Product designer, UX leader, tech mentor, and neurodiversity advocate Christina Goldschmidt lives in an 859-square-foot condo in New York City’s Battery Park City that she’s maximized for both work and fun. Although the condo had been renovated five years before she bought it, Christina, who’s currently the Head of Product Design at Etsy, intentionally designed nearly every inch of the two-bedroom apartment for herself — from storage, to lighting, to art — in a way that she calls “an eclectic style that is the opposite of minimalist. I like mixing modern and vintage pieces. I’m also not afraid of color or luxury finishes like fur, velvet, metals, and great woods.” 

Storage has been key to designing the tidy space. “There is built-in storage all around the dining room that I kept from the sellers (pretty much the only thing left from the old apartment), plus there are baskets on top of the kitchen, and the guest queen-size bed from Bo Concepts is one that lifts up for storage,” she writes. But the home isn’t only about function. “Art is really important to me,” she begins. “I used my move to be able to consolidate most of my art in a nice gallery wall with a Samsung Frame TV in my living room … since my renovation was delayed due to COVID I took the time to lay out my gallery wall in Adobe Illustrator. It was really fun to try a ton of different layouts. Being a designer and having layout tools has its privileges.”

Christina says that working for Etsy has also been a help to getting her home designed just the way she wants it. “I was able to take leftover stone from my kitchen and make a beautiful custom coffee table. Also I really wanted one of those beautiful Mongolian lamb fur chairs, but they were going for thousands of dollars. In my old apartment I had a balcony and a gold chair. Instead of getting rid of that, I just had new fur cushions made on Etsy and a matching foot stool and I have a really unique piece that looks more luxurious than some of the other chairs I’ve seen,” she writes.

Christina’s also designed her apartment for mindfulness and peace. “I keep an altar of things that are important to me in my dining room that help me honor my ancestors and where I set intentions every day by burning incense and candles and manifesting changes in my life by meditating on key tarot cards and crystals,” she writes. “My practice is something that has been handed down to me by my Vietnamese grandmother, on my mother’s side. It’s how they have been honoring our ancestors for generations.”

My style: It’s a mix. I’m not a minimalist. I have collections of things that I like to organize into tableaus. I mix modern, vintage mid-century, some Hollywood regency, an antique here or there. I think it makes for a cozy and comfy and modern home that feels real and lived-in but personal. I also think details matter. I love to entertain, so my space is designed for that first and foremost. 

Inspiration: I like a combo of nature and luxury — so trying to combine natural materials like wood and stone with lots of plants and dried plants with luxury fabrics like fur and velvet and high-end linen and cottons. Also I’m very new-age ritual focused. My spirituality is very important to me and my home. I don’t think you walk in and think I’m a woo-woo person. But there are personal touches that matter to me and make my home feel sacred to me.

Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was definitely time. The best thing I could do was to be patient and try to really plan what I’d do once I could move in. I used Adobe Illustrator to plan everything to make sure I could get everything to fit — from furniture to my gallery wall. This let me make plans and get ahead of the long delays to order things. Wow! But having a layout software at my fingertips meant that I had a fully decorated apartment in two to three weeks after moving in. People couldn’t believe that I was basically finished!

• Bedroom — Sherwin-Williams “Bosporus 6503”

• Muuto Dots (Aluminum, brass and walnut) — Muuto
• Botero Mirrors — Design Within Reach
• Jute Rug — Etsy
• Shoe Rack — One Forty Three
• Gold Tree Stump Stool — Amazon
• Console Table — Home Depot
• Christian Dior Candle ­— Brooklyn Museum
• Jonathan Adler Georgia Orb Box — Jonathan Adler
• Cognac Leather Baskets — Anthropologie
• Custom Throw Blanket — Etsy
• Large Quartz Crystal Cluster – Etsy
• Kosi Hidama White Vase — 180 The Store

• Light, Radient Disc Small White — RBW
• Pillow — Anthropologie
• Skip Folding Chair in Walnut — Design Within Reach

