Celebrity Homes: Marisa Tomei Shows Off Her New York Double Apartment

Academy Award-winning actress Marisa Tomei is known for being an ultra-private celebrity, but she opened her home for the first time to show her passion for art and beauty. Tomei is the cover story of Elle Decor Magazine's March issue, where she revealed details about her "private empire."

"When I was a little girl, I wanted to live in a Fred Astaire townhouse and dance, dance, dance," the 51-year-old actress shared. She ended up living in a modest one-bedroom apartment in New York City. Page Six reported that she purchased the property in 2001, located in a 1931 Art Deco building.

One day, her neighbor slipped a note under her door, telling her that they were moving and asking if the actress was interested to buy their place. Tomei jumped at the chance to expand her house, which she said was like "winning a lottery" in New York City.

Attaching the two apartments together turned out to be an exhausting renovation.

"I was so scarred by the process, just exhausted, and then I moved to L.A.," the actress said.

However, she couldn't fully leave her New York family and theater work, and she eventually came back to finish the construction. Now, her double apartment brims with her massive art collection and other beautiful trinkets.

Tomei is a self-confessed furniture junkie, and she sources designer pieces with much gusto, just as she would scour flea markets for amazingly cheap finds. "This is how addicted I am: At one point, while I was at the 26th Street flea market in New York, I was also bidding on my phone for a pair of 1940s chairs for my bedroom," the actress revealed.

Tomei worked with interior designer Alexandra Hayden to tie up the two units. They took down the walls in the annexed apartments to create a new living room. It features a marble fireplace and colorful furniture pieces, such as a Milo Baughman swivel chair and a couch upholstered in Kuba textile. She finished the look with inexpensive items she found on the Internet.

Her old living room is now her master bedroom, while her old bedroom is transformed into a connecting walk-in closet. Her bedroom is painted in Fine Paints of Europe's Black Plum, while the ceiling and drapes are kept white. Her bed is vintage, as are the two fabric chairs from the 1940s, which she also bought at an auction.

The kitchen is decked with white subway tiles, furnished with stainless steel accessories. In the dining room, Tomei displays her marble-topped dining table, also vintage, and a chandelier by Lindsey Edelman.

"It has to do with being an actress," Tomei said about her love for interior design. "What are the details of another person's life? What's the history of an object? After working long hours on a set, I like to see pretty things. It helps me to wind down."