“Saturday Night Live” alum Rachel Dratch has prepared her New York City apartment for a new stage in life now that her son has moved into his teenage years—and a more grown-up room.
Dratch, 60, first settled into a “white brick” apartment building 23 years ago while starring on the legendary sketch comedy show, where she created her iconic “Debbie Downer” character.
The Emmy-nominated comedian and mother to Eli Benjamin, 15, upgraded to a two-bedroom unit within the same building about eight years ago. She tells Realtor.com® the space has served as the family’s joyful sanctuary away from the stresses of city life ever since.
“Living in New York is very, like, sensory overload, so I guess everyone has their own little cave that they crawl into at the end of the day, living in New York City,” explains Dratch.
“I have a teenage son, so he’s a lot of fun. He’s not like the stereotypical teen slamming doors and stuff like that. We have a lot of laughs. That’s what I associate my home with. Laughs, and me trying to cook dinner.”
Dratch says her apartment is “pretty small” and “ordinary,” and it’s a home where you’re likely to see “a big pile of papers that should be put away.”
Though, Dratch says she has made some recent renovations, including replacing the kitchen floors that had been worn down by her dog, Ruffles. She has also swapped out light fixtures.
But the biggest transformation to take place is the reassignment of rooms after son Eli outgrew his childhood bedroom and moved into more mature quarters.
“My son’s room, it was for a little kid. It was really cute, but now I moved him into what was the playroom, and so now I’m trying to navigate the upgrade from, like, kid room to teen room,” reveals Dratch.
“I’m sort of in the middle of trying to figure out what that will be.”
In addition to reconfiguring room assignments, Dratch takes charge at home by staying on top of chores and maintenance while also juggling show business gigs, which include hosting her podcast, “Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch,” and returning to Broadway for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” revival.
“Stars, they’re just, like us!” she jokes. “Yeah, I do my laundry. I do my grocery shopping, all that stuff. I don’t have people. I don’t have staff. Some people do have that, I guess. But I’m a DIY, except for fixing. I can’t fix.”
While Dratch reports “everything’s working OK” right now in her relatively “break-free” home, as a partner of home warranty company American Home Shield for the third year in a row, the funnywoman knows who to call for help fixing any serious issues.
“If any appliances that you have need repair, then American Home Shield will step in,” she says.
“They have this video chat component that, if something’s broken, you could be showing them for troubleshooting and so that’s very easy,” she says. “Also, if you’re buying an old home that you’re kind of inheriting the old appliances, it gives you peace of mind because if something breaks down, you can get it repaired or replaced.
“Like, if you’re having a dinner party and your oven breaks down, we’ve all had those moments in the past.”
When it comes to hosting at her house, Dratch says “SNL” costar Ana Gasteyer is the cast member she invites over most often.
“She and I hang out a lot, and we write together,” says Dratch.
And because they frequently collaborate, Dratch also spends ample time in Gasteyer’s admirable abode.
“Anna has really good taste,” says Dratch. “Her apartment’s amazing. At Christmastime, she has all the little doodads out and everything.”
Staying close with former cast members and growing familiar with fellow occupants of her apartment building has provided Dratch with a sense of community despite being located in the Big Apple.
“Living in an apartment, you kinda know your neighbors. You know all the dogs in the building and the characters—there’s some cranky characters and some not-so-cranky characters,” she says.
“It’s almost like communal living, living in a building, so that’s part of it for better or worse. I mean, you’re never alone, let’s put it that way.
“You step out and there’s your doorman, there’s the guy feeding pigeons, whatever it might be.”
But as Dratch’s living arrangement with her son evolves, the longtime New Yorker can’t say for sure whether her current unit will be her forever home. Though, she does seem to guarantee she’ll remain in Manhattan.
“I love my neighborhood, so possibly, yeah, maybe, it might be [my forever home]—unless I try to upgrade somehow. I like living in the city.”
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