apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

oh my gosh .. just wondering how rich is the lady ?

to each his (or her) own.

Nice bathroom, I love the tile! what r the wine racks for ?

OK, this is obviously the home of a person with means, but so creative. The art is amazing and I covet the agate island. How lucky your pets are!

Wow, I envy her home, her art collection, and her fun-sounding life!

This tour makes me feel insanely claustrophobic. I don't think I would last 5 minutes in the actual space, and I'm not particularly neurotic (if I do say so myself.)

Ditto on debtex, but the view from the apartment is lovely, and there are some really nice pieces in the apartment.

i think she has some awesome things ... but a round bed? really?

So marvelous! A home that is seeped in the flavor of its inhabitant and not just consumer culture/ design blogs/ home trends from Dwell. What a thought! This reminds me of my parents home growing up, cabinets of curiosity in every corner: specimens, artifacts, objects, exotic bits and naturals morsels, other people's garbage, all mixed together to create of home of thinkers, rather than followers. Caroline, your nest tells of a very original life, I hope to have such interesting ephemera, collected first-hand someday.

Why did you have to hilight her political garbage?

Okay Apt. Therapy staff and readers:

Who can offer a possible DIY solution to that Agate Island???

Would love to see similar looks and suggestions.

I'd love to here the story behind the iguana's ten-story fall! It sounds like it'd be a good one.

This is definitely a unique apartment. I agree with matt manfredini - to each her own.

And by "here," I mean "hear." Sheesh.

this is one of those few exceptions where i agree with her usage of the word "eclectic". this was remarkable and fascinating. i love it!

I am also loving the agate and wondering how I could have something similar. I've got just the spot for it. lol. I love this place.

yikes. Is this someones home or the learning centre at the childrens zoo?

She rocks, brilliantcoco explained it so well.

Fascinating but makes me feel like I'm in the jungle. i wonder what's creepier - the kamikaze iguana or the doll-slippers arranged in a circle.

Otherwise, I think the agate counter is very cool and I love the space of the apt. but still OMG.

Looks like she has really surrounded herself with things she loves. Remind me never to get a parrot, though! Sounds like they do a lot of damage.

unique. just one of the many eccentrics in this neighborhood.

haha - loved how everything is "so the parrots won't eat it"

But why won't a parrot eat a round bed or sofa?

Anyway, definitely NOT my thing at all, but it looks perfect for the right person. Very interesting house tour!

Great place! My favorite part is definitely the iguana! She must love the huge windows... =)
The story about the jump is unbelievable, especially because the same thing happened to my iguana last year. He's about ten years old and survived two jumps off a ninth floor balcony. Oh the perils of owning iguanas in NYC!

this is fabulous!

sassifrassi and kelleyk - check out concetto by caesarstone, that might be similar enough to work. I've never seen it in person, but some of the patterns look really nice on the website.

What does the iguana think of its freeze-dried ex-partner? That would make me jump out the window too.

Whoa, it's like Silence of the Lambs meets Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. Alllll-righty then.

Leave it to a native New Yorker. Quirky & odd.

This place is wild and wacky! I love it! Could I live in it?? No, but I appreciate her collections of art and artifacts, as well as her love for animals. While I prefer the dog/cat variety of pet, it's interesting to see someone with pets that are more exotic, and how they incorporate those habitats into the home. I really enjoy seeing house tours with tons of personality, and not packed with what the latest fad in decorating is at the moment. The only thing that creeped me out was the freeze-dried iguana partner.

I'm with brilliantcoco -- not my thing, but sooo awesome to see a place without the standard issue barcelona/eames chair/dwr repro (and no "keep calm carry on"!!!). This the kind of NYC apartment I love to know still exists. Would be curious to see her Fire Island home!

I love it because it seems to be a reflection of her personality--the way a home should be :)

although, Ive noticed AT has increasingly been showcasing wealthy renters/owners....and that's been bothering me. Yes, some high-end homes are great for inspiration, but showing too many gives the false perception that you need to have lots of money to have a great looking home. And we all know that's not totally true.

I concur about the agate island: jaw-droppingly cool and gorgeous!

wow this is fantastic, I love this woman!

iguana that thankfully survived looks like he/she is living in the best possible urban bliss, I don't care that these critters are locked up in peoples houses, apartments without the right conditions but this looks to be ok. The parrots seem to have a good gig, too.

