Home ownership had never been at the top of any wish list for Antoni Porowski, the resident food and wine expert on Netflix’s hit show Queer Eye. “I was the guy with a backpack and some clothes,” says the serial renter, describing his self-professed “fantasy nomadic lifestyle.” Then the pandemic hit. On the advice of his business manager, he started looking for a place to lay roots, embarking on the “hectic but exciting real estate journey in New York City.”
After years of living in Brooklyn, Porowski set his sights on downtown Manhattan, initially envisioning a historic loft with exposed beams, untouched charms, and creaky floors. But when he grappled with the prospect of renovation and the realities of constant travel, he quickly came around to the idea of contemporary construction. “Amenities aren’t the worst thing in the world,” he jokes, alluding to the creature comforts of his now home, a ground-up project chock-full of perks like a doorman, swimming pool, and gym. “As soon as I saw the building I thought, This is it.”
In his Manhattan den, Antoni Porowski lounges with his dog, neon, beneath an Edward Burtynsky Photograph of an Indian Stepwell.Photo: Seth Caplan. Grooming by Amy Komorowski. Fashion Styling by Chloe Hartstein. Art: ©Edward Burtynsky/Tagore Gallery and Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. Bob Gruen. Alexandra Genova.
To transform the apartment, originally a three-bedroom, Porowski enlisted the help of a good friend, the Manhattan-based interior designer Andrew Torrey, an AD PRO Directory member. Collaborating closely, they mapped out the space according to his daily needs. “Andrew told me, ‘Stop thinking about the life you want to have and think about the life you actually have,’ ” he notes. That meant blowing out a wall to eliminate one extra room, thus yielding a large flexible dining area for entertaining. The remaining guest room does triple duty as den, office, and sleeping quarters, with a pull-out sofa for visiting family and friends.
Porowski, no stranger to makeovers, embraced the process, moving in long before the finishing touches were complete. “I just wanted to be in my new place, even if there was stuff still to come,” he reflects. “I had garbage bags taped on windows so I could sleep.” Today, the blinds are up and Porowski is happily ensconced among his favorite things. Peripatetic though his life had been, Porowski had nevertheless collected furniture and accessories from far and wide—whether the pair of Jacques Adnet armchairs he bought just after joining Queer Eye, or the narrow 18th-century English farmhouse table where he now entertains guests over intimate family-style meals. (“I want to be able to hear people.”) Joining those pieces are new additions like nightstands by George Nakashima Woodworkers, a 1950s Guillerme et Chambron corner desk, and a suede-upholstered bed that’s low enough for his dog, Neon, to jump up on.
“Everything has to have a story, a function,” says Torrey, noting, “Antoni is decisive and has excellent taste.” Porowski puts it differently: “I like nice things, but I’m lazy!” These days, he’s earned a moment to unwind. Always on the go, he is preparing to debut No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski, a new National Geographic documentary series wherein he accompanies celebrities to explore their ancestral origins through a culinary lens. As proof of that roaming spirit, look no further than his marble cocktail table, where he has amassed a collection of matches from Paris, Bali, and beyond. “Every corner here is a memory,” Porowski notes. “I do love to travel, but then I can’t wait to come home.”
Antoni Porowski’s home appears in AD’s October issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.
