Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are showing off a unique design detail in their New York City townhouse.
The married Live with Kelly and Mark hosts explained the story behind the custom artwork that adorns one wall in their “forever home” during a video tour with Architectural Digest on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
While showing viewers around their sprawling primary bedroom, the couple pauses to unveil the three giant eyeballs installed in the hallway just outside the space.
“By the way, those are our kids’ eyes,” Consuelos, 53, explains, referring to their sons Michael, 27, Joaquin, 21, and daughter Lola, 23.
“They don’t live here anymore, so when we leave our bedroom it feels like they’re still with us,” he adds. Ripa, 54, chimes in, “And I could stare at my kids’ eyes forever. I just think they’re great.”
The pair also walk viewers through the process of creating such an intricate art piece, noting that the artist’s name is Marc Quinn. Per his official website, Quinn has been incorporating irises into his artwork since 2009.
“He photographs the eye and he paints the eye but from the inside looking out,” Ripa says. “So it’s not a print. It’s not a photograph.”
Also during the tour, the married couple of 28 years opened up about how their abode has become their “favorite place on earth” — and how they plan on keeping it forever.
“We’ve moved several times in our lives, but no matter where we go, for me, this is my forever home,” Ripa says. “When I walked in here I was like, ‘This is the final place where I will live.’ I love this house so much.”
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The eyeball paintings aren’t the only special details Ripa and Consuelos have in their home.
Ripa notes that “just about every light fixture” in their bedroom comes from a flea market in Paris, making each piece one-of-a-kind. Consuelos also has an explanation for the giant mirror they had installed in the space.
“And don’t think we’re crazy about putting a mirror in front of our bed. It hides a TV,” he explains.
In Consuelos’ cigar lounge, which he calls “the ultimate guys’ room,” there’s a special ventilation system that ensures the room never has a lingering smoke smell.
The Riverdale alum also has a cigar stash hidden inside a side table humidor, which Ripa says she “did not know was there” despite living in the home “as long as” her husband.
See more of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ N.Y.C. home on archdigest.com and in AD’s January issue.
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