This is awesome. Only in NYC.

a thought on the countertops DIY- slices of tree - as the cutting boards featured on this post
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/cookware/fallen-tree-cutting-boards-035919
suspended in poured resin?
Not as light reflective as agate, but could still be pretty jaw dropping...

Seeing people surrounded by things -- and animals -- they love makes me happy.

RE: DIY the agate counter slabs...I've seen agate slices, albeit smaller ones, at science/nature stores, or certainly they could be sourced online. I found many with just a quick google. And I've seen and read about pouring resin slabs online, too...again, google. Then it's just a matter of figuring out a mold which could be someting as simple as a sheet pan coated with some mold release.
I think with a little research, highly DIY-able. Maybe do a practice piece first since it looks like the agate slices could be fairly expensive.

So anti-twee. What a nice reminder that we don't all live in cookie cutter versions of the antiseptic interiors featured on most blogs and in magazines. I bet kids love to visit this home.

I love posts like this, where I don't even respond to the decor in a positive way but am intrigued nonetheless. Caroline seems like a fascinating person with a mind of her own, who does exactly what she (or her pets) want. Her apartment totally reflects that. I would love to see more of this kind of post on AT.

I NEED that countertop!

wonderful post and a charming unique space with great personality. birds, turtles, and iguana also look really happy. i love the agate counter. thanks for sharing.

I love it - As soon as I spied that countered top and the iguana, I did a little mental happy dance. I great home - not showy or styled to perfection, it has that right edge of eclectic and easy and individual.
And a framed pic of Adam Ant.
Woo-yeah ! Can I be a house guest, pretty please?

i love the space for the parrots, i have an amazon and a quaker parrot and would love to give them a nice space that doesn't conflict with my own

Holy shit is right! What a great tour. AND I learned about biting parrots, carnivorous turtles, resilient iguanas... oh, and the under construction giraffe kinda blows my mind.

Hm.

I love that she is who she is, but ... that place looks scary and unlivable to me. A fascinating tour, though, for sure. I never would have believed that jungle could have existed 10 floors above CPW. It feels like it's in the right neighborhood--near the Museum of Natural History. I wouldn't call it "eclectic", I'd call it "eccentric."

Am I the only commenter who thinks that agate countertop is hideous?

Charlotte, you are not. I am passionate about crystals but looking at that counter is like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard. But as long as she loves it.....
I like the fact that she has provided a loving environment for her "family" but that's about it.

I love this place. Would never have a parrot, iguana, or turtles running around - the droppings! - and I wouldn't want all the gnarly wood - the dusting! But I love that she took her time, learned what she loved, and brought it into her home when she had the money and space.

"Taste" does not always = "What they show in magazines." One of the things that has perturbed me since I was in fifth grade was how the fashion industry can tell us what is "beautiful" and make us believe it, then reverse their declarations five years later and have us believe the formerly cool was completely tacky. This is tremendously true of home design, as well: I've watched all the MCM trends exist, fade away, be seen as ultimately tacky, and now have a resurgence.

I have a feeling that this woman's home would have ended up being similar whether she lived in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, or now. How great that she's independent and internally stylish enough to create her own, unique look, without consulting the keepers of design correctness.

When you just follow the rules, you end up with that John Mayer house they showed the other day: stylish, yes, but impersonal and soulless.

What a truly amazing home with soul. Wow!

Not my style at all, but truely unique.

Nice to see someone enjoying life so much.

HI ALL LOVING THE COMMENTS U CAN CHECK OUT AN AGATE COUNTER TOP AT ARTISTIC TILE IN THE 20S.....
GOOGLE AGATE COUNTERTOPS ...MINE IS BY MAJESTIC GEMSTONE.....OPTED FOR AN IKEA KITCHEN AND SPLURGED ON THE COUNTERTOP....TIRED OF GRANITES AND MARBLES

Hmmm.

Well, at least she carried out the design. I'm personally not a fan of that "modern eclectic" look, but at least she went through with it and the whole house feels that way. However, at 1500 square feet, the apartment feels TINY in the photos just because, at the end of the day, it's full of chotchkes and dustables.

I can't imagine how many times early in the morning someone walks by that chair and kicks it. It must hurt like hell.

It just feels like the news story of the woman with 37 cats but with a higher budget.

