This Manhattan House is Bob Vila’s

Watchers of the “Bob Vila’s Home Again” TV show will soon find out what the original home improvement guru would do to a historic Upper West Side townhouse.In celebration of his 25th anniversary on the small screen, Mr. Vila is renovating the brownstone, built in 1894, and the transformation from art deco nightmare to modern chic will be on his nationally syndicated show in eight 30-minute segments to air in mid-November.Standing in a pile of wood shavings at the job site yesterday, Mr. Vila was dressed nattily in a maroon cashmere sweater and cream scarf. He said the inspiration for his latest project comes from sources as varied as the Fifth Avenue Gucci store to the home’s original Victorian moldings.“This building is from the last wave of luxury homes of the 19th century, at a time when the great apartment buildings began to go up around Manhattan,” he said of the five-story structure on West 75th Street. The deep red of the home’s exterior, with details bordering its windows and wrought iron decorating its doors, belies its gutted interior.“So many of these buildings are beautiful on the outside, but when you wander inside, they have been doing duty as apartment buildings with much of their charm hidden under layers of paint,” Mr. Vila said.A couple bought the building during World War II and ran it as an apartment building with nine units, renovating it in keeping with the 1940s-era style, including a hot-pink bathroom, mirrored walls, and sleek architecture.The couple died within one week of each other, and Mr. Vila, 58, bought the home six months ago along with his 28-year-old son and partner, Chris.When the Vilas began renovating, they discovered a number of hidden architectural details, including high ceilings and moldings, as well as the original stairwell and elevator, which were covered in thick layers of gray paint.“They call it ‘battleship gray’ because after World War II the government had a surplus of grey paint they handed out to everyone,” said Mr. Vila, who had several historic anecdotes to offer.The renovated floor-through apartment will include an oversized kitchen with an eating area – “because this is the new center of a home” – a living room, and a bedroom with a covered glass balcony inspired by the Gucci store.While many picture Mr. Vila wearing a T-shirt and tool belt as host of the PBS show “This Old House,” he has all along managed a successful career as a developer of real estate.“I started out as a developer, and I’ve always made my living as a developer,” he said, adding that he will bang the occasional nail on his show.On the current surge in home improvement reality TV shows, Mr. Vila seemed nonplussed.“It is flattering so many people are doing the same show and interesting to see the different angles people come up with,” he said. “Home improvement has become a popular pasttime, especially among the middle class who can’t afford a general contractor, and it is a pleasant fact of life.”While Mr. Vila does not make a habit of watching these spin-offs, he did catch an episode of the ABC reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” He called it “a hybrid between a home improvement show and ‘Queen For A Day’,” referring to the 1950s program.Mr. Vila and his son are unsure what they will do with the brownstone once it is complete. There are four remaining tenants in the building, and Mr. Vila said, “We can’t say what we will do until we determine what the people’s wishes are who live here.”Chris currently lives in a vacant apartment on the top floor of the building.“I love moving, so this is great, I just move to each job site,” Chris said.Before joining his father, the younger Vila was rehabilitating low-income walk-up apartment buildings in New Jersey. His first job on the “Home Again” show was last season, when he and his father renovated a loft in the Brooklyn neighborhood DUMBO.“Bob Vila’s Home Again” can be seen at 6 a.m. on Sundays on CBS. Reruns air on TNT.

This Manhattan House is Bob Vila’s

More from the New York Sun

NATO’s Trillion-Dollar Paradox: Why Hitting Two Percent Means Less Than You Think

House Rejects Effort To Shield Trump’s Tariffs From Congressional Scrutiny, Teeing Up Vote To Kill President’s Import Taxes on Canada

Authorities Detain Man for Questioning in Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping

Stalemate Over ICE Funding Bogs Down in Senate as Democrats Press for Reforms Over White House Objections

Japan’s Hard-Line Prime Minister Takaichi Faces Crucial Test With Plan To Withdraw U.S. Marines from Okinawa

Texas Dad Shot His British Daughter After Argument About Donald Trump, UK Inquiry Hears

Will Netanyahu Convince Trump To End Tehran’s 47 Years of Terror?

Trump Admin Under Pressure To Oust Former Beauty Queen From Religious Liberty Panel After Heated Antisemitism Hearing