Inside Athena Calderone's Stunning Tribeca Apartment: A Design Journey from Brooklyn to Manhattan

Athena Calderone, the founder of EyeSwoon, has made a bold move from her Instagram-famous Brooklyn town house to a storied Tribeca apartment, finding a new focus in design. This transition marks a significant shift in her aesthetic and creative journey.

A New Chapter in Manhattan

After launching a thriving business that showcased her Brooklyn home, Calderone and her husband, Victor, a music producer and DJ, purchased a Manhattan apartment in 2023. The move came after decades in Brooklyn, where she nurtured her design business, published books, and authored furniture collections. As The New York Times put it, she asked, "What happens when you get so influential that you're bored by your own aesthetic?"

Embracing the Apartment's History

The apartment, located in an early 1900s building in Tribeca, was originally the executive suite of the Borden condensed milk company. It features herringbone floors, 13-foot ceilings, and oak-paneled walls the color of chocolate syrup. Previously owned by the French architect Thierry Despont, known for projects like the Statue of Liberty renovation, the space had a sepia-toned folly with unique elements like kitchen stools from a 1930s Italian motor yacht.

Calderone initially debated bleaching the dark woodwork but, inspired by a trip to Vienna and Adolf Loos's American Bar, decided to embrace the darkness. She enlisted the Brownstone Boys to refinish the woodwork beautifully, proving that "where there's a will, there's a way."

Design Collaborations and Inspirations

Working with architect Danielle Siggerud based in Copenhagen and her team at Studio Athena Calderone, they made respectful updates to the floor plan. They transposed the kitchen and dining room to make the former lighter and larger, and added a home office and music production studio. Calderone notes, "We massaged and really kind of juiced every last bit of square footage out of this space."

A visit to Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, built by Piero Portaluppi in 1935, was an epiphany for Calderone, helping her understand the apartment's potential and the seduction of a more formal way of life. She incorporated a datum line—a slender horizontal band that encircles rooms, making ceilings appear to float—inspired by Villa Necchi.

Key Design Elements and Materials

Calderone's excitement for materials is evident throughout the apartment:

• Parchment, silver leaf, and etched glass are among her favorites.
• The kitchen features a monolith of dusky red Kinnekulle limestone for the island countertop, replacing her previous Calacatta Paonazzo marble.
• Burnished-nickel pulls on double doors add a touch of elegance.
• She ventured into hardware design, expanding her creative horizons.

Art and Furniture Collections

Spellbound by the Vienna Secession and Art Deco movements, Calderone built a collection centered on these periods, sourcing pieces from European auctions online. Highlights include:

• A circa 1900 ebonized Viennese desk.
• A Cible table by Jean Prouvé and Jules Leleu.
• Two Jacques Adnet armchairs in original copper velvet.
• Maria Pergay's 1968 Flying Carpet daybed, a prized auction find.

She also partnered with brands like Calico Wallpaper, Lowe Hardware, Colbourns carpets, and Amuneal to create custom details, describing this work as some of the most gratifying of her creative life.

Personal Reflections and Future Outlook

Calderone reflects on this apartment as a "grown-up, more sophisticated, more educated version" of herself. While her husband jokes it might be their last move, she remains open to future possibilities. The space embodies the elegance and self-discipline that define her approach to design, from fashion to pastry-making.

This story highlights how Calderone's move to Manhattan has allowed her to explore new design territories, blending historical elements with personal creativity to create a truly unique home.