Sometimes "eclectic" is just another word for "don't know when to stop" -- I find the apt a bit overwhelming.

I wasn't in love with the apartment when I first saw it, but as I went through the house tour, I was drawn in by all her collections and friends. This home is incredibly fascinating.

Nobody can say that their home won't have a similar look after they have traveled extensively for years. I hope mine will.

You have created a wonderful space.

A for originality and personality, Caroline. You've created a whole world within your walls.

I love her art collection, but everything else gives me goosebumps.

Cool lady.

Resin countertops are beautiful, but not practical if they get any significant use -the resin is very easy to scratch and will quickly look dull. It also is not very strong, so it needs to be fully supported from underneath so that it doesn't warp or crack. DIY'ing it is very tricky and hard to get a nice clear slab without bubbles, and with any significant thickness you may have introduce cracking. Bar top resin is very yellow and won't really have the same effect. All resin gets very hot as it sets, and as the objects cast inside cool at different rates bubbles form around them, so in summary it's very difficult and expensive and toxic to get the effect you see here.
If you really like the look, the way to go is probably 3-form panels, although not as a counter. They have a bamboo slice panel which is not a far cry. Robin Reigi used to make something similar as well, but with horn slices embedded.

I wonder how she got her iguana back after it fell 10 stories to the street. Excuse me, is this your iguana on the sidewalk?

I agree, this is certainly eclectic. I love, love, love the countertops in the kitchen. And, the tiles in the bathroom also hold a special place in my heart. The apartment also appears to have a lot of light which I find very appealing. I would also like to take an opportunity to ask if Caroline provides dental work here in NY for someone desperately in need with no financial resources to pay. If so, I would love to contact her and make some arrangements.

No wonder she travels so much... she needs to escape the amount of "stuff" at home.

Yes, some of it is quite creative and well done, but there is just no restful place for the eyes. If you're going to have that much in most of your huse, you need one room/space to provide relief. My best friend over-collects, but his master bedroom (in a 3 bedroom house) is purposefully sparse, and he rotates items through so he can appreciate what he has. It works much, much better.

Also, while I generally hate to judge, the giraffe thing is creeeepy.

Thanks AT for showcasing a home that has found solutions to integrating pets into the decor. I have one dog, three parrots, two house rabbits, and a boyfriend ... all crammed into 650 square feet. Making the bird cages and play stands fit in is my biggest challenge. More like this, please!

Super cool lady, super cool space!

Seriously, editrix26, you said it. I haven't seen this house tour yet, I like to read all the comments first... I was very excited when I saw animals in the preview post, so many cats and dogs, hardly anything smaller appears in posts... I would love to see how people incorporate their cages/playstands with the decor. I have 5 birds that finally have their own room and want to make a pleasant set-up for them:) Off to more bird-forums I go...

Though the style sense is different than mine, this was truly refreshing. This home truly reflects the personality of the owner! I would love to hang out with her and pick her brain, her design tells me she is a really interesting person. Yay for creative and not Ikea regular!!

hi zig, the iguana was escaping the amorous advances of lurch, her mate and clawed through the window screen and fell 10 stories....found her 3 days later on the other side of the building in a tree on a low branch....unharmed....
i told jill that i opted for leather furniture b/c it's easy to clean vis a vis bird droppings.....round couch/bed has nothing to do with easy maintenance....just like the curves....

Who cares about how much money she has! She is obviously rich with creativity, individuality, and unique life experience. At least her home shows for it. Do you know how much money people spend on shabby chic? It is refreshing to see something personal again. Sadly, the other house tours seem to resemble eachother more and more... As far as the "political garbage" comment, why haven't there been comments about the politically themed decor from other house tours?

how can giraffe bones be creepy? bones are part of the natural world.....which should be embraced in its entirety...
and i don't understand the "political garbage" comment...please explain.....

the ikea wine racks hide a pipe in the bathroom

eclectic means never having to stop..................

Caroline,
This may seem like an odd request... but who is your vet for the iguana? I've tried a whole bunch in the city and have been happy/unhappy with some. Of course, the one I was happy at an Avian Center left =( Would really appreciate a recommendation! Thank you!

hi dr. wilson 586 columbus ave 2125018750.......

Oh dear - I do not know what to say - other than to each their own. I would be petrified to enter this home as I do not like her choice of "animals" - but then as I said to each their own. Not my favorite site on AT.