Real-Life Redo – Before & After – Traditional Home

Real-Life Redo - Traditional Home®. See photos here. Before she was one of The Real Housewives of New York City, which began airing its second season on Bravo TV in February, Jill Zarin was a mom, wife, sometimes-socialite, and flex-hours associate in husband Bobby’s family business, Zarin Fabric. As a housewife (lowercase “h”), she did her home decorating with a lowercase “d” -- that is, for the appreciation of her family and friends, period. This year, though, little that Jill does escapes the viewing public. For example, the show recently televised the fund-raiser for orphans that Jill hosted at her Hamptons house last summer. So when she decided to redecorate the Upper East Side apartment she shares with Bobby and her 17-year-old daughter, Ally Shapiro, she knew fans would be watching. “Naturally, I’m a little nervous,” says the otherwise self-confident redhead, shown here with her beloved Chihuahua, Ginger. “People will either love what I’ve done or hate it,” she frets. Photographs by John Bessler Text by Candace Ord Manroe