Sandra Bullock On Design

According to Sandra Bullock, if she hadn’t become an actress, she would have become an architect.

The Hollywood star recently flexed her design muscle when she undertook the restoration of a 19th-century townhouse in New York, which first attracted the actress more than 20 years ago with its rear garden, original chimneypieces and airy parlour level.

“It so much needed restoration and love,” says Bullock of the property, admitting that taking on the major overhaul was “me attempting to find my footing into adulthood.”

To help with the project, she enlisted the help of skilled artisans that could fill in the missing gaps of the historic property and carefully, respectfully bring it back to life.

“That kind of craftsmanship used to be handed down from generation to generation. I am no fine artist but I can walk into a building, and I can feel what the space wants to be. I just need to find the fine artists that can execute what’s in my head.”

And that’s exactly what she did.

To help bring the interiors together, Bullock also enlisted the help of the creative team at Ashe Leandro.

“This was all new territory for me since I had always been on-site for projects. Now I had to give up some control, which I am not very good a” says Bullock of working with the studio on the project during COVID. “But what was quickly apparent was that they honour the integrity of a space.”

The team helped Bullock bring the home to life, painting the walls in a cool shade of white from Benjamin Moore called SuperWhite and filling the rooms with a carefully curated mix of furniture and accessories pulled from Bullock’s collection of antiques along with custom pieces they commissioned.

Today, for instance, an Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet Rope Chair from circa 1940 sits comfortably next to a bespoke sofa covered in Zak + Fox fabric, two coffee tables from 1stDibs and an antique tapestry.

Meanwhile, the dining room features a Noguchi Akari pendant lantern, Carl Hansen red-leather chairs and a custom dining table from 1stDibs.

All this is offset by a decidedly modern all-white kitchen with stainless steel Bulthaup cabinetry, resulting in an inviting mix of old and new.

“Architecture was supposed to be the backup plan but thankfully times have changed and we are now allowed to have more than one ‘thing’ we do in life,” says Bullock. “I get to have two passions.”