• Paidge Sofa — West Elm
• Teal and White Cushion —Archive NY
• Salty Cross Stitch Cushion — Etsy
• John Derian Eye Pillow — Pinterest
• Round Bolster Cushion with Teal — eBay
• Rug — Etsy
• Custom Coffee Table — Etsy
• Potpourri and Candle in 10013 Scent — Oliver Gustav
• Regent Hinge Box — Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
• Walnut and Cream Leather Tray — Giobagnara
• Handmade White Vase — Anthony Todd Home
• Jens Chair and Ottoman — Design Within Reach
• Gold Patio Chair — Pinterest
• Custom Mongolian Wool Cushions and Ottoman — Etsy
• Ikebana Vases — Etsy
• Taxidermy Butterfly in Cloche — Etsy
• Driftwood Airplant Holder — Etsy
• WiFi Sign — Etsy
• Brass Bowl — CB2
• Scent Boules – L’Artisan Parfumeur
• Brass Match Striker Small — Beautiful Mess
• Brass Match Striker Large — Beautiful Mess
• Bone Chine Chess Pieces — Etsy
• Hamilton Printer Block Trays — Etsy
• Leather Wall Flower Holder — Etsy

• Chrome & Glass Dining Table — CB2 ​
• Untanned Leather Dining Chairs — CB2
• White Pendent Light — Flos
• Silver Trumpet Vase — Etsy
• Brass Incense Holder — ​Eyeswoon
• Curiosity Cases — FineNordie
• Shamanic Drum — Etsy
• Gold Singing Bowl —​ Etsy
• Fox Raddle — Etsy
• Hand-Poured Spell Candles — Crescent Conjure
• Candle Cloche — IKEA ​
• Drink Vessel — Amazon ​
• Decanter — Crate and Barrel ​
• Persimmon Container — Etsy
• Multi-Bottle Vintage Champagne Bucket — ​Etsy
• Walnut Hudson Media Cabinet — Room & Board
• Moss Ball Large Glass Terrarium — ​Terrain
• Silver Punch Bowl — ​Etsy
• Sheffield Tea Set —​ Etsy
• Candles — Ligne Roset
• Drink Station — ​Crate and Barrel
• Wood and Marble Cloche — Crate and Barrel​
• Clear Wine Racks — ​CB2

• White Storage Baskets — The Container Store
• Rug — Ruggable
• Towels — ​Hay
• Cutting Board — Etsy
• Grey and Oak Salt & Pepper Grinder — Food52
• White Kettle — Food52 ​
• Salt Container —​ Etsy
• Champagne Bucket as Utensil Holder— Etsy
• Matcha Bowl — Etsy
• Pot Scrubber —​ Iris Hantverk
• Champagne Bucket as Fruit Bowl — ​Etsy
• Champagne Bucket as Lavender Vase — ​Etsy
• Diffuser —​ Amazon
• Ikebana Vase — CB2
• S2 Globe Lights —​ Flos
• Spice Labels — ​Etsy
• Glass Vase — IKEA ​
• Magnetic Cork Board — ​The Container Store
• Spoon Rest — ​Etsy

• Bed — CB2
• Duvet Cover — Anthropologie
• Sheets — ​Ralph Lauren
• Pillow — ​Anthropologie
• Brass, Fawn and Mango Bench — ​Maria Yee
• Cow Rug — Etsy
• Chandelier — French Antique Shop
• Pillow — ​Jonathan Adler
• Black Metal Marble Nightstands — ​West Elm
• Smokey Lamps — Lumens
• Glasses Holder — ​ Etsy
• Glasses Holder — ​ Etsy
• Candles & Diffuser — ​L:A Bruket
• Paper Bowl — ​ Etsy
• Candle Holder — Tom Dixon
• Trash Can — ​Amazon
• White Noise Machine — Snooz
• Arched Mirror — ​ Amazon
• Dresser — PB Teen

• Bed — ​BoConcept
• Side Table — ​West Elm
• Pink Glass Bowl — ​CB2
• Fur Rug — ​Etsy
• Night Stand— Finnish Design Shop
• Lamp — MoMA
• Drinking Vessel — ​ Food52
• Alarm Clock — ​ MoMA
• Sheets — ​Ralph Lauren

• Rug — ​Crate and Barrel
• Natural Sponge —​ Simone LeBlanc
• Silver Sponge Holder — Simone LeBlanc
• Tissue Cover — ​ Amazon
• Julep Cup — ​ Etsy
• Hand Soap, Lotion, Candle, Etc. — ​Maison Margiela
• Towels — ​Ralph Lauren
• White Soap Dish — ​ Yamazaki

Thanks, Christina!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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Correction: An earlier version of this post mistakenly said Christina’s apartment building has a pool, but it does not. There’s actually a pool nearby. We’ve updated it to be more accurate.