Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski on the 24 Cent Candles and $2,500 Chair that Make Him Feel at Home

A lot as changed for food guy Antoni Porowski since he last spoke to GQ. In the last year, he’s written a cookbook (out in September), become a bona fide influencer (I met him while he was promoting an exorbitantly priced, but powerful, automatic coffee maker), and opened a restaurant in NYC. But most important, as he’s happy to inform me, Porowski just moved to a new apartment.

Well, he moved in eight months ago. But Porowski estimates that, with his aggressive Netflix travel schedule, he’s only spent two months actually living in his apartment. Still, he's managed to curate the kind of peaceful space he’s always wanted. Here are the design decisions that led to his current comfy situation.

“I keep it new, clean, contemporary, and simple in the kitchen,” Porowski says. That means few bulky appliances. But he pays close attention to the table settings he uses during dinner parties and through his daily life. “I'm really obsessed with Heath Ceramics,” he said, referring to the Bay Area-based company known for its beautiful ceramics. On a recent trip to Napa, he stopped by the company’s Sausalito factory and picked up some of their more-affordable seconds. “There's usually a variance in the color, or a little chip or crack or some kind of imperfection. I love that shit. I like it when things aren't perfect. They feel more personal and a little more homemade.”

While he’s cooking, Porowski shies away from using his overhead lights. “I don't do the thing where you keep bright lights in the kitchen,” he says. “I like to keep it a little dimmer” He can see what he's cooking thanks to the light from the hood over his stove, and he sets the vibe with several super-cheap tea lights scattered around the kitchen. “I love my scented candles, but I keep those out of the kitchen because I don't like the scent to conflict with the food,” he says.

Porowski is quick to tell me that he is not an interior designer. “Interior designers are very good at creating a whole visual experience,” he says. “I look for specific pieces.” His favorite furniture is largely made by French, Italian, and American designers who were working in the 20th century, like Le Corbusier and his associated collaborators—Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, Jacques Adnet, Charles Hollis Jones, Paul Evans, and Karl Springer. “Slowly and surely, I’ve been buying all of my dream pieces," says Porowski. "The stuff that I’ve always wanted to have.”

Now that he’s acquired the furniture of his dreams, Porowski has turned his attention to his walls. “I really want to be a paintings guy, but it’s so hard to pick out a painting, especially online,” he says. He’s spending his time looking through marketplaces like 1stdibs, which stocks paintings, sculptures, furniture, and beyond. So far, he’s acquired a few photos from queer photographers, including Ryan McGinley and Paul Sepuya. “I still have a lot of wall space left," says Porowski. "It’s giving me a bit of anxiety, but I'm figuring out what to do with it.”

Source: Gq.com

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Keywords:

Queer Eye • GQ • Cookbook • Coffeemaker • Restaurant • Netflix • Design • Decision-making • Clean technology • Heath Ceramics • San Francisco Bay Area • Napa County, California • Sausalito, California • Variance (land use) • Vibe (magazine) • Interior design • Interior design • Furniture • French language • Italy • Le Corbusier • Pierre Jeanneret • Charlotte Perriand • Jacques Adnet • Charles Hollis Jones • Paul Evans (musician) • Photography • Ryan McGinley • Paul Sepuya •