apartment

When celebrities decorate their homes, they tend to go all out with their designs. They have plenty of money on hand to do so, of course, but more importantly, these celebs are looking to make their homes into retreats that can serve as a sanctuary in a world filled with paparazzi. Singer Kanye West's brand-new New York apartment, which is being designed by Claudio Silvestrin, is tranquil and minimalist to an extreme degree, with the sort of layout that only a ridiculous amount of money can buy.

Above, a view of the kitchen is shown. More pictures are after the jump.

[via just jared]

When you're at a really posh spa, you feel very removed from the world and, if you're anything like we are, you eventually begin to feel so relaxed that you wish that you never had to return to the real world. In New York in 2008, the Arizona-based Miraval spa will be opening a new complex where you actually don't have to leave. Located at 515 East 72nd Street the project is called Miraval Living and it is the company's first "spadominium," a condo complex where spa-living is a way of life. And for a spa, it's actually a rather intense experience. Each resident will receive a "custom regimen from the hundreds of offered services, from sex therapy to massages to pilates.

Future "spadomiums" are planned in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Washington.

Canyon Ranch, the Arizona-based health spa, is planning an expansion in Bethseda, Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C.. The nearly $1 billion complex will not be a spa, but a residential community with a wellness focus.  is the second of its kind, as a Miami Beach location is already under construction. The property will have a 157 room hotel, 434 condos, 87 apartments and a restaurant, in addition to a 90,000-sq. foot wellness center. Condos will range in price from $900,000 to upwards of $5 million. The opening is expected to be sometime in 2008, but sales of the residences began this year. 

David H. Koch, number 33 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires, is selling up to accommodate his growing family and putting his 1040 Fifth Avenue apartment on the market. The apartment occupies the entire 15th floor of the building and was once owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Koch purchased it in 1995 for $9.5-million and spent and estimated $5-10 million on renovations. He and his wife felt they needed a larger space to raise what will be their third child, though the apartment at 1040 Fifth has four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, a staff room, a library, living room, dining room, conservatory, two terraces, three fireplaces, five and a half bathrooms and a wine room. The family is moving to 740 Park, which Koch says is a duplex twice the size of the Onassis apartment. The asking price is $32 million.

[Photo NYT]

Apparently, Hugh Grant hates all of the 17 "horrible houses" he owns in London. He seems to keep buying the places, deciding that they are "not very nice" and moving on to buy another. One has to wonder if Hugh knows that there are people in business to prevent this sort of situation. He could call an interior decorator to redesign the homes or a contractor to gut the buildings and start over fresh. He could also call a real estate agent and sell some of the properties. The properties include a $9 million bachelor pad, which doubles as an office for his production company, but it sounds as though he might want to keep that one. 

Brad Pitt isn’t thrilled with his living situation. While the source of the information, namely a café worker near Pitt’s Paris apartment, might not be the mostly likely candidate for Brad’s confidence, the reasons he cites are certainly valid. According to him, Pitt doesn’t like the high-rise building he shares with Angelina Jolie and their children because there is not enough space for the kids to play. He wants a yard. He wants quiet. He wants to leave Paris. Maybe Brangelina will reconsider the house in Normandy that they were looking into a few months ago, which would certainly offer the growing family more room.

Reports say that the apartment is only 1,300-sq. feet and the building has a “sickly, cabbage type smell.” The high rise is plain and utilitarian, and though it has a view of the Eiffel Tower, it is surrounded by fast food restaurants and is near a noisy metro station. No wonder he wants to leave.