Kelly Killoren Bensimon’s sunny loft-style apartment is located in the Police Building, a historic architectural gem that once served as the headquarters of the New York City Police Department and has since become the home of several A-list celebrities.
The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star, who has spent the past few decades bouncing from apartment to apartment on Manhattan’s gilded downtown estate, took Page Six on an exclusive tour of her current pad.
“I love living here. I love the atmosphere. I love this area…I mean, we’ve had everyone here,” Bensimon exclaimed, listing past residents like Calvin Klein, Steffi Graf, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.
“Every supermodel, every super elite, the best bankers, designers, artisans, everyone has lived in this building or passed through this building,” she continued.
“If these walls could talk, you never know what they would tell us!”
Douglas Elliman real estate agent, 57, is a professional building broker who is making the home she has lived in for many years even more special.
“240 Center Street in New York City is a living landmark,” she said, citing the apartment’s address. “It’s such an honor to live and work in one of the coolest, coolest buildings.”
Upon entering the luxury co-op, residents are immediately greeted by an ornate lobby with Beaux-Arts architectural details such as a hand-carved decorative ceiling, grand staircase, marble columns, and grand crystal chandeliers.
Bensimon’s two-bedroom apartments reflect an old-world classic aesthetic, but with a French twist. Bravolebrity’s living room features a towering wall of mirrors with gray accents, which she says gives the space a “very Parisian feel.”
“Not only does it give you more space, but it also makes it very cozy,” she said.
Bensimon enlisted celebrity-favorite creative consultant Gregory Bissonnette to help design the interior.
She doesn’t shy away from combining bright colors and bold textures, including artwork by Julian Schnabel and Ghada Amer, and perhaps her favorite piece, a painting by one of her daughters that she hangs in a Chrome Hearts frame.
Another sentimental touch is the gorgeous Parsons table she brought home from her parents’ home in Illinois. She uses reclaimed wood surfaces as vessels for coffee table books, lamps, vases, and other artistic trinkets.
In the corner of the room stands a giant horse statue from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which was a direct gift to Bensimon from Anna Wintour.
“He’s the celebrity in this apartment,” she jokes, noting that the leather saddle on the stationary horse was a gift from the late Italian fashion executive Carla Fendi.
An avid equestrian, her marble breakfast table is surrounded by 18th-century dining chairs that came from her ex-husband Gilles Bensimon’s family art collection. The floor below features a soft pink carpet from fellow RHONY alum Jill Zarin’s home goods brand of the same name.
Nearby, Kelly fills her shelves with Moët & Chandon champagne, each bottle representing one of her many home sales around the country.
“Every item I sell is worth a bottle of Moet. So from $42 million to $5 million, you’ll find it all here,” she said. “Maybe someday I’ll give it to you as a gift to celebrate!”
The “sun-drenched” master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, plenty of natural light, and an entire wall dedicated to her impressive purse collection.
Among the items on display are a Louis Vuitton handbag given to her by the president of a French fashion house while she was editor of Elle Accessories magazine, and a gold Tom Ford clutch that she wore to the 2023 Oscars.
Some of her favorite items in her bedroom include the black and white Chanel throw blanket on her queen-sized bed and a KAWS sculpture given to her by Karl Lagerfeld.
“It’s a symbolic room because it’s where Tarzan sleeps,” she said of the cute white dog. “And there are a lot of things that are different from my life.”
“It’s a very welcoming atmosphere…I love waking up here,” she added.
The second bedroom is located in a loft above the living area and is accessed via a sleek white staircase.
“What I love about the police building and these apartments is that the closet space is incredibly spacious. I actually have my own shoe closet,” she said.
Kelly showed off her vast collection of flashy shoes and pointed out her favorites. It was a pair of gold Tom Ford heels that she once wore to Bravocon.
Always thinking outside the box, Kelly transformed some of Hermès’ scarves into decorative pillows.
“What better way to do it than to lie on an Hermès pillow, eat popcorn, and watch your favorite TV show?” she asks, adding that she also frames silk scarves and hangs them on the walls to add color around the house.
She cleverly transformed one of Hermès’ jumbo Birkin bags into a cushion holder on the floor.
“This is one of my favorite bags. I use it for cushions. I even take it to the Hamptons,” Kelly said.
For the “RHONY” alum, building a home is all about “decorating it with the things you love.”
“It’s the ultimate lifestyle,” she said.
