She’ll Take MANHATTAN

The Fox Business Network host created an inviting family home in bustling NYC By ILYSSA PANITZ

It isn’t easy juggling a high-profile TV news job, a husband and three young kids, let alone finding the right home for everyone. But after looking at “hundreds of apartments,” Fox Business Network anchor Trish Regan found the ideal place for her family on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “My husband and I have insane schedules and heavy work commitments,” the former Miss New Hampshire, 45, tells Closer. “We made the decision to create the most familylike environment we could for our kids in the city, to be close to work and get home really fast.” The right layout was the priority for Trish, her investment banker husband James Ben, 48, their twin daughters Alexandra and Elizabeth, 8, and their son Jamie, 5. “We needed enough bedrooms and bathrooms, a library for the kids to hang out,

a formal living room, a formal dining room and a kitchen big enough to eat in,” she says. “It’s hard to find in Manhattan, but when we walked in we said, ‘This is exactly what we need.’ ”

Still, finding this 3,100-square-foot prewar apartment near Central Park in 2014 was just the beginning. “It had not been touched in 60 years, so that meant new floors, electrical, plumbing, moldings — everything you can think of, right down to the studs,” Trish recalls of the “full-on gut renovation” that took nearly two years.

With the help of her “fabulous contractor and terrific architect,” they added a small fourth bedroom to match the four baths, but “the decorating part is all me,” Trish says. “I don’t want someone to bring me five options. I want to go to the store and look at all 5,000!”

The rooms feature many elegant materials, from stained-oak accents to marble kitchen countertops they chose from a quarry in Brooklyn. And because James is 6-foot-7, “we raised every single doorway!” Trish says with a laugh. “My girls are tall and we assumed Jamie would be, so we wanted to make sure we have that clearance. And I don’t think I can make it with anything other than a king bed!”

Thanks to the soundproofed walls and “solid” windows that let in lots of light, “I feel like I could be back home in New Hampshire,” Trish says. “It was stressful to renovate, but I would do it all again. It’s too good!”

Oranges inspired the orange chairs in her elegant kitchen, where she enjoys making salmon with salad, and treats for Jamie (left).

Trish with (from left) Jamie, Elizabeth, Alexandra and James “I read to the kids all the time” in this library, which has books “tucked away” in cabinets and blue cashmere throws they put down to keep things clean.