Fashionable Life: The Macklowe's Modern Family

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It's a chilly afternoon, and Billy and Julie Macklowe's Fifth Avenue apartment is teeming with frogs—of the helium-filled variety, that is. Brought in for the Bazaar shoot, the balloons bump gently against the ceiling of the Macklowes' gleaming white kitchen, much to the delight of their seven-year-old daughter, Zoë, who gets to keep them as a special treat. "She loves all things frog," says her mother. "I'm glad to say that no live frogs have ever entered our apartment. We got the dog instead." The animal in question, an impeccably behaved black miniature poodle puppy named Licorice, regards the balloons with suspicion.

Much has changed in the Macklowes' lives since they moved into the building, a 1978 monument to postmodernism designed by Philip Johnson, as newlyweds in 2005. Originally a loft-like setup with what Julie describes as "super-super-minimal furniture," the open-plan space was well suited to the social, career-oriented couple. But as Zoë got older, they wanted a more family-friendly vibe. "It was too hard and not homey enough," recalls Julie. "We wanted it to feel less intimidating."

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A year ago the Macklowes bought the apartment directly above theirs and hired the architect Annabelle Selldorf to combine the two floors into an airy duplex, which overlooks the Metropolitan Museum of Art across the street. The German-born Selldorf is known for her work with galleries like David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Gagosian, and her clean, bold sensibility was a good match for the Macklowes' prodigious art collection, which includes pieces by Jeff Koons, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Louise Lawler, and Christian Marclay. "We love Annabelle because she's so modern," says Julie, who also enlisted Selldorf to do their house in the Hamptons, completed in 2008. For the interiors, the couple turned to Francis D'Haene, of d'Apostrophe Design, who previously partnered with Selldorf on projects such as the Manhattan home of the art dealer Christophe Van de Weghe and his wife, Anne-Gaëlle. "Francis was able to bring warmth into the apartment," Julie says. "It was important to juxtapose all that modernity with a sense of softness."

Following an eight-month gut renovation, the Mack lowes' home is now equally equipped for hosting black-tie dinners and slumber parties—perhaps even at the same time. Modeled after Rosario Candela's elegant 1920s Park Avenue residences, the formal living and dining rooms face Fifth Avenue, separated from Zoë's play area and bedroom by a long hallway.

Despite these nods to tradition, the apartment has an avant-garde edge. A spiked chandelier by Lindsey Adel man hovers above the dining room table, while the library features a boomerang-shaped Wing desk by Vladimir Kagan, a black shag rug, and a fluffy armchair upholstered in white rabbit fur. "You want to sit on it naked, basically," says Julie, whose taste for bold, unusual decor dates from her early 20s. "I joke that Billy probably wanted to marry me as soon as he saw my furniture," she adds. "When we first met, I'd just moved to New York from Asia, and I'd brought my ultramodern aluminum bed and my Ligne Roset seating back with me. It was all crammed into my 500-square-foot apartment in SoHo—although he would argue it was 350 square feet."

The Macklowes met on a blind date in the spring of 2003, when Julie was managing portfolios at the New York–based hedge fund Metropolitan Capital Advisors and Billy was president of Macklowe Properties, a real estate firm owned by his father. After the couple married the following year, both went on to start their respective businesses: Julie founded a hedge fund, Macklowe Asset Management, before launching a beauty line, Vbeauté, in 2011; meanwhile, Billy branched off with a real estate investment firm under his own name.

One need look no further than Julie's closet to know that she's not afraid to swing for the fences. "I like to take risks," she explains. Her extensive archive of showstopping gowns by Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen, and Dolce & Gabbana, to name a few, has earned her a knockout reputation on the New York social circuit. "I love dressing up and supporting young designers," she says. "But then every morning, after Zoë goes to school, I put on my sneakers and walk the dog 40 blocks to work."

For her part, Zoë has clearly inherited her parents' exacting tastes. "Oh, she had input in her trundle bed, her purple walls, her purple carpet, her collection of frogs … ," Julie says, laughing. "She has very strong opinions. But at least we know where she gets it from!"

Pictured above: Julie Macklowe at her Upper East Side home, with an Eric Schmitt console and a molded-resin Ghost lamp by François Arnal for Atelier A. Balmain dress, $14,760 and belt, $1,265, Neiman Marcus, 888-888-4757; Eddie Borgo earrings, $150, shopBAZAAR.com; Manolo Blahnik shoes, $595, Barneys New York, 888-8-BARNEYS.

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