Nineteenth-century England is alive and for sale in the Bronx.
“It’s like a crazy puzzle, but you get to live in it,” says Emery Ortiz, 38, of her lavishly decorated Fordham two-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op.
The decadent space at 2506 Davidson Ave. boasts coffered ceilings, imported Turkish Iznik tiles, a copper-framed wall of mirrors and a bathroom mural of Louvre-exhibited Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s “The Bolt” — all installed by Ortiz and her hubby, Christopher, a chef.
When the two bought the 1,250-square-foot unit eight years ago, “It was just a shell of an apartment,” the mother of two tells The Post. According to public records, they paid just $63,000 for it at the time.
It was only then the newlyweds realized they shared a love of Victorian decor.
“I was so into him that I didn’t care about everything surrounding him or his style. It just didn’t come up,” says Ortiz, adding, “His apartment was pretty modern when I met him.”
They began touring old mansions for inspiration. Roughly one year, $50,000 and some help from professional electrician and plumber friends later, and the unit looks fit for a British or French monarch.
Now, the Ortizes have put their palace — located a block from the Fordham Road 4 train stop — up for sale. It’s asking $325,000 with Halstead’s Michael Holt and Jonathan Cabrera. The building has a live-in super and residents have access to a community garden.
The Ortizes are open to the idea of selling the right buyer some of their furniture as well, most of it sourced from Pennsylvania and Connecticut estate sales. Whoever purchases the unit will also inherit a bit of their romance, as they built it into the walls.
“We have little love notes underneath the wallpaper,” says Ortiz.
Before having her 1- and 3-year-olds, Ortiz worked at the Standard Hotel. She grew up in a Victorian house herself, but all the details had been ripped out. “I remember being like, ‘I’m never doing that,’ ” she says.
The style, Ortiz concedes, is polarizing. “It’s either you love it or you hate it, it’s never gray,” she says. Still, “when guests come, they won’t want to leave. I’m like, we poured three bottles [of wine], you’ve got to go.”
Similarly, she and Christopher don’t get away much from the world they’ve created in their home: The couple hardly ever visit the New York Botanical Garden, despite it being within walking distance.
“Once you enter, it’s a vortex of another place, another time,” she says. “You’re stuck in somewhere else.”
Ortiz sees the decision to move as an opportunity to rework another, bigger apartment — one with a backyard, in Yonkers. “This was just warming the palate,” she says. “Now I know I can do so much more.”
