Nest Exclusive: Celebrity Home Author Shows Off Her Amazing Soho Loft!

If you hate stories about people who have it all, stop reading now. For those of you still with us, meet Sue Hostetler. Sue is the author of Hip Hollywood Homes (to which Courteney Cox contributed the introduction), the Style Editor for Aspen Magazine, a TV host, a mom - you get the picture. She also has an amazing loft in Soho that was featured in the New York Post Sunday Magazine last week, which is where I come in. I got a chance to talk to Sue about working with celebrities, photographing their amazing homes, and what it was like to have the tables turned and have her home featured! Read on for our fun chat, Sue's decorating and photography tips, and then click the slideshow for exclusive pics of Sue's Wooster Street stunner.

Stylehive: Who has your favorite Hollywood home?
Sue Hostetler: Well, a home that I have been in love with for years is the iconic Ennis-Brown house in the hills of Los Feliz. It is probably the best example of Frank Lloyd Wright's concrete block design and has a distinct Mayan vibe. It was built in 1924 yet somehow looks incredibly modern. It was literally crumbling though, so in 2005 an extensive restoration project began. My favorite PRIVATE home is probably Peter Morton's gorgeous Georgian home in Holmby Hills. It's very understated and classic. He's got about the best taste of anyone I've ever met.

Stylehive: Okay spill. Which celeb really knows what they're talking about when it comes to architecture?
SH: Courteney Cox Arquette seems to have a deep passion for architecture and design, and a real appreciation for the preservation of mid-century homes in Southern California. She and David owned a very important John Lautner home in Malibu and were very careful to not alter or destroy any of the original design. For someone like that it's not just about an investment or a place to live, it is about the materials, the craftsmanship, the history. She seems extremely well-educated and thoughtful about residential real estate in general and appears to feel about architecture and design the way that many collectors feel painting or sculpture. I admire that greatly.

Stylehive: You've written so much about other people's houses - what's it like having yours featured? Did it make you nervous?
SH: It definitely made me nervous. Your home is obviously a very intimate and personal space and it's a bit unnerving to open it up for everyone to see! You feel very exposed and of course you wonder if people will appreciate your design aesthetic. It certainly made me a bit more empathetic when writing about other people and their homes. But, you know, you also have to remember, at the end of the day, it's just stuff. I always think about the great architect Oscar Niemeyer's quote: "I created my architecture with courage and idealism, but also with an awareness of the fact that what is important is life, friends and attempting to make this unjust world a better place to live." The truly important qualities of a home are family, comfort, happiness and love.

Stylehive: What's your favorite part of your house and why?
SH: Both my husband Jon and I adore the library. It's cozy and kind of serene - it just has a different feel than the rest of the loft. It seems like where we always end up on a Sunday morning reading the Times or watching a football game with friends. I designed the kind of off-kilter shelf pattern and we had this brilliant craftsman from Brooklyn hand-make the bookcases. The wood is jojoba and the ladder is stainless steel.

Stylehive: You work with so many photographers - what are some of their secrets for photographing interiors?
SH: It's such a specialty shooting interiors. Lighting a room to look natural is tough and labor intensive and I find that very few photographers do it really well. I'm not a big fan of the overy-styled, overly-lit look - any interior design photos that look like a brightly lit set just don't work for me. It doesn't look like real people actually live there. My suggestion for people looking to photograph their own homes is to turn on all of the over-head lights and lamps in the home, open all of the window shades and shoot with only natural light - i.e. no flash. That tends to create an image with more ambience and feeling. Black and white film is also more forgiving than color.

Stylehive: What's your big piece of advice for anyone when it comes to decorating their home?
SH: I think too many people feel that they have to stick with a time-period, genre or color scheme when it comes to decorating - it's so limiting and quite frankly boring. Mixing and matching a French Deco piece with something from B & B is a surprise and takes a little bit of vision and courage to pull off. You should have fun designing and living in your home. Its also nice to have pieces that reference many different times or interests in your life. A Billy Haines chair because you love LA or a shag rug because it reminds you of your days at Studio 54 - whatever it is. And following some tired design formula, like you shouldn't use orange and pink together, is just ridiculous. My highest compliments always go to the homeowners that have inspiring spaces and those who have created something that I have never seen before.