Interior designer Taylor Spellman made her Bravo debut on the real estate show Yours, Mine or Ours — where she and Shahs of Sunset star Reza Farahan helped couples with their home decorating needs — but it turns out the star has an even deeper connection with another Bravo personality: Million Dollar Listing New York’s Ryan Serhant.
“We call each other work wife and work husband.” Spellman tells Us. “I was out on a date last night at 11:30 and he’s texting me asking me questions.” The two TV personalities got acquainted even before Andy Cohen came calling. “I actually met him at an event and he said he needed some interior design work done and I said, ‘No problem, I can do it’ — and I think he thought I was kidding,” says the designer, who gave up her professional dance aspirations to stat an interior design business geared toward successful New York City bachelors. “He gave me this small job that no one could sell, and I went in and fixed it up. It was on the market for three years prior and it sold within a week. He was like, ‘All right, you’re hired!’”
And how does Spellman make it work (professionally, of course!) with the famously fussy real estate agent? “He has a theatre background, I have a dance background, so I think we both view the process of design in the same fashion,” she says. “We both push the envelope and look at [real estate] the same.” She says. “We joke that I’m the female version of him and vice versa. We both work like dogs.”
The New York City-based interior designer traveled around the country helping couples with their design and real estate needs on Yours, Mine, and Ours, and says she loved not only the reality TV experience, but also the chance to see how people are able to live outside of her pricey bubble. Explains Spellman, “A space you can get in Atlanta, Georgia, as opposed to New York City is mind-blowing! In order to live in New York, you have to be a little bit crazy and hate yourself just enough that you’re like, ‘It’s worth it to live in this 400-square-foot apartment that costs close to a million dollars!’
While Bravo hasn’t announced plans for season 2 of Yours, Mine or Ours, the designer would be open to a crossover where she’d work her magic on a couple of the Real Housewives’ homes. “I’ve had my eye set on Sonja Morgan’s house because it’s such an amazing property, but she’s been going through all of this stuff — I think she could use a little Taylor touch!” the designer tells Us. Explaining why Ms. Morgan’s house is her no. 1 pick, she says, “I love designing a space when someone’s entering a new phase of her life, and that’s very fitting for her because she’s finally put her divorce and legal troubles behind her. A new coat of paint and new bedding — that’s key. Fresh energy in the bedroom is very important — then you think long and hard about who you bring in.”
Morgan isn’t the only Housewife Spellman has her eye on, though. “I’d also love to get my hands on Chateau Sheree [Whitfield]!” If we ever get to the point of having full-blown walls, she should hire me to put wallpaper on them,” Spellman says. “If she was consulting with me from the top, I’d say there is such a thing as having too much space. I’m a firm believer in having livable space. If you have four extra bedrooms collecting dust, it’s not fun. I think people have the tendency to bite off more than they can chew. But I would look for ways to warm up her huge home — with wallpaper, good rugs, lots of art. She needs it all!”
