Athena Calderone Shares the 7 Chic Hotels That Inspired Her Tribeca Apartment

"I found myself spending more nights in hotels than ever before. Interestingly, my creative work also expanded beyond New York to around the world, from Vienna to Rome, Paris, and Milan. As I moved from room to room, city to city, I mastered the art of elegant transience. I noticed the small details that make a hotel room feel like home-materiality, atmosphere, proportion, palette-and brought them back to mine."

"The moment I walked through the threshold of what is now our Tribeca apartment, I thought to myself, This feels like Vienna, which is odd since I'd never been to Vienna at the time or knew much about its design history. We often say we want to do many things, and life gets in the way, but I trusted this echo in my mind telling me, VIENNA!"

Athena Calderone, founder of Studio Athena Calderone and EyeSwoon, has shifted her design philosophy from the light, minimalist Brooklyn aesthetic she was known for to a moodier, Art Deco-influenced approach in her new Tribeca apartment. During renovations, she spent extended time traveling internationally to Vienna, Rome, Paris, and Milan for work. This nomadic period inspired her to study how hotels create homey atmospheres through materiality, atmosphere, proportion, and color palettes. She intentionally incorporated these observations into her new space, which was previously owned by renowned French architect Thierry Despont. Her design evolution reflects a deliberate move toward a more sophisticated, globally-informed style.

Read at Architectural Digest