While Patina Miller might play a take-no-nonsense, tough-talking dealer from ’90s South Jamaica, Queens on the Starz hit Power Book III: Raising Kanan, in real life, she likes a lot of color and whimsy in her life — like the look and feel of her Manhattan home.
The Tony-award winning actress (fun fact: she’s trained in musical theater and won for her work in the Broadway revival of Pippin) opened up her home to Architectural Digest, showing off she and husband David Mars’ 3,500-square-foot loft in the Chelsea neighborhood.
“I love big open spaces,” she told the publication of their abode. “I need to have light, big windows, and a view, because it really makes a difference in my mood and my well-being.”
The open concept ended up making all the difference at the beginning of the pandemic. The couple bought their pad prior to quarantine, and not only did the light pouring into their place help them stay cheerful during that time, but it also helped them isolate when Miller, Mars and their daughter, Emerson, all caught COVID last year.
“It saved us—my family, my husband, and our daughter,” she says. “Unfortunately, at the height of the pandemic, we all caught COVID. My husband was sick a few days before me, and then our daughter was sick.… Because we had this big open space, we didn’t feel suffocated at a time where it was very [heavy] and you could get suffocated just in the emotion of it all. We really [have] a safe space, a fun space, and a space filled with so much love.”
They also have a space filled with innovative, funky furnishings, from the colorful chandelier brought in from Germany, floating bookcases, provocative artwork and a blue circular sectional in the area they call “the conversation pit.” The loft has a lot of personality and makes great use of the open space.
The end result is a home that the actress says best represents the things that matter most to her and her family.
“The biggest thing for us was making sure everything sort of meant something to us,” she said. “I asked our designers to help us come up with a place that really reflected who we were as a couple, as a family.”
It’s giving chic and cozy! Check out her chat with AD for more images of the star’s new home and to hear more about the inspiration behind everything from their charming dining room to the super innovative setup in their daughter’s space (including a playroom sofa they restored themselves!).