunny Mellon, built this extraordinarily beautiful 40’ wide townhouse on a fabled Upper East Side block in 1965. Featured in The World of Interiors magazine, the townhouse, designed in the neo French classic style evoking the charm of the French countryside, reflected the passions of its owners. Paul Mellon curated his art collection in the library overlooking the exquisite garden with reflecting pool and gazebo, where Bunny Mellon, designer of the White House Rose Garden and friend to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, indulged her love of gardening. The high-ceilinged drawing room and dining room lead to a spectacular terrace, the center of celebratory parties. The townhouse has 5-8 bedrooms, with flexibility for guests, and staff, 8 baths, chef’s kitchen, wine room and elevator. Most rare, however, the house has 3 exposures, affording brilliant sunlight into some of the most beautiful rooms on the Upper East Side.
Note the yellow walls in the living room… they were pink in the Architectural Digest feature at the end of this post.
Also note the peach curtains… these too are different from the ones featured in Architectural Digest. The originals were likely by John Fowler, and you can read an interesting discussion about them here.
And from Architectural Digest…
In the home’s pink living room, John Singer Sargent’s 1882 Miss Beatrice Townsend hangs above the mantel, which displays a Jean Schlumberger jeweled tree.
Édouard Manet’s circa-1879 George Moore in the Artist’s Garden overlooks the dining room, created by Fowler and his assistant, Imogen Taylor, in 1966; Leonard crosshatched the walls with lapis lazuli–blue paint, Bunny Mellon conceived the tablecloth’s embroidered tree, and Fowler designed the carpet.
Giorgio Morandi still lifes cluster over a parcel-gilt banquette at Bunny and Paul Mellon’s Manhattan residence, a 1966 French Provincial–style townhouse by architect H. Page Cross; it was decorated with Paul Leonard, William Strom, John Fowler, Bruce Budd, and others.
Leonard and Strom latticed the garden vestibule.
A trelliswork pavilion and stone obelisks punctuate the rear garden.
For additional reading on Bunny Mellon’s New York Townhouse, I recommend How They Decorated: Inspiration from Great Women of the Twentieth Century. The real estate listing is via Sotheby’s, and additional images on Bunny’s other homes may be found via Architectural Digest. And for further reading…
- Inside Bunny Mellon’s World (The New York Times)
- Rachel Mellon, an Heiress Known for Her Green Thumb, Dies at 103 (The New York Times)
- Mellon-White Townhouse, Another Manhattan Landmark For Sale (The Devoted Classicist)
- Netscape Founder Drops $37M on Bunny Mellon’s Townhouse (Curbed)
Bunny Mellon’s Cape Cod Home: Then & Now
The Gardens and Interiors of Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon
June Musings: Newport, The Hamptons, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie Kennedy
A Connecticut Retreat by Ashley Whittaker
I wonder who bought this wonderful place, and hope that they didn’t mess it up. It’s perfect as is.
Always love reading your posts and I follow madly on InstaGram !!!
However, I didn’t realize you were a Texan too. How wonderful. I’m in Houston.
sending love….
A DREAM OF A HOUSE-!
I used to walk by it when I lived on the UES, and thought how exquisite it was.
There was a divine Slatkin et Cie shop across the street!
Our upholsterer, Kenneth DeAngelis, told us a funny anecdote about Mrs. Mellon- (also a DeAngelis client)
She asked him to tell the employees to “just kick it” whenever they walked by one her sofas ! To achieve a slightly worn look-
This ties in with John Fowler saying “Every room needs a kick of French” !
XO
Dean Farris
The difference in color is from my friend who bought the house from Bunny. She renovated the kitchen and changed a few things around the house while keeping with the original design. If you notice the pink walls in the living room.. Bunny and the yellow.. my friend. They have since sold the house to what I believe is the 3rd owner. The home is amazing.. every floor painted in a different Gustavian pattern.. all the walls are covered in artist canvas and hand blocked… truly a beautiful home.. I hope the new owners don’t gut and destroy the design history of this house…
Timothy
Oh I am in love. Being in this home will take u to Paris …European opulence Never out of style
The True Epitome of Elegant taste….
Just because you possess the financial resources. Doesn’t mean you can demonstrate the glorious results Bunny Melon presented throughout her lifetime. The incredible displays of Art surrounding her living environments. We’re barely mentioned. What a incredible woman !!