In her forthcoming, posthumous memoir, An Unexpected Life, Gloria Steinem wrote: ‘I have now lived for more than 50 years in this brownstone, in rooms that have witnessed lives before mine, and will know others after I am gone.’
After the activist’s passing on September 2, 2026, it was announced that her Upper East Side home will be preserved as a political organizing space, standing as a living archive of her work and ongoing contributions to the feminist movement. Its interiors hold decades of stories, not only of Gloria but of everyone who came together there.
I visited Gloria’s home during my recent trip to New York City, and was moved by the groups of women gathered outside the Brownstone, celebrating Gloria’s activism. Bouquets of flowers outside the house are a reminder that this building is also her legacy. Of course, it’s the organizing that happened there that imbued the building with magic, but the global style of the home also helped to facilitate this magic.
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The outside of Gloria Steinem’s home on the author’s recent trip to New York City
(Image credit: Abby Burke)
In celebration of Gloria Steinem’s life, Homes & Gardens revisits the journalist’s house. From the recent remodel to its colorful ’90s aesthetic, here is the decor in the rooms where it happened.
After first living there as a renter, Gloria Steinem purchased the initial duplex of her iconic New York City brownstone in 1968. In 2017, she expanded the footprint by purchasing the entire third floor, forming the current basis for the organizing space occupied by her ongoing non-profit, Gloria’s Foundation.
Gloria has stated that she renovated the home ‘like an anthill,’ making piecemeal updates over time, but the bones of the home’s current style are heavily evident in earlier photos of the property. In a 1990 photoshoot, Barbara Alper captured Gloria Steinem in the house, featuring her signature colorful and bohemian maximalist look.
Gloria Steinem in her New York City apartment, 1990
(Image credit: Barbara Alper via Getty Images)
‘Obviously I’m not a modern person. There’s a kind of antiseptic furniture look I would not love,’ Gloria joked with Architectural Digest in 2024.
This warmth infuses every inch of the home, from the warmly muraled walls to the richly layered textiles of her sofa. Rather than following fleeting interior design trends, it reflects a life well lived.
Gloria Steinem at her table, 1990
(Image credit: Barbara Alper via Getty Images)
In the mid-2020s, Gloria worked with designer Jane Hallworth to refresh the duplex to accommodate her foundation. Though the renovation included many updates such as modernizing the plumbing and giving the kitchen a facelift, Gloria was sure to maintain the home’s bohemian character. It remains full of stocked bookshelves and articles from her global travels.
Even the property’s bathroom renovation, arguably a home’s most functional space, conveys a revolutionary spirit with its design.
Gloria explained that she loved the tile because it ‘reminded [her] of an antique rug.’ The curved wooden vanity is made up of an antique archway salvaged from another part of the house. Though the color palette is more muted, it feels dynamic and collaged like the interiors in the rest of the home.
Of course, we would be remiss to discuss Gloria Steinem’s interior design without mentioning her famous living room. The New York Times once called it ‘the living room where history still happens,’ and it has served as a vital meeting point for Gloria’s Talking Circles, in which women gather to discuss their gender equality activism.
As is the case with the rest of the house, it is full of books, layered textiles, and evidence of a long, rich life.
Visiting Gloria Steinem’s Brownstone is a reminder that history is not just the events; it is also the places where they happen. In this way, exploring design can give us a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the world.
An Unexpected Life: a Memoir
Gloria Steinem’s wide-ranging life can’t be captured by merely a space. If learning more about her interiors has piqued your interest, her upcoming memoir is the perfect next step for exploring her legacy.
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