Photo Credit: The Novogratz\Haute Residence sat down with design power couple Robert and Cortney Novogratz to discuss the secrets of their success. This is what we learned.

The Novogratz: Who They Are

Photo Credit: Gus Black

Robert and Cortney Novogratz, well-known and beloved designers and parents of seven, are known for their eclectic style and the way they mix high and low items together. They have an eye for curating art to match every project aesthetic. Re-creating from the ground up, across the country in residential, retail and hotels are among their oeuvre. They are widely known for their TV shows on Bravo and HGTV, for their eponymous line of furniture and home decor products and their recently published design bible, Novogratz: Design Fix (Rizzoli). Robert and Cortney are working on two major home projects, the iconic Pink House in Greenwich Village in New York, NY and the “Bird House”, another super-star project located on the much-coveted Bird Streets of Los Angeles. Both will be completed toward the last quarter of the year.

The Novogratz Pop-Up

Photo Credit: Gus Black

Robert and Cortney opened their uber cool pop-up on America’s trendiest street, Venice Beach‘s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, this spring, which coincided nicely with the launch of their new Spring 2021 Outdoor Collection of furniture, rugs and home decor accessories (which include The Paulette Outdoor Table + Bench Set which comfortably seats up to four and is perfect for playtime and outdoor hangs; The Novogratz Nora Pub Set includes both the table and the two counter stools; and the Cache Metal Locker Accent Table).

The pop-up is their first “House of Novogratz” store, bringing together their full offering of furniture, rugs, lighting, wallpaper, flooring wall art, and chic décor pieces. There will also be a selection of artist’s work available, featuring Indian Giver, Diego Uchitel and more.

The store, a bungalow-style house, will provide over 2,000 square feet of retail experiences in six different rooms, as well as working design studios, collaborative brands, rotating pop-up activations, along with a food and wine. It functions as a showroom and will also showcase live streaming events, sales and guest appearances.

The SJP Collection & The Novogratz

Photo Credit: SJP Collection and The Novogratz

Debuting April 16, SJP Collection and The Novogratz is a capsule collection of outdoor furniture and accessories inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker, her embrace of bright hues and fun, inimitable chic. An ode to retro design, the collaboration features pastel lawn chairs, lots of stripes and happy prints, outdoor umbrellas with fashionable scalloped edges, and must-have including rolling bar carts, perfect for any backyard soiree or to simply sit back and bask in the new season. SJP Collection by Sarah Jessica Parker is a growing NYC-based fashion label, launched in 2014 by Sarah Jessica Parker and George Malkemus III. Handmade in Italy by third and fourth generation shoemakers, the SJPC shoe collection is built upon three pillars: delivering quality; adopting color as a neutral; and celebrating the single sole.

Key Quotes

Photo Credit: Gus Black

Robert on retaining their pop-up space on Abbot Kinney in the future: “We’re going to keep evolving it. You know, we have it leased until February, because we want to move the House of Novogratz over to a new location every six months or so. So right now we’re doing outdoor until September and then rolling back to everything — back to school, back to life — and then we’ll get a holiday season out of it as well. And then we’ll probably move to either Austin or Detroit or New York.

Cortney on how the collaboration with SJP came to be: “Besides our brief moment in Los Angeles, we have raised our kids in houses and townhouses in Manhattan and crossed paths with Sarah over the years. We share similar interests, a love of the arts, so it made sense, it was authentic. She has twins as well; there were a lot of things that were in line with us and so we thought, ‘Why not? It’s a perfect fit.'”

Cortney’s tips for realtors staging homes: “First of all I think things like books obviously are a given. They need to be really fashionable books, whether it’s design books or books you’d have in the kitchen. Show the house like people really live. Whether it’s a bench or a hook with actual coats or backpacks or a basketball. There’s a way to make it feel lived in so that people can envision their own families moving in, but making it stylish and really beautiful. Plants are really important, and I recommend living plants because it brings life to the house. I’m all about the real thing. If your’e trying to stage a house and make it look great, it smells fresher.”