There are few things I love more in this world than commenting on Italian American pop culture and nosing my way around real estate listings. So when my editor inquired as to whether I’d like to write about Joe Pesci selling his New Jersey Shore home, I felt incredibly seen.
TopTenRealEstateDeals.com reports that the Newark native sold the sprawling New Jersey property he’s lived in since 1994 for a whopping $6.5 million. And according to the New York Post, Pesci, who bought the home nearly 30 years ago for $850,000, didn’t compromise on the listing price, refusing to offer discounts for buyers.
And it’s easy to see why.
The 7,200-square-foot art deco home is a residence fit for the glamorous gangsters Pesci has brought to life on screen over the years. The house, decked out in white with gold and black accents, boasts a dramatic curved stairway which greets you as you enter the foyer, and features open-plan living spaces throughout. The decor appears largely unchanged from when Pesci moved in, which truly only adds to its charm. And leaving the home’s aesthetic untouched likely worked to Pesci’s advantage; everything that was once old is new again, and the sleek glamour of the art deco of the ’80s and ’90s is once again in fashion.
This aesthetic has earned a sort of cult following both on social media and in the interior design zeitgeist. Cheekily referred to as “cocaine decor” after the drug of choice associated with the era, the plush interiors of films, television and luxury homes from this time period reign supreme on twitter accounts like @CocaineDecor, which InsideHook contributor Jason Diamond rhapsodized about for GQ back in March, proclaiming “Cocaine Chic, it seems, is the new Midcentury Modern.”
Pesci’s home is like a time capsule from this era, but if you look closely you’ll also notice a few details that are distinctly Joe. As an Italian American, I immediately clocked the ornate bedroom set and the floral bedspread, which look like the decor in virtually every family member’s home on my mother’s side I’ve ever been in. The marble coffee table in his living room looks identical to the one I kept in my bedroom for years, handed down from my grandfather. And there’s a sort of cozy charm to seeing these pieces that look like they could have been plucked out of any Bay Ridge brownstone juxtaposed with the sleek, indulgent coolness of the art deco interior.
To further add to the iconic status of Pesci’s home, its ability to stand out amongst its neighbors — a row of relatively drab, modern shingled beach homes — is truly the stuff of legend. When so many high-end listings look like carbon copies of each other staged with sterile Restoration Hardware furniture — no doubt trying to appeal to monied buyers who see themselves as above the garish appeal of more indulgent interiors — there’s something truly refreshing about the genuine authenticity of Pesci’s home. It’s not trying to be anything it’s not, or appeal to anyone who lacks the taste to appreciate it.
In other words, it bears the same no-nonsense, unapologetic energy of the man who made the house a home.
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